Hi, my name is CJ, and I’m a Raisin Rugelach addict. And I’m so happy about it.
How have I gone 41 years of my life — while living in North Jersey – without experiencing good rugelach before??
I may have tried some supermarket rugelach here and there, but obviously none of it was very memorable. Now I know why – I never had homemade rugelach before.
My eyes have been opened.
Why is Raisin Rugelach the book-inspired recipe for Mirror Me?
I had a hard time figuring out what my book-inspired recipe would be for Mirror Me. Food doesn’t factor into Eddie and Par’s world very much, and it wasn’t until about halfway through the book that author Rosenberg, bless her, threw me a bone.
There’s a scene in Mirror Me where Eddie’s mom serves homemade Rum Raisin Rugelach to Eddie and his brother – right before blowing up their childhood with some life-changing news. While I’m not a fan of rum, the idea of trying my hand at baking rugelach piqued my interest.
What is rugelach?
Rugelach is a traditional Jewish crescent-shaped pastry that’s rolled around a fruit and/or nut filling. Some people call rugelach a cookie, but it’s really a pastry. A light, buttery, and flaky morsel of flavor and deliciousness that’s probably one of the best pastries I’ve eaten.
Now, don’t be intimidated by the word “pastry.” This Raisin Rugelach is the easiest homemade pastry you’ll ever make. I promise you. This was my first time making rugelach, and while it was a little touch-and-go for a bit, they turned out awesome.
Because Raisin Rugelach is a very forgiving pastry. If you’ve ever made a Pillsbury crescent roll, you can make rugelach. And, if you haven’t made a crescent roll, well… just stick with me.
What I love about Raisin Rugelach
I can’t decide which I like better: the raisin filling or the pastry dough. A lot of rugelach incorporates nuts, but I wanted something that purely celebrated the humble raisin.
I’ve always loved raisins in baked goods, like in Cinnamon Raisin Scones and in those old-fashioned Garibaldi Biscuits that you find in British import stores. They have such a simple, earthy sweetness to them.
Raisin Rugelach uses a blend of golden raisins and “classic” (non-golden??) raisins to reflect the theme of light vs dark that appears in Mirror Me. Honestly, I don’t know if the blend makes a huge different in flavor – but I love the outcome. The filling is so sweet that it’s almost like jam.
The raisin filling looks sparse when you sprinkle it on the raw dough, but there’s more than enough in each piece of rugelach.
My house smelled AMAZING as the Raisin Rugelach baked in the oven, and that’s all due to the rugelach dough. This homemade dough is ten times better than any pre-made dough you can buy. It poofs up in the oven, and the outside turns gorgeously golden brown and crispy. But, the inside is incredibly tender, flaky, and melt-in-your-mouth amazing.
My husband also declared that the dough reminded him of pastry we ate in France. In France, people. There is no higher compliment.
The best rugelach dough ever
I’ve been experimenting with more roll-out recipes lately, like Winter Wishing Cookies, Chocolate Spice Cinnamon Rolls, Blood Orange Tart, and Potato and Onion Knish. I used to be terrified of rolling out dough, but now I’ve gotten pretty confident with it.
The secret? It’s all about the quality of the dough.
The pastry dough for this Raisin Rugelach is freakin’ MAGIC. It’s firm but super easy to roll out. It’s soft but doesn’t stick to your work surface. You can roll it out really thin, then still roll it up into the classic rugelach shape without a problem.
And, it’s so easy to make! Just four ingredients and barely any oomph needed with the rolling pin.
I wish I could take credit for this dough recipe, but I can’t. I researched a lot of rugelach recipes for this post, and most of them had this same simple recipe for a perfect rugelach dough. I don’t actually know who created it first – but they’re a genius, whoever they are.
Baking tips for Raisin Rugelach
As you can see from the photos, I’m not one of those food bloggers who can roll dough into a perfect circle. It comes out, at best, as an oval. One of my rugelach dough disks for this post ended up looking like a Pacman blob.
I also apparently can’t slice dough evenly. Despite my best efforts with my pizza cutter, I ended up with a quite a few skinny triangles and quite a few fat triangles.
You know what? It doesn’t matter. Not really. You can still make delicious and tasty-looking Raisin Rugelach if your dough isn’t a perfect circle.
Just be prepared for uneven pieces of rugelach – you’ll get some cute-as-a-button tiny pieces, and you’ll get some larger two-bite pieces. If this happens, just be sure to bake all your pieces of a similar size together on a baking sheet.
What do you serve with Raisin Rugelach?
Raisin Rugelach is a great addition to a breakfast spread of Fruit and Nut Granola, Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal, Anniversary French Toast, and Morning Bun Muffins.
Or, serve some as a sweet treat after a comforting lunch of Chicken and Rice Soup and Honey Challah Bread.
Easy Raisin Rugelach
Ingredients
RAISIN RUGELACH PASTRY DOUGH INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
RAISIN RUGELACH FILLING INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup "regular" raisins
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
RAISIN RUGELACH TOPPING INGREDIENTS
- 1 egg, mixed with a little water
- turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
RAISIN RUGELACH DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer, beat together the salt, butter, and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add in the flour a little at a time, beating between each addition, until all ingredients combine into a soft, thick, and sticky dough.
- Divide the dough into three equal portions, then shape each portion into a disk.
- Wrap each dough disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until dough is firm. You could also refrigerate overnight.
RAISIN RUGELACH FILLING INSTRUCTIONS
- While the dough is chilling, make the filling: Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, brown raisins, and golden raisins in a food processor. Pulse ingredients until they are finely chopped, but not pureed. This will take a few minutes. Set aside.
RAISIN RUGELACH PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Spoon the apricot jam into a small dish. Set aside.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk in a little bit of water. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line four baking sheets with parchment paper. Place sheets in refrigerator.
- Fill a small bowl with a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Sprinkle some flour over your work surface and keep the rest of the flour nearby for additional sprinkling as you roll out the dough.
RAISIN RUGELACH BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Roll out one dough disk on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle.
- Brush the dough all over with a thin layer of apricot jam, then sprinkle 1/3 of the raisin mixture evenly over the jam. Press the filling into the dough to help it stick.
- Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice the dough into 4 large pieces, then slice each large piece into 3 smaller triangles. Roll up each triangle, starting at the wide end and ending at the tip of the triangle (like you’re rolling a crescent roll).
- Place raisin rugelach on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. If your rugelach pieces are different sizes, that’s okay – just bake all the small pieces on one sheet and the larger pieces on another.
- Brush raisin rugelach with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Repeat the rolling and filling process with the remaining two dough disks. Refrigerate the raisin rugelach for 10-15 minutes before baking.
- Bake raisin rugelach at 350F for 20-22 minutes, until they are golden-brown and doubled in size. Let rugelach cool completely (either on baking sheet or wire rack) before serving.
