Gluten Free Rugelach Cookie Recipe

Name: Gluten Free Rugelach Cookie Recipe
Prep time: 5 h 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 6 h 15 min
Yield: 28
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: 3/4 cup unsalted butter or non-dairy alternative, softened (Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks); 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (dairy or vegan/non-dairy substitute); 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar; 2 1/4 cups (304 grams) gfJules® Gluten Free All Purpose Flour; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; 2 cups preserves or jam (like Bonne Maman® Fig Preserves and Strawberry Preserves pictured); 1 cup golden raisins; 1 cup pecans, finely chopped; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon; Milk for brushing on top (dairy or non-dairy); Demerara sugar for tops after baking (optional); 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted; 2 Tablespoons milk (dairy or non-dairy)

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While no doubt the photos of this gluten free Rugelach look enticing, you might be wondering what on earth is a “Rugelach”?

This favorite Jewish sweet actually has its origins in a yeast dough, laminated, kneaded and taking hours to prepare. It may come as no surprise to find that short cuts were apparently taken in its transition to America decades ago, and away from the painstaking process historically used to make this famous pastry.

What we find called “Rugelach” most often in the U.S. now is something very different, but equally delicious. Rather than croissant-like, the modern version is more dense, filled with sweet fillings and often a cream cheese, yeast-less dough. You may know it as a nut roll. Easier to pronounce, but no less insanely good.

One can still choose to make Rugelach dough into crescents or mini croissants, or the gorgeous strudel shape I’ve used in my gluten free Rugelach cookie recipe, which also happens to takes less time to prepare (another American short-cut, I’m sure).

Traditional fillings range from apricot to date to fig, chocolate, marzipan, Nutella, crushed toasted nuts or even poppy seeds. Choose what suits you – anything soft and tasty that can be rolled up inside these dough will work beautifully.

I’ve used raisins, pecans and preserves in this recipe, just match the proportions if you use alternative fillings.

This gluten free Rugelach will dress up any table this holiday season. And while it looks quite impressive, don’t let that daunt you. There are several steps, but the techniques are happily quite simple, and the results are so worth the effort!

Reader Holly M's Rugelach — Reader Holly M. made this recipe the day I published it, and used sugar-free preserves for her filling!

The steps are really simple – a lot like making homemade gluten free cinnamon rolls. Just divide the dough into 4 balls and roll out, spread toppings and roll up into a log:

Then with each log on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cut into cookies before baking:

And there you have it! A gorgeous, flavor-filled cookie that looks like it was a lot of work to create, but it really isn’t. The log shapes actually make it easy to make a bunch of these “cookies” all at the same time!

Another reader had this to say about this yummy recipe:

I just made rugelach using the GF Jules recipe… seriously the best I have ever made. They held their shape when I actually followed the directions The chocolate filling is just 8oz bittersweet melted, and then 1/4 cup brown sugar stirred in. So. Yum.

~Mir C.

I can’t wait to hear how much you love this traditional recipe with a gluten-free spin!

Gluten Free Rugelach Cookie Recipe

Yield: 28 cookies or nut rolls

Prep Time: 5 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes

This gluten free Rugelach will dress up any table this holiday season. And while it looks quite impressive, don't let that daunt you. There are several steps, but the techniques are happily quite simple, and the results are so worth the effort!

Ingredients

Pastry:

3/4 cup unsalted butter or non-dairy alternative, softened (Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (dairy or vegan/non-dairy substitute)
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups (304 grams) gfJules® Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Rugelach:

2 cups preserves or jam (like Bonne Maman® Fig Preserves and Strawberry Preserves pictured)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
Milk for brushing on top (dairy or non-dairy)
Demerara sugar for tops after baking (optional)

Icing:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons milk (dairy or non-dairy)

Instructions

Beat together butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk flour and salt, then stir into the cream cheese mixture until dough is formed.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Chilling the dough will help it be less sticky and easier to work with.

Line a large jelly roll or shallow- sided baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.

Prepare a clean counter or pastry mat by liberally dusting with more gfJules® flour. Have a rolling pin, bench scraper or spatula and all toppings ready.

Divide the chilled dough into 4 pieces, removing one to your work surface and returning the others, wrapped, to the refrigerator.

Rolling in each direction, gently roll one dough into a rectangle, approximately 10 x 8 inches. Spread enough preserves across the entire top of the dough to cover it with a thin layer. Evenly distribute ¼ cup raisins, then ¼ cup chopped pecans across the top of the preserves, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Using a bench scraper or spatula, begin rolling up the dough into a log, starting with one of the short sides, rolling until the entire dough is rolled onto itself. Gently transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down, then tuck the ends underneath.

Repeat the process with the other three sections of dough. Line the logs up on the baking sheet no more than 1-2 inches apart.

Brush each log with milk, then using a large, sharp knife, make 3/4-inch-deep cuts across each log every one inch. Do not cut all the way through the logs at this time. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and return to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Once preheated, remove the plastic wrap and bake the rugelach logs on the baking sheet for 45 minutes; they will be light golden brown when done. Sprinkle with demerara sugar, if desired, then allow to fully cool on the pan.

Once cooled, mix icing in a small bowl, then drip using a spoon over the logs in a crosswise pattern. Use a large knife or bench scraper to cut the logs all the way through at each one inch cut, then serve.

Yield: approximately 28 rugelach cookies.

Nutrition Information

Yield 28 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 219Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 22mgSodium 77mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 1gSugar 24gProtein 2g

Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.