Cranberry Pecan Rugelach

My dear friend, Diahn, shared this recipe with me a few years ago. Her Cranberry Pecan Rugelach are beautiful and they taste as good as they look. Little pastries with nuts, fruit and a sweet glaze. I’ve added these tasty little bites to my annual holiday cookie line-up. Truly Yummy!

Traditional cookies are always so flavorful. Cookies that have been made for generations and perfected in the kitchen. Rugelach are traditional cookies originally made in Jewish communities in Poland. They consist of a nut and fruit filling wrapped inside of a triangular piece of soft, cream cheese dough, making them look like miniature crescent rolls.

Cranberry Pecan Rugelach

Cream Cheese Dough:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups of all purpose flour

Filling:

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup lightly toasted, chopped pecans
• 1 large egg (mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to make egg wash)

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

How to make Cranberry Pecan Rugelach?

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese. Gradually beat in the flour until combined. Divide the dough into three balls and wrap them in plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
• Put the dried cranberries in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. Drain.
• Chop the pecans and place them on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 6-8 minutes. Remove pecans from the oven and let cool. In a small bowl, combine the toasted pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Roll each ball of dough on a floured surface into a 10 inch circle. Paint he circles with melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with the pecan mixture and cranberries. Using a pizza wheel, cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up each wedge working from the outside edge to the center of the circle.

• Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Paint the rugelach with the egg wash and bake for 15-16 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden.

• Remove the rugelach from the oven and cool on a wire rack. mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cookies. I added this glaze to the original recipe to give the cookies a glossy finish and a slightly sweeter taste.

This recipe makes 3 dozen Rugelach. My family loved them and I am so glad to have found a new cookie recipe to make during the holidays! Thanks to Wayne Harley Brachman for the original recipe and my friend, Diahn, for sharing it with me.

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Cranberry Pecan Rugelach

A soft dough is rolled up with cranberries and pecans to make Cranberry Pecan Rugelach, little crescent-shaped cookies with big flavor.

Servings: 36 cookies

Prep Time: 40 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

chilling time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Ingredients 

Cream Cheese Dough

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups all purpose flour

Filling

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted
• 1 large egg , mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to make egg wash

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese. Gradually beat in the flour until combined. Divide the dough into three balls and wrap them in plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
• Put the dried cranberries in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool. Drain.
• Chop the pecans and place them on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 6-8 minutes. Remove pecans from the oven and let cool. In a small bowl, combine the toasted pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Roll each ball of dough on a floured surface into a 10-inch circle. Paint the circles with melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with the pecan mixture and cranberries. Using a pizza wheel, cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up each wedge working from the outside edge to the center of the circle.
  
• Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Paint the rugelach with the egg wash and bake for 15-16 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden.
  
• Remove the rugelach from the oven and cool on a wire rack. mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cookies. I added this glaze to the original recipe to give the cookies a glossy finish and a slightly sweeter taste.
  

Equipment

• 2 cookie baking sheets

Nutrition

Calories: 164kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 32mgPotassium: 41mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 282IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 0.5mg