These Apricot Rugelach cookies are filled with apricot jam and chopped walnuts. They have an incredibly flaky texture that keeps you coming back for more.
If you love nut filled desserts, try our Raspberry Pecan Thumbprint Cookies and Chocolate Walnut Meringue Cookies.
Table Of Contents
Recipe Details
I love these scrumptious Apricot Rugelach. This recipe is always a favorite when I serve it for dessert or bring it to a holiday potluck because the flavors and textures of this flaky treat are so good.
- TASTE: Sweet and nutty, it’s hard to resist these Apricot Rugelach. The cream cheese and butter give them lots of rich flavor.
- TEXTURE: Flaky pastry with thick apricot jam and crunchy walnuts, there’s a lot of delicious texture in these cookies.
- TIME: This dessert will take an hour.
- EASE: This is perhaps the easiest rugelach recipe you’ve ever seen! It’s really simple.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour- This is the base for the pastry dough.
- Unsalted butter– Cold butter is the key to this flaky pastry dough. Unsalted is best to control the salt level.
- Cream cheese– Rich and creamy, this adds extra moisture and flakiness to the crust.
- Egg yolk– This is a binder that holds the ingredients together and also helps it bake to a golden brown.
- Apricot jam– This will add lots of sweet and tart flavor to the inside of these rugelach.
- Toasted walnuts– Toasting gives these nuts extra flavor. They will add crunch and earthy flavor to this dessert.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Add chocolate- Add mini chocolate chips or smear melted chocolate on the pastry dough with the jam.
- Substitute other nuts- Besides walnuts, you can also use almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and pecans.
- Add raisins- Make this even sweeter with the addition of juicy raisins in the apricot rugelach.
- Make it allergen-friendly- Substitute the flour for gluten-free flour, 1:1, and use plant-based butter and cream cheese. You can also skip the walnuts.
How to Make Apricot Rugelach
- Add the butter and cream cheese to the flour. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Then add the cold cubed butter and cream cheese to the flour and cut through it using a pastry cutter/blender.
- Add the egg yolk. Now add the egg yolk to the flour and butter mixture and begin working it in with your hands. Once the rugelach dough is able to form into a ball, cover it with cling wrap and refrigerate.
- Roll out the dough. Now remove the rugelach dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough out to a large circle and spread the apricot jam and chopped walnuts on top.
- Slice the dough into 12 pieces. Next, you’ll want to slice it like a pizza into 12 equal parts. Now roll each rugelach up tightly.
- Bake. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place the apricot rugelach cookies (seam side down) on top and bake in the oven at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, or unit golden brown.
Pro Tip: I didn’t have a pastry knife, so I used a pizza cutter instead, which worked great.
Recipe Tips
- Use cold butter and cream cheese– The colder the ingredients, the flakier the dough will be. Keep them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to add them to the flour.
- Use your hands for making the pastry- If you don’t have a pastry blender/cutter, you can use a knife or your hands instead. They work just as well.
- Work quickly- If you use your hands, work quickly so that your warm hands don’t soften the butter too much. This will make the pastry less flaky and more dense.
- Keep the dough cold- When rolling out each dough ball, keep the rest of the dough balls in the refrigerator. This will keep the butter in them from melting.
FAQs
Rugelach is a well known Jewish pastry made with cream cheese dough. This bite-sized treat can have a variety of fillings, such as nuts, poppy seeds, chocolate, or jam. They are also sometimes sprinkled with ground cinnamon or powdered sugar.
Rugelach, when wrapped well in plastic wrap or foil, can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then they would need to be refrigerated. They can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Serving Suggestions
This Apricot Rugelach is sweetly delicious and versatile enough to complement any dessert table. Serve it with cakes, cookies, or other treats.
- Cakes: Serve these with a slice of Honey Raspberry Cake, New York Style Cheesecake, Chocolate Lava Cake (Video), or Gingerbread Cake.
- Cookies: Pair them with Chocolate Meringue Cookies, Chewy M&M Cookies, Jumbo Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies, or White Chocolate Florentine Cookies (lace cookies).
- Sweet treats: Serve these Apricot Rugelach with Pecan Tassies, Mini Pavlova Recipe with Chocolate (VIDEO), Apple Strudel, or Bread Pudding.
