Nutella Rugelach
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Published Nov 16, 2021, Updated Jan 16, 2024
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Sharing a delicious twist on the classic Jewish pastry with this Nutella Rugelach. It follows a traditional recipe but is made with Nutella instead of jam or chocolate chips. It’s the perfect sweet treat for Hanukkah!
Boy do I have a delicious little treat for you this morning. Over the weekend I tried my hand at baking my first-ever batch of rugelach and let’s just say that it definitely won’t be my last! Something that tastes this good has to be made more than once a year.
What is Rugalach?
Rugelach is a Jewish pastry that literally means “little twist” in Yiddish. I went the traditional route and made crescent-shaped rugelach with real butter, sugar, cream cheese and chocolate. <– What some might call the good stuff! I’m all for healthifying recipes but since this was my first time making rugelach I stuck with the real deal. I wanted it to be authentic and taste amazing as I was making it for Isaac’s family!
Here’s What You Need
- unsalted butter – make sure it is at room temperature before starting the recipe.
- cream cheese – again, make sure it’s at room temperature!
- sugar – I used good ol’ white sugar in this recipe. Making the real deal!
- eggs – you’ll separate out the yolks from the whites. The yolks will go in the dough while the whites will be beaten for an egg wash at the end so the dough gets golden brown during baking.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- salt – just a hint in the dough and the filling to bring the flavors together.
- all-purpose flour – again, I used white all-purpose flour. I haven’t tested this with gluten-free flours but you could try swapping this for a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose blend.
- walnuts – you’ll pulse the walnuts with cinnamon, sugar and salt and then layer with the nutella for the ultimate nutty, chocolatey filling.
- cinnamon – the perfect spice pairing for this treat.
- nutella – my special addition! You’ll spread this on the dough and top with the walnut mixture. It can help to warm the nutella slightly so it spreads easier.
How to Make Nutella Rugelach
Start by beating the room temperature butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Start slow and increase to medium speed until well combined. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, combining after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract and salt and beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour. You should now have dough! Divide into three pieces, pat into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. This makes the dough firmer, easier to work with and helps with the rising process… don’t skip this step!
After your dough has chilled, combine the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a food processor and pulse until fine.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Starting with your disc, roll back and forth until you have a small oval. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll back and forth again until a circle is formed. Repeat until the desired thickness is reached. Carefully spread the nutella on the dough and sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture. Gently press the ingredients into the dough with your fingers. Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges (like you would cut a pizza!). Beginning at the larger base of each wedge, roll to enclose the filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Repeat with the remaining dough. Brush tops with beaten egg white and bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
How to Serve
Allow the rugelach to cool on a wire rack and then dive in! I recommend serving them warm right out of the oven but you can also make them ahead to serve later.
How to Store Nutella Rugelach
If you make this rugelach ahead of time or just have leftovers you need to store, place them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for 5-7 days. You can refrigerate for longer storage.
More Holiday Recipes
- Bubbie’s Charoset
- Hanukkah Gelt Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
- Healthy Hot Chocolate
Nutella Rugelach
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 large egg yolks, save whites for later
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of coarse salt
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
FOR THE FILLING
- 4 ounces walnuts
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 12 oz nutella
FOR FINISHING
- 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour.
- Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
- In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Spread evenly with nutella (it may help to have the nutella a bit melted so it doesn’t tear the dough while spreading). Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture. Gently press ingredients into dough with your fingers.
- Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges (triangle shaped like pizza slices). Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Bake until golden brown, 25 minutes.
Notes
- Adapted and inspired by this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What a fun evening! The rugelach looks so beautiful and delicious. I absolutely love all things ‘nutella’ so I will definitely be giving these babies a try!
I love the pic of the rugelach in the snow! Don’t you just love those garlicky kale greens from Whole Foods? Yum.
For some reason I can’t bring myself to healthify desserts during the holidays. Some things should be left alone – especially delicious Christmas cookies. 🙂
i have no idea why, but for some reason i’m imagining bland, dry, nutty crescent rolls. i dont think i’ve ever had rugelach, but i think i have a bad impression of them! however, when i read the word nutella, i’m hooked. they sound awesome! hope everyone loved them 🙂
I’ve always wondered if others use the original recipe when making it for the first time and then healthify it or people just go balls to the wall and change the original recipe?!
I usually make it per the recipe first and then on subsequent tries, make changes. I always feel like I need to have tasted the original creation to see where I can make changes and things I need to leave be.
They turned out beautifully! I love bringing baked goods when I visit someone’s family.
The good stuff indeed! Those look so yummy. I’m glad you didn’t healthify them. 🙂
Issac’s mom is really cute.
Your rugelach look great 🙂 I grew up eating chocolate or cinnamon filled ones made by my Jewish grandmother and they were to die for. I tried to make them myself once, but they just weren’t the same. Although I have to admit, they were pretty awesome! I used nutella as well, instead of making my own filling, and I think it’s hard to go wrong with nutella!
I love this idea of 12 Days of Cookies! Sounds fun and you’re doing a great job so far!! These look yummy and anything with Nutella is BOMB! 🙂
Those look beautiful! AND delicious…they’re picture perfect…things I make NEVER turn out as pretty as I hope they will…What a great addition to a holiday meal!
Cookies look so yummy.. but I have to admit.. I have those exact Vibrams ( I just bought my 3rd pair about a month ago). These by far are my most favorite pair!!! I absolutely loves these shoes. My feet have gotten a lot more muscular and have also lost a half size due to all the excercising I’ve done in them. What an awesome gift!! I hope she enjoys them!!!!
Yum your cookies look absolutely delicious! It has been super cold for outdoor activities. Can you believe I saw kayakers out on the James this weekend? Hardcore! Anyway Kyle and I hiked the Buttermilk Trail during the few hours of sunlight that we had on Saturday. I highly recommend it if you want to get out there this winter, because the bare trees reveal a great view of the river.
Love this! I might have to try it, as my boyfriend is celebrating Chanukah this week.
Wow, looks amazing! And nice that Issac’s mom is always your healthy buddy – I bet that makes eating healthy at holidays a lot easier!
They look so delicious!
And so does your meal.
Nice teapot!
Looks like a lot of fun! I absolutely adore Nutella. And rugalach for that matter! I just made Nutella sandwich cookies last night for an article on my site for later this week!
I’m a new reader of yours and I just stumbled upon this recipe/post and discovered you’re Jewish? So am I! I love you even more now!!!
Hi Lindsay!! I’m actually not Jewish, but my boyfriend is so I’ve become immersed in the culture and love it!
thanks for sharing this recipe, it was delicious! 🙂
So glad you liked it Jen!
A huge hit with friends!
Oh yay!! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit. 🙂
Awesome Blog Thanks For Sharing This
excellent post thank you for sharing
My daughter insists I make these for all holidays, school celebrations, etc. Never a leftover rugelach! So, so good. Just made a (double!) batch of dough and learned the event is being postponed. Any suggestions for freezing?
Hi, Rachael! I’m thrilled to hear how much you and your daughter love this rugelach! For freezing, I found some tips here. They suggest flash freezing on a cookie sheet and then put into an air-tight container or ziplock bag.
These were easy & delicious! The flakey cookie crust/dough paired with the nutella, walnuts & sugar filling was so good- They were a perfect addition to my cookie boxes!
YUM! A family favorite – I am so glad you gave these a try and enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!