Irresistible chocolate rugelach are a classic Jewish dessert. These rugelach cookies have a flaky cream cheese dough with a chocolate filling. Perfect for holidays, celebrations, or any time of year!
Dana’s note: This recipe originates from my friend’s grandmother. Her authentic traditional recipe was extra delicious. She shared her recipe with me, but it was more of a list of ingredients with vague instructions. I did research and experimented to develop it into a more complete recipe.
I have been making this recipe for special occasions for a long time, and it is beloved and requested by many. It’s simply the best rugelach recipe!
Making a cookie platter for dinner parties or holidays is a great way to offer a variety of sweet treats. I like serving these chocolate rugelach with other desserts like mini cheesecake bites, maamoul date cookies, honey cookies, and spritz cookies.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- I put a spin on the traditional shape to show off the beautiful spiral of the pastry.
- This rugelach recipe is one of my most requested desserts, and I think you'll love them too.
- There’s two different chocolate filling options.
- Change the rugelach filling options for your own spin.
What is Rugelach?
Rugelach is a beloved Jewish dessert with Eastern European origins. They are mini filled pastries with a flaky cream cheese dough, about the size of a cookie. Rugelach comes with a variety of fillings, like chocolate, raspberry, cinnamon, or apricot.
I usually make a double batch and fill some with apricot walnut filling, and some with a chocolate filling. People get creative and even make savory fillings.
The dough is lightly sweetened, slightly crispy on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside. They’re usually shaped into mini crescents like a small croissant. The dough can also be rolled into a log and cut into sections like cinnamon rolls. My rugelach are a bit unique in that they are sliced from a log then turned on their side to reveal the pretty pinwheel shape.
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card below for a complete ingredient list and measurements.
- Unsalted butter - I haven’t tried making this recipe with salted butter.
- Unbleached all-purpose flour - Make sure to use the spoon and level method for measuring flour. Fluff the flour with a fork, then spoon it into the measuring cup. Level the cup off with a knife. This method yields a more accurate cup than scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour.
- Cream cheese - Use cream cheese blocks. Do not use whipped cream cheese. I have not tested this recipe with low fat cream cheese.
- Powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla - These are optional ingredients but I recommend them to add more flavor to the dough.
Variations
The dough can be made in a food processor if you don’t have a stand mixer.
Try different fillings for a variety of rugelach flavors. I like using a mix of jam and chopped nuts for a filling variation. Try apricot rugelach, raspberry rugelach, or cinnamon nut rugelach.
My original recipe calls for making the chocolate filling with mini chocolate chips plus white granulated sugar which comes out well. However, since first publishing this recipe, I have experimented with using Ottolenghi’s chocolate filling for Krantz Cake (chocolate babka) in his cookbook Jerusalem. I really like it and recommend using this filling. I’ve included an adapted version of the chocolate filling in the recipe notes.
How to Make Rugelach
See the recipe card below for complete directions.
Step 1: Dough
Cream butter and cream cheese on high in a mixer. Add in optional ingredients. Reduce speed and gradually add in flour until all combined. Don't over mix.
Step 2: Divide
Divide dough in half, and flatten into rectangles on parchment or wax paper. Wrap and refrigerate each piece of dough for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. Dough can also be frozen at this step.
Step 3: Roll out
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured parchment to about 10 inches by 12 inches (25 x 30cm), and ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Add flour as needed. Work with one piece of dough at a time, and keep the remaining dough refrigerated while you work.
Step 4: Fill
Next, spread filling of your choice over the dough in a thin even layer. Avoid the top long edge so the filling doesn’t ooze out when you roll it up. If the dough is soft, you can pop it in the freezer for a few minutes.
Step 5: Roll up
Starting from the bottom, roll the dough up into a log. Roll tightly and tuck in the dough as you roll. Seal the seam by pressing the dough with your finger.
Step 6: Slice
Slice the log into ½ inch (1.25 cm) pieces and lay each piece on its side on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the cookies with egg wash. Again, if the dough is very soft, freeze for a few minutes to firm it back up so the cookies hold their shape.
Step 7: Bake
Bake chocolate rugelach for 25-30 minutes until they are lightly golden brown. After removing the cookies from the oven, wait a few minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Top Tips
- Chill the dough: Be patient and refrigerate/freeze the rugelach dough between steps to aid in shaping the pastries. If the dough is too warm, it's difficult to work with and can lose its shape in the oven.
- Form the dough on parchment paper which makes it easier to transport the dough to the refrigerator/freezer between steps.
- Keep it clean. Be sure to line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats because filling often oozes out a little. This can cause the cookies to stick to the pan and be harder to clean up.
- Use rolling pin strips. Rolling pin guide strips are handy strips of silicone or plastic that aid in rolling out dough to a specific and even thickness.
- An offset spatula can be helpful for spreading the chocolate filling.
Make Ahead Rugelach Cookies
Rugelach can be frozen or parked in the refrigerator at several different steps in the process you can freeze or refrigerate:
- The dough, divided in half
- The formed logs
- The baked pastries
Storage and Reheating
How to store: Store baked chocolate rugelach at room temperature in a container for up to about 3 days.
How to freeze: Freeze rugelach in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
More Dessert Recipes
- Cheesecake Bites (in mini muffin tins)
- Chocolate Covered Toffee Matzo Crack
- Maamoul (Date Filled Cookies)
- Peanut Butter and Chocolate Hanukah Cookies
Frequently Asked Questions
Chocolate rugelach has a flaky cream cheese dough with a chocolate filling. The filling can be chocolate chips or a chocolate spread.