- Beverages: Enjoy them with some coffee, tea, or Hot Chocolate. They also taste wonderful with a homemade Iced Caramel Macchiato and Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: You can easily make these a few days in advance. Once they are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Storing: Store these Apricot Rugelach in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature, and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Freeze: Wrap the unbaked rugelach dough in plastic wrap, then in another layer of foil. You can also freeze the cooled cookies in an airtight container. They will last for up to 3 months.
More Yummy Bite-Sized Desserts!
Watch how to make this delicious dessert
Full Recipe Instructions
Apricot Rugelach
Equipment
- 1 dough blender
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter cold
- 8 oz cream cheese cold
- 1 egg yolk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup apricot jam
- 1 cup toasted walnuts finely chopped
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Slice the cold butter into cubes and cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter or dough blender. Continue cutting through until the pieces of butter are about the size of a pea.
- Add the cream cheese and continue to cut through until the cream cheese is pea-sized as well.
- Add the egg yolk to the flour and butter and begin working it in with your hands.
- Continue to mend the dough together until it begins to take shape. Be careful not to over-mix the dough.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 8 equal pieces.
- Take one piece at a time and roll it out to a circle 12 inches in diameter using a rolling pin.
- Spread 2 Tbsp of apricot jam onto the entire piece of dough. Then sprinkle 2 Tbsp finely chopped walnuts on top.
- Cut the round dough into 12 equal (pizza-shaped) slices. I find it best to cut the slices using a pizza wheel.
- Tightly roll each rugelach starting from the wider end.
- Place the rugelach onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or unit golden brown.
- Once they are cooled to room temperature, generously dust them in powdered sugar.
Nutrition
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armine says
Can I freeze part of the dough to use later? Do you know how long you can store it?
Dina says
Hi, yes you can freeze it like you would freeze pie dough since they have very similar ingredients. It can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Florence Guerin says
Hard time making dough into a ball. Hoping I did not over handle the dough.
Dina says
Hi Florence, could you please elaborate on what you mean by “hard time making dough into a ball”. Was the dough too dry? Or too wet/sticky? I would love to help you troubleshoot but I would need a few more details to help you 🙂
Alla says
Just made these and house smells like a bakery! So flakey and delicious.
One thing is they weren’t as sweet as I’d like them to be so I added a bit of sugar on top of the smeared jam and nuts. Turned out perfect!
Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Dina says
You are very welcome Alla! Happy to hear you loved this Rugelach recipe 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, I really appreciate it 🙂
Lana says
Love it!!! Thank you!! Two things I changed when was making these, since they were a little not done inside I baked at 340F , for 22 min and it was much better , the second is I added a little of sugar to pecans , I feel like they need a little more sweetness, even though I added plenty powder sugar on top.
Thanks again for all your recipes, I made only couple of them but they turned perfect!!!
Dina says
Thank you for the kind and honest feedback Lana! I am happy you enjoyed these treats! 🙂
Nataly Zúñiga says
Hola buenas noches, soy Nataly de Chile.
Le puedo agregar levadura a está masa para que quede tipo hojaldre.
simplyhomecooked says
Hola Nataly 🙂 No, no puedes convertir esto en una masa de hojaldre agregando levadura. Esta masa está más cerca de la masa de pastel. Espero que ayude 🙂
Jessica W. says
I am very excited to make these! Befoe I do, I have a couple of questions. First, what is the role of the egg yolk? Second, Yours are so nice and neat! Mine are always a mess when I am cutting them with filling all over and my ends sticking out like horns. Also, I do tend to overdo the filling because I really like to be able to taste the fruitiness, and not just the dough – then the jam spills and melts during baking. Any thoughts are much appreciated!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Jessica, the egg yolk makes the dough more pliable and easier to handle. I find that rolling out the dough and spreading a thin layer of jam onto the entire piece of the dough gives each bite more jam flavor without it oozing out everywhere. I know a lot of recipes have you add just a dallop of filling after the triangles have been cut. I find my method a little faster and easier. I hope that helps answer your questions. I also hope you that love this rugelach recipe too!
