Chocolate-peppermint rugelach, peanut butter and jelly rugelach, and quick rugelach made with store-bought malawach may sound sacreligious, but the truth is this quintessential Jewish baked good comes in many guises. Flaky North American cookies with a simple cream-cheese-based dough and denser Israeli-style rugelach with a yeasted dough are both takes on the same Central European cookie — and are equally beloved. “Traditional” rugelach taste different to everyone, so do away with that Jewish guilt and have some fun.
1. Strawberry and Cream Rugelach
Taste like the first day of spring.
2. Cheese and Herb Rugelach
The savory friend your nightly glass of wine has been yearning for.
3. The Best Gluten-Free Rugelach
Tender, flaky cookies that won’t hurt your stomach.
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4. Iced Gingerbread Rugelach
All the flavors and sparkle of the holiday season in one squidgy spiral.
5. 4-Ingredient Rugelach
Store-bought malawach, a flaky Yemenite flatbread, is the secret to these easy, Israeli-style rugelach. Gooey pastries in a fraction of the time.
6. S’mores Rugelach
Bonfire meets your Temple’s kiddush in a sweet, toasty union.
7. Cranberry-Orange Rugelach
Rugelach, but make them Thanksgiving. The leftover cranberry-orange jam is as good with turkey as it is with latkes.
8. 2-Ingredient Rugelach Hack
Bookmark this recipe to whip up rugelach in a hurry whenever the craving hits.
9. Ube-Coconut Rugelach
Rugelach never looked this good. The tastiest expression of Filipna-Jewish-American identity.
10. Sticky Cinnamon Bun Rugelach
Caramel sauce! Caramelized nuts and raisins! Streusel! Icing! This recipe is proof that more is more. Slide on your comfiest pants and let’s get baking.
11. Pull-Apart Rugelach Cake
Turn this humble cookie into a show stopping dessert by baking a batch piled atop one another in one cake pan. (Note: This recipe calls for Israeli-style yeasted rugelach, which are squidy and dense.)
12. Guava Rugelach
Flaky pastry, sweet-sour guava filling, and a touch of the tropics. As one 5-star review said, “I got so many compliments, I’d say my only regret is that I only did one batch and they were gone immediately.”
13. Chocolate Sea Salt Rugelach
A sophisticated take on classic chocolate rugelach that the whole family will love. Sprinkles optional but encouraged.
