Rugelach is a traditional holiday cookie, but this Poppy Seed Rugelach brings new, fresh flavors to an old favorite. I like to bring flavors from my childhood to the blog whenever I can, and these cookies are worth the trip down memory lane.
Super flaky, rich cream cheese based dough, sweet and syrupy filling, I mean does it get any better? Around the holidays I love to share with you treats from my childhood, whether you’ve heard of them or not! This Poppy Seed Rugelach is exactly that.
Why Make These Poppy Seed Rugelach Cookies
- Perfect For The Holidays
- Delicious & Different
- Flaky, Crispy & Croissant-Like Cookie
- Versatile/Customizable
This version of rugelach cookie is a bit different than my usual, in the sense that I typically make them with jam, Nutella, or nuts. However, I’m from Eastern Europe, and us Eastern Europeans love our poppy seeds, so these poppy seed rugelach are a must for my family during the holidays!
Although the instructions may look like a feat, these are fairly easy to make. I’ve kept it straightforward and simple so that even a novice baker can achieve the perfect rugelach!
Ingredient Notes
Dough
- Flour – All purpose flour is all we’re using today.
- Butter – Unsalted at room temperature.
- Sea salt – We want something a little more coarse, you can always substitute this for table salt if that’s all you have on hand.
- Cream cheese – Look for natural cream cheese that doesn’t have stabilizers, make sure it’s at room temperature. I prefer Philadelphia.
Filling
- Citrus – Fresh lemon and orange zest as well as fresh lemon juice.
- Poppy seeds – Lots of poppy seeds. They add sweetness, crunch, and flavor!
- Honey – This will give us some sweetness and help create a syrupy texture in our filling.
Optional Toppings
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar.
- Spices – Cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.
How To Make Poppy Seed Rugelach
Make The Dough And Filling
- Combine butter and cream cheese: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and salt. Add the cream cheese in large pieces and mix on medium-low speed until combined.
- Make the dough: Turn off the mixer, add the flour and over low speed mix until the dough is shaggy and has a few dry spots but starts to gather around the paddle into a ball, should take about 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap over the dough and use the plastic wrap to help shape the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Make the filling: Add the poppy seeds to a small sauce pan along with the honey, water, lemon zest and juice, orange zest, and salt, over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture together and cook until the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until completely chilled, about an hour.
Prep The Dough
- Roll the dough: Lightly flour your work surface, remove the plastic wrap from the chilled dough and place it on your work surface. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the top of the dough and roll it into a ¼-inch-thick rectangle with the short end facing you. Use a pastry brush to remove any excess flour from the top of the dough, then fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Roll the dough again until it’s ¼-inch-thick, and fold like a letter. Repeat this step one more time. Cut the dough into 3 pieces and wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.
Assemble The Cookies
- Preheat the oven: Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the topping: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.
- Assemble the cookies: Lightly flour the work surface and roll out a piece of the chilled dough into a 12-inch circle. Place a 12-inch cake pan or a lid over the dough and cut around it, to end up with a perfect circle. Lightly moisten the edge of the dough (about ½ inch around the perimeter) with water and dollop ⅓ of the poppy seed filling over the surface of the dough. Using a spatula spread the filling into an even layer that just reaches the about ½-inch from border.
- Roll the cookies: Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to divide the circle into quarters. Slice each quarter into 3 so that you have 12 small triangles. Starting at their wide ends, roll up each triangle. Place the rugelach cookies on a baking sheet so the small tip is on the underside of the rugelach. Repeat with the remaining triangles. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling.
Bake
- Finish: Sprinkle the cookies with the spiced sugar. Bake until the rugelach are nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
FAQs & Expert Tips
FAQs
What Are Rugelach Cookies?
Rugelach cookies, pronounced rug-a-lah, are mini crescent-rolled pastries with a super flakey dough usually made with cream cheese. They resemble a schnecken which is an Eastern European Jewish pastry.
What Else Can I Fill My Rugelach Cookies With?
If you’re looking for a quick and easy filling, definitely try one of these in your Rugelach.
– Jam or marmalade – any kind you’d prefer!
– Nutella
– Ground nuts such as pecans, almonds, or pistachios.
– Peanut or almond butter
Can I Make These In Advance?
Absolutely! I always like to make double the holiday cookies in advance because they go like hot cakes. If you want to save some time, scroll down to “Freezing/Make ahead” for full instructions.
Tips
- If you want to make these rugelach gluten free, you can! Just be sure to substitute the regular flour with your favorite gluten free flour mix. No need for xanthan gum.
- Make sure to chill your dough for AT LEAST 2 hours. Chilling allows the present gluten strands time to settle down and relax. By doing this, it’s easier to roll out the dough and prevent shrinking during baking.
