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–+ servings
cinnamon rugelach on a serving plate.
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5 from 3 votes

Walnut Cinnamon Rugelach

Cinnamon rugelach are a popular Jewish pastry that can be found at most bakeries during the Hanukkah holiday season. This cinnamon rugelach recipe is made with a cream cheese pastry and filled with a cinnamon sugar & walnut mixture.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
chilling45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Desserts, Hanukkah, Holiday
Cuisine: European, Jewish
Servings: 32 cookies
Calories: 163kcal
Author: Kelly Bloom
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Equipment

Ingredients

For the Cream Cheese Pastry

  • 2½ cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 oz unsalted butter room temperature
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1 egg yolk

Cinnamon Walnut Filling

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 cup Walnuts chopped fine
  • 1 tablespoon Cinnamon ground - Ceylon is preferred for baking
  • 2 tablespoon melted butter
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Cream Cheese Pastry

  • Mix the softened cream cheese, butter, flour, egg yolk, and salt in a large mixing bowl. The dough will be a little sticky, this is normal.
    2½ cup all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 8 oz unsalted butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 egg yolk
  • Scrape up all the dough into a ball using a spatula. Divide the ball of dough into four equal pieces and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for 45 minutes.

For the Cinnamon Walnut Filling

  • After you chill the cream cheese pastry dough, remove from refrigerator. Let sit a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 F.
  • Lay parchment paper or a silpat mat on a cookie sheet. Flour a surface that is suitable for rolling out the ball of cream cheese pastry.
  • Use a mini food processor to chop the walnuts up into a medium coarse texture. Add the brown sugar, butter, granulated sugar, cinnamon and pulse until blended.
    ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup white granulated sugar, 1 cup Walnuts, 1 tablespoon Cinnamon, 2 tablespoon melted butter
  • Roll out the ball of pastry dough to about 8" in diameter and about ⅛" thick. Use a pizza cutter and make 8 wedges.
  • Spread the cinnamon walnut mixture over the cut wedges and then start rolling them up. Start at the wide end and roll up to the point.
  • Place on the cookie sheet about 1" apart and bake for 23 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown. You can just with powdered sugar or serve as is.

Notes

  • Refrigerate the dough balls for about 45 minutes before rolling out so that the dough is not so soft and fragile to roll up the cinnamon sugar sprinkled triangles into horns,
  • Remove frozen dough from the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator. This will reduce any condensation and subsequent stickiness with the dough.
  • When baking, stack two cookie sheets so they create an air pocket between them, then add the cookies on the parchment lined top cookie sheet. The double stacked cookie sheets prevent the bottom of the cookies from over browning.

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 304IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg