Raspberry Rugelach
A crescent rolled cookie filled with cinnamon, raspberry jam, and pecans
Servings: 36 cookies
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 8- ounce package cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 227 g) unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
For the filling
- 3/4 cup (86 g) pecans toasted and chopped
- 1 cup (255 g) raspberry preserves
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the glaze:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon cold water
- 2 tablespoons turbinado (raw) sugar
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Pulse the cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth. Add the flour and butter; pulse until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Divide the dough into 3 pieces; pat into disks and wrap in plastic. Chill 1 hour.
- Remove one portion of dough from the refrigerator. Let the dough soften slightly at room temperature for a few minutes to make it easier to roll.. Lightly flour a rolling pin, and roll out one portion of dough into a 12 inch circle
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the filling in a small bowl and set aside.
- Spread a thin layer of jam (about 1/3 cup) and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture , 1/3 of the pecans on each dough round in a ring, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each round into 12 wedges. Starting at the wide end (outside of the circle), roll each wedge toward the point (towards the middle of the dough).
- Arrange each cookie 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes (this will help with the jam from leaking and the pastry from spreading).
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (177°C). Make an egg wash by whisking together in a small bowl the egg and water. Brush the rugelach with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes until pastry is golden brown. Some jam may leak from the pastries while baking, this is normal. Transfer to racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining portions of dough and finish making rest of cookies.
Notes
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: You can freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature before serving. You can make and freeze the discs of dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling and shaping the next day.
- Raspberry preserves: Use a thick preserves so the filling doesn't leak out.
- Careful using that food processor. You don't want the dough to form one cohesive ball of dough, which means the butter becomes too incorporated and warmed up. This dough is similar to making pie dough so you do not want to work the dough that much so it stays nice and tender.
- When dividing the dough into 3 discs, I recommend using a kitchen scale so the dough is divided evenly.
- The dough does need to be chilled. But you can do this overnight if you would like and split the recipe up over two days.
- When taking the dough out of the fridge, especially if its been in overnight, give it a whack with a rolling pin a few times to soften it up a bit before rolling it out.