Amanda says
HI I was wandering if you can use all butter instead of cream cheese
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Amanda, I think you technically can but I have never tried it before.
Rose says
I’m not sure what happened, but the egg wasn’t enough to bind the dough, so I added ice water. We’ll see what happens. I will keep you posted.
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Rose, sometimes if the butter is too cold it may take a little longer for it to bind together. Once the butter begins to soften, it should come together. Let me know if the ice water helped 🙂
Katya Green says
Rose, every recipe I have for Rohalyky call for ROOM TEMP cream cheese. Maybe that’s why your dough did not come together, it needs to be soft enough to incorporate the flour, THEN chill the dough once it’s together. Hope that helps, for next time anyway,
Katya
Olesya says
Hi, quick question: Am I able to freeze the dough and use it at a later time? Thanks!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Olesya, yes you can freeze the dough and use it later. Just make sure to wrap it well. I wrap it tightly (as airtight as possible) in plastic wrap, then again in foil. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Hope that helps 🙂
Carmela says
Do these freeze well?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Carmela, I have never actually tried to freeze my rugelach recipe so I am not too sure how they would freeze. I glanced at google and someone said that you can freeze rugelach up to 2 months as long as they are properly sealed in an airtight container. Hope that helps 🙂
Katya says
Love Rohalyky, Rugalach (An Eastern European favorite – but not necessarily “Jewish”. Roha means “HORN” When you turn the ends up, they form a horn shape, thus: Rohalyky). SOLO canned fruit fillings also work well as they don’t spread out as much as jam. :o)
Lina says
Thanks for the tip about Solo!
Marjan says
I like how flakey it looks in the picture! love your recipe looks very easy to handle the dough since doesn’t have yeast in it!! But there is some thing confusing me in the ingredients list! It said 1 1/2 butter and 1 8oz butter the 1 next to the 1/2 means one cup and one half a cup butter ? And the 1 next to the 8 oz means one package of 8 oz cream cheese! Am I right??🙈🙈🤔thank you 🙏
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Marjan, sorry that the ingredient list confused you. So by 1 1/2 cups of butter I mean you will need a total of 24 tablespoons of butter. And when I say 1 (8 oz pkg) of cream cheese, that just means a total of 8 oz. hope that helps 🙂
Sardella-Guiot says
Hi,
A Little precisation: 1 cup of butter =227 g. = 16 tablespoons, so 1 cup and half is equal to 24 tablespoons not 12!
Anyway, thanks for the post 😉
simplyhomecooked says
Thanks for catching that, I just fixed it 🙂
Ri says
Hi, Dina,
Beautiful pictures! What brand of apricot jamdid you use for the rugelach ?
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you, Ri! I used Bonne Maman brand.
Amy says
Was wondering if I could use gluten free flour to make these, thank you.
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Amy, I’ve never tried making these with gluten-free flour so I can’t say how they will turn out. I’m actually quite curious about it myself.
Elizabeth says
Been making these for about 20 years. It’s a Martha Stewart recipe (I don’t believe she adds the egg yolk though)
Christmas fav at my house
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Elizabeth, its a Christmas favorite of ours too! 🙂
Natasha says
Made this recipe and brought them into the office, they were gone within an hour and everyone raved about them and was asking for the recipe. Gotta love a recipe that is not only delicious but also fool proof and so so easy!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you, Natasha! I love hearing reviews like this! 🙂
Diadiana says
I made these rogaliki for New Year’s Day and they were a huge HIT!!! I have shared your recipe with many other ladies, I guess this is an indirect compliment how AWESOME these cookies are???? A must have recipe in every baker’s book????
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you! That’s so awesome! And thank you for sharing the recipe with your friends 🙂
Natalya says
This recipe is wonderful! I made these just a few days ago and they didn’t last long. Very tasty. Great recipe!!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for taking the time to write a review of this recipe Natalya! Glad everyone enjoyed them ????
Oksana says
This caught my eye. Will definantly be making this version soon ????
simplyhomecooked says
Yay! Hope you enjoy them 🙂
Valentina @Valentinas Corner says
What a unique way of making rogaliki, never heard of this method. Definitely will need to try these, thank you for the recipe. Beautiful photography..❤
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Valentina! You are so kind ????