Dark Chocolate Rugelach (Eggless)

The first time I made rugelach cookies, I fell so deeply in love that I’m shocked it’s been soooo long since I made them again! These little rolled up treats are made with a buttery, cream cheese enriched dough that’s like a pie crust in theory but a lot more decadent. Sweet and salty, they’re phenomenal filled with absolutely anything but I went with a layer of melted chocolate. And unsurprisingly, these taste like chocolate croissants. Do I need to mention that these are ADDICTIVE?

Rugelach is a Jewish pastry, made with a cold butter and cream cheese dough so they bakes up super duper flaky. I won’t deny that this is a sticky dough to work with, but a little fridge and freezer time makes life much easier. And it’s worth all of it because omg warm from the oven these are heaven. Crispy tops and bottoms, buttery inside with melty chocolate. Yum. Look at all those magical layers!

Rugelach cookies are often dusted with icing sugar, but I didn’t feel the need here. Having said that, these are not very sweet to begin with, so you can either use more sugar in the dough or sprinkle some on top. I personally loved the salty kick of these cookies with the chocolate!

Rugelach cookies can also be rolled in a few different ways and they’re often shaped like croissants. But because I didn’t want chocolate oozing everywhere, I cut the dough into strips, spread each one with chocolate and rolled them into a cylinder shape. I also tried one batch where I spread the chocolate first and then rolled and sliced the dough altogether but I found this a little messier. The first method results in smaller, neater cookies, win win!

Rugelach cookies tend to soften a bit by the next day even in an airtight container. It’s so rainy and humid right now that this isn’t surprising so it’s probably best to store them in the fridge. They’ll taste great either way I promise. Make some right now!

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Dark Chocolate Rugelach (Eggless)

Buttery, flaky sweet salty cookies filled with melted dark chocolate

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

Makes: 16 to 18 rugelach

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Ingredients

  

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (115 gms)
• 1/3 cup cold cream cheese, cut into small pieces (85 gms)
• 2 tbsps cold sour cream (or 1 tbsp thick yoghurt)
• 100 gms dark cooking chocolate, finely chopped (I use 70%)

Instructions

• In a food processor, combine the flour and salt and blitz for a few seconds. Add the butter, cream cheese and sour cream and blitz till the mixture begins to clump together, this will take just a few seconds. Stop when this happens, do not work the dough further into a ball because it will become too sticky to handle.
• Turn the dough out onto a large piece of clingfilm, bring together and pat into a disc. It's ok if there are larger lumps of butter, in fact, that's exactly what we want! Wrap tightly and chill for at least 2 hours.
• When ready to make the rugelach, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• Now on a lightly floured silicone baking mat, roll the chilled dough out into a roughly 9x12 square, making sure it's even. Don't worry too much about the precise measurement as long as it's not too thick to roll up. I find it easier to place a piece of clingfilm over the dough and then roll over it so that you're not dealing with butter sticking to the rolling pin.
• Trim the edges of the dough (save the scraps) to make a neat rectangle, then slice it in half horizontally, then vertically into strips that are about an inch wide. Careful not to cut the mat! Don't separate the strips just yet. Slide the mat onto a baking tray and stick it in the freezer for 5 minutes.
• When the dough is firm but not hard, gently separate each strip and spread 2 teaspoons of the melted chocolate on each in a thin layer. Don't overdo the filling because it'll ooze out while baking. Roll the strip up tightly and place on the tray with the seam facing downwards. Repeat with all the strips. If at any point the dough becomes too soft to work with, place the tray back in the freezer.
• Re-roll the leftover scraps of dough and repeat the process. You should have 16 to 18 rolled up cookies.
• Now preheat the oven to 180 C. Keep the cookies in the fridge as the oven preheats, because they should be cold before baking.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden-brown and flaky on the top. Some butter will ooze as the rugelach bakes, it will help make the bottoms crispy and get absorbed as they cool.
• Let the rugelach cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, although I would recommend keeping them in the fridge so that they retain their crispiness and they'll last about 2 weeks this way. Happy baking!

Notes

*Rugelach dough is sometimes made sweet and sometimes more salty. You can add more sugar for sweeter cookies if you like. Or dust the baked rugelach with icing sugar. Alternately, use milk chocolate or Nutella as a filling for sweeter cookies.

*I don't recommend salted butter here as the dough will become too salty and you'll have to compensate with more sugar.

*Silicone baking mats are very very very highly recommended for this recipe!

*If you don't have a food processor, use your hands to make the dough by rubbing the butter and cream cheese into the flour. Don't use a blender or mixer as the dough will become a huge sticky mess.

*Dough recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.

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