- Play around with different fillings to find your favorite type of rugelach!
Storing Leftovers
Store baked poppy seed rugelach in an airtight container right on the counter top for about a week.
Freezing/Make Ahead
To make the dough ahead, you can actually freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight.
Shaped, unbaked rugelach cookies can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months, no thawing necessary, can be baked straight from the freezer, but may need an extra few minutes to bake.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
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Poppy Seed Rugelach
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Chilling time: 3 hrs
Total: 4 hrs
Serves: 36
Rugelach is a traditional holiday cookie, but this Poppy Seed Rugelach brings new, fresh flavors to an old favorite. I like to bring flavors from my childhood to the blog whenever I can, and these cookies are worth the trip down memory lane.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) unsalted and at room temperature
- ½ tsp sea salt or regular salt
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature, preferably natural cream cheese without stabilizers
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- 1 ⅔ cups poppy seeds
- ¾ cup honey
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
Optional Toppings
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg freshly grated
Instructions
- Combine butter and cream cheese: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and salt. Add the cream cheese in large pieces and mix on medium-low speed until combined.
- Make the dough: Turn off the mixer, add the flour and over low speed mix until the dough is shaggy and has a few dry spots but starts to gather around the paddle into a ball, should take about 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap over the dough and use the plastic wrap to help shape the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Make the filling: Add the poppy seeds to a small sauce pan along with the honey, water, lemon zest and juice, orange zest, and salt, over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture together and cook until the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until completely chilled, about an hour.
- Roll the dough: Lightly flour your work surface, remove the plastic wrap from the chilled dough and place it on your work surface. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the top of the dough and roll it into a ¼-inch-thick rectangle with the short end facing you. Use a pastry brush to remove any excess flour from the top of the dough, then fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Roll the dough again until it's ¼-inch-thick, and fold like a letter. Repeat this step one more time. Cut the dough into 3 pieces and wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven: Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the topping: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.
- Assemble the cookies: Lightly flour the work surface and roll out a piece of the chilled dough into a 12-inch circle. Place a 12-inch cake pan or a lid over the dough and cut around it, to end up with a perfect circle. Lightly moisten the edge of the dough (about ½ inch around the perimeter) with water and dollop ⅓ of the poppy seed filling over the surface of the dough. Using a spatula spread the filling into an even layer that just reaches the about ½-inch from border.
- Roll the cookies: Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to divide the circle into quarters. Slice each quarter into 3 so that you have 12 small triangles. Starting at their wide ends, roll up each triangle. Place the rugelach cookies on a baking sheet so the small tip is on the underside of the rugelach. Repeat with the remaining triangles. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling.
- Finish: Sprinkle the cookies with the spiced sugar. Bake until the rugelach are nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
- Recipe yields 36 cookies.
- If you want to make these rugelach gluten free, you can! Just be sure to substitute the regular flour with your favorite gluten free flour mix. No need for xanthan gum.
- Make sure to chill your dough for AT LEAST 2 hours. Chilling allows the present gluten strands time to settle down and relax. By doing this, it’s easier to roll out the dough and prevent shrinking during baking.
- Play around with different fillings to find your favorite type of rugelach!
- Store baked poppy seed rugelach in an airtight container right on the counter top for about a week.
- To make the dough ahead, you can actually freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight.
- Shaped, unbaked rugelach cookies can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months, no thawing necessary, can be baked straight from the freezer, but may need an extra few minutes to bake.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 129kcal (6%)Carbohydrates: 13g (4%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 8g (12%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Cholesterol: 17mg (6%)Sodium: 64mg (3%)Potassium: 61mg (2%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 192IU (4%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 79mg (8%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Do I need to grind the poppy seeds before making the filling?
No, you don’t.
Do you think this dough would translate to a savory application? I was thinking a parmesan and herb filling for a savory appetizer bite.
Yeah, absolutely! That would be delicious.
This brings back all good memories from the time I spent teaching in Poland. I had Mac (Macovecz? or poppy seed in Polish) attacks regularly! Now I have a new reason to stem my mac attack! Thanks so much!
Jo: Planning ahead for the holidays…the recipe for Poppy Seed Rugelach looks good but I fear you omitted some ingredients. The instructions refer to orange zest and juice and additional sea salt. Please provide the quantities and any other missing information.
Thanks for catching this, updated the recipe, there’s 1 tsp of orange zest missing, the juice is from the lemon it’s together with the lemon zest ingredient.
I’m going to try these with crescent roll dough. I plan to make a mixture of honey and whipped cream cheese, then after spreading a layer of the cheese mixture, sprinkle the poppy seeds on and rolls them up!