Chocolate Rugelach

These Chocolate Rugelach are made with a super buttery flakey cream cheese pastry. Filled with a chocolate hazel nut mixture, a sweet raspberry jam and then more mini chocolate chips. These cookies are super buttery, flaky chocolate, nutty and fruity all at the same time. They are going to be a family favorite this holiday season.

Me and my family are not Jewish but yet every holiday season we have to bake this traditionally jewish pastry. Our sweet next door neighbor was this sweet old Jewish lady and every holiday season she made us the most AMAZING Rugelach. Before that i had never had them beofre, but i looked foward to it every year. So now we just make it part of our Christmas Cookie must have list. If you are looking for other Christmas Cookie Recipes try these out:

Italian Sprinkle Cookies

Apricot Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Icing

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Gingerbread Biscotti

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

CHOCOLATE RUGELACH STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

PASTRY

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat your cream cheese and butter until soft and airy. Add your sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Add your flour and salt and beat until combined.
• Divide your dough into 3 equal parts (about 8 oz each).
• Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a 10 inch wide round disk. Place a piece of parchment paper in between each disk, then place them in the fridge and let dough chill for 30 minutes.

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FILLING

• On a cookie sheet, place your hazel nuts and roast your nuts at 300 degrees for 5 minutes.
• Add your normal chocolate chips (NOT your mini chocolate chips) to a microwave safe bowl. microwave your chocolate at 15 second intraverals, 3 times, (mixing your chocolate in between each time). Then stir until melted.
• Place your nuts in a food processor, very finely chop your nuts.
• In the food processor add your brown sugar, cinnamon, coco powder, butter, and melted chocolate. Pulse until completely combined.
• Divide your filling, mini chocolate chips, and raspberry jam into 3 equal parts

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ASSEMBLE

• Take out one disk of dough at a time. Spread out ⅓ of the chocolate mixture onto the dough. Then spread out ⅓ of the raspberry jam on top of that. Then sprinkle on ⅓ of the mini chocolate chips.
• Cut your dough into 12 even slices (similar to a pizza). Then one by one, roll each slice in on itself starting from the wider side (crust).
• Repeat for the next two pastries, using up all fillings.
• Place all cookies on a lined cookie sheet, then brush each cookie with an egg wash (one beaten egg) and sprinkle on some sugar.
• Chill your cookies for 30 minutes
• Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes
• Once done take out, and clean up some of the jam that has spilled out around the edges (using a knife) while still hot.
• Serve and enjoy.

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CHOCOLATE RUGELACH KEY INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

CREAM CHEESE. The cream cheese in this dough is key, it gives it that creamy tangy flavor that is so unique.

BUTTER. The butter makes the pastry so buttery and flaky

RASPBERRY JAM. I love raspberry and chocolate together but you can replace this with any flavor jam you prefer.

CHOCOLATE. This recipe has a chocolate based filling. it uses coco powder and melted chocolate. those together give it a super rich chocolately flavor.

HAZEL NUTS. The hazel nuts give them a nice crunch and nutty flavor. I think hazel nut goes so well with chocolate but you can replace this with other nuts of your choice.

CINNAMON. I add cinnamon to add a deeper level of flavor. if you do not have this you can just leave it out.

MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS. The mini chocolate chips, add more chocolate flavor, and a variety of texture. I use mini because they are the right ratio for the cookie. but you can replace this with regular chocolate chips ( they just may not look as pretty or roll as nicely)

BAKING TIPS

1. If you forget to soften your butter or cream cheese, I have a trick. Place in the microwave for 5 seconds. then repeat for the remaining 3 sides of the stick… flipping your stick each time. once done your stick should be perfectly soft throughout.
2. Always use parchment paper or a silicon mat on your cookie sheet. I grew up thinking I was suppose to use butter spray on my cookie sheet when baking cookies… but this is WRONG. Do not do this! This causes burnt and flat cookies
3. chill your Dough before baking. Chilling your dough brings the temperature of your butter back down which will make for flakier cookies.
4. Slice your Disk into 12 slices similar to how you would cut a pizza.
5. brush each cookie with and egg wash and sugar so you will get a golden crisp top with crystalized texture.

FAQ

1. Do I have to chill my dough? YES. This makes your dough super tender and flakey. Let them chill while you are making your filling.
2. Is the filling suppose to bubble out while baking? So these cookies are super full! Its normal for a little of the filling to bubble out but not a lot. If too much bubbled out then you have to roll them tighter next time. while they are still hot use a knife to just scrape off some of those messy edges.
3. Do I have to roast my hazel nuts first? No this is not a requirement. But i think it starts to release some of the oils, so the flavor of the nuts are much stronger.

STORING AND FREEZING

The cookies should be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days. If freezing the dough or cookies wrap it up in plastic wrap and then place it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Lastly, if you try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment/rating on how it turned out. I love hearing from you guys and will try my best to reply to every comment! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!