Step-by-step tutorial for Russian Rugelach Recipe. Flakey bite-sized cookies filled with a crunchy meringue walnut filling and dried fruit and rolled around. The cookie is soft, delicate and just melts in your mouth.

These individual-sized cookies are so popular in our culture, along with our Truffle Cookie Kisses and the korzinki Tartlets.

A plate of Rugelach cookies topped with powdered sugar.

what is a rugelach?

Rugelach are small cookies that are popular in Russian/Ukrainian cuisine. The cookies are filled with dried fruit and are rolled up. Once baked, they are dusted with powdered sugar.

These cookies are flakey and crunchy yet melt in your mouth soft with the most delicious filling.

Rugelach recipe in a blue bowl with powdered sugar.

how to make rugelach recipe:

The rugelach dough is so easy to work with and absolutely delicious.

  • Crumble flour and butter- In a large bowl, add cubed cold butter and flour. Mix with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and lumpy.
  • Add sour cream and egg- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg yolks, pour into the flour mixture, and mix until combined. The dough will be soft and elastic and slightly sticky.
  • Shape dough- Shape the dough into 6 even balls and place onto a plate lined with parchment paper. Light dust the tops of the dough with flour and cover with plastic wrap.
  • Refrigerate dough- Refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours (or overnight). The dough will harden and become easy to use. Tip: If you like large rugelachs, shape into 4 balls instead of 6.
Step by step collage tutorial on how to make the rugelach cookie dough.

how to make rugelach filling-

  • Beat egg whites- In a medium bowl, with a mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly beat in the sugar, mix until stiff peaks form.
  • Chop nuts- With a blender, chop the walnuts, not too fine and not too large. Fold in the nuts to the egg whites until combined.
Step by step collage of how to make homemade rugelach cookies.

how to shape and fill rugelach cookies-

  • Roll out ball- Take out one ball of dough (leave the rest refrigerated). On a lightly floured surface roll it out to about 9″-11″ inches in diameter. With a pizza cutter, cut into 8 triangles.
  • Add filling- Add the meringue filling to the edges of each triangle.
  • Roll up- Gently roll up the dough and place edge end down onto the parchment paper (so the cookie doesn’t come undone during baking).
  • Add dried fruit- Add some dried fruit over the meringue filling. Tip: You can add the dried fruit with the meringue filling or without it.
Step by step collage on how to bake rugelach cookies on a baking sheet.

Rugelach cookies can be filled with so many different things. Here are some variations:

  • Poppy seed filling
  • Meringue (like this recipe)
  • Walnuts or pecans
  • Dried fruit (cherries, raisins, apricots or prunes)
  • Jams
Sugary rugelach cookies topped with powdered sugar in a blue plate.

I cannot wait for you to give these Russian cookies a try.

more small desserts to try:

Rugelach Recipe (Cookies)

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5 from 3 votes
Classic Russian Rugelach Recipe for the best cookie. Flakey, pastry-like dough with a crunchy walnut meringue filling and dried fruit filling. The cookies are perfect for the Holidays and parties.
Author: Valentina
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rest Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 48 rugalechs

Ingredients

dough-

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed (16 Tbsps)
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, measured then sifted
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup sour cream

meringue filling-

  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup walnuts
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • flour, to dust surface
  • dried fruit (apricots, craisins, raisins or cherries)
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, add the butter and flour. Mix with a fork until crumbly, or use hands.
  • In a small bowl, combine sour cream and egg yolks.
  • Add the sour cream/egg yolks to the butter/flour mixture. Mixture until well incorporated.
  • Shape the dough into 6 even balls and place onto plate lined with parchment paper. Light dust the tops of the dough with flour, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or overnight).
  • Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a bowl beat the egg whites (room temp) until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add sugar and beat another 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks form.
  • Chop walnuts, not too small and not too large.
  • Once egg whites are beaten with a wooden spoon or spatula, gently add in the chopped walnuts to the egg whites. Set aside.
  • Take one ball of dough (leave the rest refrigerated). On a lightly floured surface roll it out to about 10" inches in diameter.
  • With a pizza cutter cut into 8 triangular parts. Add the meringue filling to the edges of each triangle.
  • Gently roll up the triangles and place edge end down onto the parchment paper. If adding dried fruit add a little bit of the meringue filling and dried fruit as well. This way they are not dry.
  • Bake in preheated oven at 365°F about 20-25 minutes, until golden in color.
  • Add the powdered sugar to a bowl. Once rugelachs are baked, let them cool until warm. Completely cover with powdered sugar.
  • Enjoy, friends.

Nutrition

Calories: 68kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 6mgPotassium: 23mgFiber: 0gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 0.4mg
(The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Russian
Keyword: cookies