While both babka and rugelach can have a dough with chocolate filling, they differ in their shape and type of dough. Babka is usually baked into a loaf form and has a buttery dough. Rugelach is made into a crescent roll shape and has a flaky cream cheese dough.
It is not necessary to refrigerate this chocolate rugelach recipe. They should be fine at room temperature in a covered container for up to 3 days.
Linger at Dana's Table a little longer for more free recipes.
Subscribe to my newsletter, and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for the latest updates.
This post was updated in 2024 to include revised text and more tips. The recipe remains the same, with the addition of the chocolate spread filling option.
Recipe
The Best Chocolate Rugelach Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or food processor
- Rolling Pin
- rolling pin guide strips optional
- silicone pastry mat optional
- Silpat baking mat or parchment paper
Ingredients
For the dough
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened (1 cup, 16 tablespoons, or ½ pound)
- 8 ounces block cream cheese softened at room temperature, not whipped cream cheese or Neufchâtel
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ cup confectioners powdered sugar optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla optional
- 1 pinch fine sea salt optional
- 1 egg beaten (egg wash for cookie tops before baking)
Filling, option 1: chocolate chips
- 1 heaping cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 heaping tablespoons granulated white sugar
Filling, option 2: chocolate spread
- ¼ cup confectioners powdered sugar
- 1 scant tablespoon high quality cocoa powder l used Rodelle Baking Cocoa, Dutch processed
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 2 ounces dark chocolate baking bar melted, I like Guittard, Ghirardelli, or Scharffen Berger.
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted (4 tablespoons or ½ a stick)
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a mixer with the flat paddle, cream butter and cream cheese on high until well blended. Optional: add in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Reduce speed to medium-low, and gradually mix in flour. Mix evenly but do not over-mix. Divide dough in half, and flatten into rectangles on parchment or wax paper. Wrap and refrigerate each piece of dough for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. Dough can also be frozen.
- Make filling: If using filling option #2, mix the filling ingredients together and form a spreadable paste.
- Roll the dough: Place parchment on the work surface, and lightly flour parchment and rolling pin. Add more flour to the rolling pin as needed. Take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator at a time, and roll each piece into a long rectangle. Roll from the center out until the dough rectangle measures about 9 or 10 inches by 11 or 12 inches (25 x 30cm) and is about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick.
- Add filling: Select one of the filling options. Either sprinkle chocolate chips and sugar evenly OR spread the chocolate filling with an offset spatula over the rolled out dough. Stay away from the long edge farthest away from you so that the filling doesn't ooze out. Freeze briefly if dough is very soft.
- Make the logs: Roll the rectangle into a log by starting at the long end near you, and roll away from your body. Roll very tightly by tucking under and tightening as you go. Seal the dough seam with your finger. Freeze dough briefly if necessary.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, and place oven rack in the middle or just below. Place parchment on 2 large cookie sheets, and set aside.
- Slice the logs: With a heavy, sharp knife, slice the log into ½ inch pieces, and lay each piece on its side like a pinwheel spaced apart on a cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the cookies with an egg wash. Again, if the dough is very soft, briefly refrigerate/freeze cookies before baking so cookies hold their shape.
- Bake: Bake for 25-30 minutes (about 20 minutes for convection oven at 338ºF) or until the cookies are lightly golden brown. Wait a couple minutes, and remove the cookies to a wire rack. Serve out of the oven or at room temperature.
Notes
- Alternate filling: 1 cup apricot jam and ¾ cup finely chopped walnuts.
- The dough needs to be refrigerated at least one hour before rolling, but ideally, refrigerated overnight. The key to this recipe is having the dough at the right temperature; the dough needs to be pliable but not too soft. Work quickly, and keep popping the dough into the freezer as necessary. While one piece of dough is chilling, I start working on the next step for another piece of dough.
- I often make a double recipe, which is 4 logs. Be patient and have some time on your hands to keep chilling the dough, and you will be rewarded with delectable cookies.
- The traditional recipe does not include the optional ingredients, but I usually use them. The cookies are tasty either way.
- I love the way these cookies look as a pinwheel, but traditionally, they are presented as a section of a log or are rolled up as little crescent shapes.
- Make ahead: Rugelach can be frozen at different stages of completion: the dough divided and wrapped it into sections, the unbaked log, or the baked cookies.
- How to store: Baked chocolate rugelach can be kept unrefrigerated in a container for up to 3 days.
- How to freeze: Freeze rugelach in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
bumbleberry breeze says
I loved your 2 naughty offerings and and your nice offering- super creative presentation... you and your sidekick went all out and we all LOVED it. I love rugelach and will try them in a pinwheel shape soon, great idea -very cool. The only thing I do to make them slightly less naughty is I use Neufchatel cream cheese which has less fat. I had a few left in my freezer but they're gone by now...
Dana says
Judy- thanks for your lovely comments. Do you feel that there is any taste or texture sacrifice with the Neufchâtel?
Cathy | She Paused 4 Thought says
I have never had rugelach in a pinwheel before, and now that I am spoiled, I don't want it any other way. Your naughty & nice display was so creatively AMAZING that I am stealing this idea for my next party. Yes, imitation is the highest form of flattery. 🙂
Dana says
Cathy- thank you. Please do; good ideas are meant to be shared. That's what blogging is all about.
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Oh yes, I loved these. Both naughty AND nice!
Dana says
Dorothy- thanks for stopping by to let me know.