Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach are buttery, rolled cookies filled with dried cranberries, chocolate, nuts and cinnamon. They’re addicting little morsels! Whether you roll and slice them like tiny cinnamon rolls, or form them into crescent cookies, rugelach look beautiful on any dessert tray.
Rugelach is a great little cookie. It is not too sweet, easy to make, and very versatile in that you can add any filling that you like, anything from raspberry jelly, to cinnamon and nuts, to chocolate. The possibilities are endless.
My recipe is a combination of all sorts of things, from pecans to cranberries to chocolate to cinnamon.
The first things that you need to do is make the dough, it needs to be chilled for 8 hours or overnight. I have even made it up to a week ahead of time and left it in the refrigerator.
I do not know if this is recommended, but as I am not a professionally trained baker, this suits my life fine. I also recommend letting your butter and cream cheese sit out overnight.
This recipe is supposed to make 64 pieces. I never get the amount of cookies that they say can be made. I do not know what I do wrong, so this is just an approximate amount depending on if you make your crescents or spirals smaller or larger.
Whatever you put into them, or however you assemble them (see below), they are delicious and a great treat to give away. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: This is my recipe for the filling. I made it up. You can change it, you can add to it. Not everyone likes the same things but this is how I like it. And anyone I have made them for likes this variation too. Change it up! Make it your own.
Why you’ll love this Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach recipe
Cute delicious little bite-sized cookies
Everyone loves them, especially about the holidays
Flexible recipe you can customize with different fillings
Great option for holiday cookie boxes!
Ingredients
For the dough:
Butter
Cream cheese
Granulated sugar
All purpose flour
Salt
For the filling:
Sugar
Toasted pecans
Dried cranberries
Butter
Cinnamon
Chocolate chips
Apricot jam
For the topping:
Egg
Sugar
How to Make Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach
For the dough:
Beat the butter and the cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
Slowly add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
Stir in the flour and salt. Now if you are a little lazy like me you add the flour to the mixer being careful not to get flour all over you kitchen. The reason to stir in the flour is so the dough does not get tough, I have been mixing it in for yours with the mixer and have not had a problem.
Divide the dough into eight equal portions.
Flatten into discs and wrap individually in plastic wrap.
Chill at least 8 hours or longer.
Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach dough disks
For the filling:
Take all of the filling ingredients and put them into the bowl of the food processor.
Make sure the nuts are hot out of the oven.
Pulse everything until it is a paste, with a little texture. Sort of the consistency of chunky peanut butter, not creamy.
Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach filling mixture
For assembling:
While you are getting the ingredients ready for the filling take your dough out to let it become a little soft, otherwise it is too hard to roll out.
Preheat the oven to 350.
You can use greased cookie sheets, or cookie sheets lined with Silpat baking mats. ( If you do not have one and you like to bake, run to the nearest store, they are great because nothing sticks to them!)
On a lightly floured surface, take one piece of dough and toll it out. Now this is where I like to take the easy way out, I roll my dough into a little bit of a rectangle so that I can add my filling an roll up like a cinnamon roll, which I then chill and then cut into pieces.
Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach filled dough rolls
Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Put the cookies onto the baking sheet and then place them back into the refrigerator to chill. I think it helps them hold their shape better.
Wash with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Take one log, cut into about one inch pieces and bake for recommended time.
Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
Watch the cookies because your oven could be hotter or cooler.
Bake until golden brown and then remove from pan to cool.
Alternative assembly methods:
Crescents:
Roll into a large pizza-type circle.
Spread 3 tablespoons of filling onto dough, leaving a 1/2 inch at the outer edge.
Cut with a knife or pizza wheel into 8 triangles. Then beginning at the wide end, roll into crescent shapes.
Pizza style dough for Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach
Bars:
I have also seen this option in a Martha Stewart magazine:
Divide the dough into two pieces.
Make one into the bottom crust in a small pan.
Add the filling.
Cover with the other crust, to make a bar cookie.
Tips & Variations
Change the shape. Make in any of the varieties shown above depending on your preference.
Change the filling. Make with only jam (any flavor), only white, dark or milk chocolate, chopped nuts, dried fruits, or any other combo you can think of.
Switch the sugar topping. Try using turbinado sugar, or colored sugar dust to go with your filling.
Add a drizzle. Try topping the baked cookies with a drizzle of melted white or dark chocolate.
Storage
Rugelach can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.
Chocolate Cranberry Rugelach are buttery rolled cookies elevated with cream cheese and filled with dried cranberries, chocolate, nuts and cinnamon. They're addicting little morsels!
Beat the butter and the cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
Slowly add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
Stir in the flour and salt. Now if you are a little lazy like me you add the flour to the mixer being careful not to get flour all over you kitchen. The reason to stir in the flour is so the dough does not get tough, I have been mixing it in for yours with the mixer and have not had a problem.
Divide the dough into eight equal portions.
Flatten into discs and wrap individually in plastic wrap.
Chill at least 8 hours or longer.
For the filling:
Take all of the filling ingredients and put them into the bowl of the food processor.
Make sure the nuts are hot out of the oven.
Pulse everything until it is a paste, with a little texture. Sort of the consistency of chunky peanut butter, not creamy.
For assembling:
While you are getting the ingredients ready for the filling take your dough out to let it become a little soft, otherwise it is too hard to roll out.
Preheat the oven to 350.
You can use greased cookie sheets, or cookie sheets lined with Silpat baking mats. ( If you do not have one and you like to bake, run to the nearest store, they are great because nothing sticks to them!)
On a lightly floured surface, take one piece of dough and toll it out. Now this is where I like to take the easy way out, I roll my dough into a little bit of a rectangle so that I can add my filling an roll up like a cinnamon roll, which I then chill and then cut into pieces.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Put the cookies onto the baking sheet and then place them back into the refrigerator to chill. I think it helps them hold their shape better.
Wash with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Take one log, cut into about one inch pieces and bake for recommended time.
Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
Watch the cookies because your oven could be hotter or cooler.
Bake until golden brown and then remove from pan to cool.
Alternative Assembly methods:
Crescents:
Roll into a large pizza-type circle.
Spread 3 tablespoons of filling onto dough, leaving a 1/2 inch at the outer edge.
Cut with a knife or pizza wheel into 8 triangles. Then beginning at the wide end, roll into crescent shapes.
