Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach

Like Chocolate Babka – but a cookie! These rich Israeli-style Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach are more of a pastry, and remind me of growing up in Israel

What is Rugelach?

Rugelach are very popular cookies in Israel, as well as the Jewish community all around the world. They are two types of dough that are most commonly used. One is enriched with cream cheese that you often find in the US. The other is a buttery yeasted version that you can find in virutally any bakery, cafe, shuk, or supermarket in Israel. It’s interesting that they’re even called by the same name, because in my opinion, they’re very different cookies!

What does “Rugelach” mean?

The word “Rugelach” in Yiddish means “little twists.” The cookies originated in Ashkenazi Polish Jewish communities, but are popular with people of all backgrounds and cultures nowadays. They can be filled with several different fillings like cinnamon and sugar, chocolate, Nutella, jams, or nut butters! Usually they are rolled up into crescent shapes, and resemble small croissants, but you can often see them made in rolled slices.

What does Israeli-Style Yeasted Rugelach Taste like?

In the past couple of years, Chocolate Babka has gained tons of popularity on social media. The best way I can describe Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach is like a miniature babka cookie! Thin layers of enriched pastry, rolled up with a dark chocolate filling, baked till golden brown, and brushed in a light sugar syrup. It almost sounds like too much, but trust me, it’s just right.

Substitutions

You can get really creative with the filling here! Another popular variation is a cinnamon and sugar filling. But you could go with speculoos cookie butter, thick jams, or sweetened tahini for a halva version.

As far as the dough, I don’t recommend making any substitutions here. Like all yeasted doughs, this Rugelach dough has been carefully formulated, and making any substitutions will greatly affect the finished product.

ingredients

after mixing, before 1st rise

proofed dough

Ingredients

Flour – I recommend using unbleached all purpose flour for these Rugelach. If you have bread flour, you can absolutely substitute that!

Eggs – For the most consistent results, use AA large organic eggs here. Organic eggs are usually richer, as you can see by the color of their vibrant yellow yolks.

Butter – unsalted butter is the way to go here! The recipe calls for kosher salt, and I like to control the amount of salt that goes into my rugelach.

Oil – I always like to use avocado oil, but you go with any neutral oil that you have on hand. Possible substitutes are canola or grapeseed oil. Just stay away from a fruity extra virgin olive oil, the flavors will be too strong.

Raw Honey – The enriched dough calls for raw honey as a sweetener. It adds moisture, tons of flavor to the dough, and helps achieve that golden brown caramelization. If you can’t find raw honey, use any good quality honey that you can find.

Brown sugar – Brown sugar is basically granulated sugar with molasses added to it. I use dark brown sugar in this recipe because the caramel molasses notes go really well with the dark chocolate filling. Don’t use turbinado sugar or sugar in the raw, the result will be too crunchy.

Cocoa powder – I use unsweetened cocoa powder for super rich and dark chocolate-y filling. Some of my favorite brands are Valrhona, Ghiradelli, King Arthur, and Scharffen Berger.

Kosher salt – I always use Morton’s kosher salt. If you’re using diamond crystal, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon (1g).

Sesame seeds – adding sesame seeds to the top is totally optional, and you can often seen that done traditionally in Israel. If you don’t love sesame seeds, feel free to leave them off.

Baking Timeline

10am: Mix all of the dough ingredients till combined. Knead for 3-5 minutes. Let rise for 1.5 – 2 hours at room temperature.

Make the filling, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

12pm: Roll out the dough, fill, and shape the rugelach. Let rise at room temperature on a parchment lined baking sheet for 1 – 1.5 hours. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

1pm: Brush with beaten egg, and bake for about 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Meanwhile make the simple syrup.

1:30: Brush the hot Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach with warm simple syrup. Don’t skip this step, it’s super important for the softness of the pastry.

How to shape Chocolate Rugelach

This dough is really nice to work with! It’s soft, slightly tacky, but not too sticky. It’s really important to lightly dust your work surface with flour as you go. There’s no exact formula for this, but part of making great rugelach is being able to know when to add a bit of flour to the board so that your dough doesn’t stick.

Another crucial part of making great rugelach is to roll the dough as thin as possible! Thinner than an 1/8 of an inch. This is definitely a more advanced technique, but it’s crucial to getting the soft interior of the cookie, so that it’s not too bread-y. Does that make sense?

Divide the dough into three pieces. It’s much easier to work with smaller pieces of dough here. You’re going to roll out each piece into a large, rectangle, then spread 1/3 of your chocolate filling evenly over the dough. Leave about 1/2″ border around the edge. Then, take the long edge facing you, and fold it up to meet the other long edge. You’re folding the dough in half, enclosing the chocolate filling inside. It’s ok if the edges don’t match up perfect. Try to stretch the dough so that they are as close as possible to meeting. Use your fingertips to press down on the edges, to kind of seal the edges and prevent the filling from escaping.

Then, flour the top of the dough lightly, and roll the rectangle out again, so that the dough is about 1/4″ thick. Use a pizza cutter or pastry wheel to cut triangles. Pick up one triangle, and use your fingers to gently stretch the triangle out even more. Lay the dough back on the board, and starting at the flat top of the triangle, roll up the dough into a tight crescent shape. Lay the shaped rugelach on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Continue until all the dough is shaped into rugelach.

I like to place the rugelach close together on the baking sheet, so they’re kind of “hugging.” This keeps the edges soft.

How to Store Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach

These Rugelach are the absolute best when eaten fresh and warm from the oven. However, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. They can also be frozen in an airtight bag for up to 1 months. Allow to come to room temperature, and warm them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 5 minutes for a freshly-baked taste!

For a FULL VIDEO tutorial, check out my Instagram @lions.bread

Love these Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach? Be sure to check out Homemade Alfajores, Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tahini Shortbread Cookies

I’m so happy to finally be able to share this recipe with you, and I can’t wait for you all to start making them too! I’m telling you right now, your house is going to smell better than it ever has! Be sure to tag me in your pics so I can see what you’re baking from my site 🙂

Want to save this recipe for later? Just tap the “P” on any of the images to save it to your favorite Pinterest Boards.

love + flour, LeAnne

5 from 2 votes

Print

Yeasted Chocolate Rugelach

Thin layers of enriched pastry, rolled up with a dark chocolate filling, baked till golden brown, and brushed in a light sugar syrup. It almost sounds like too much, but trust me, it's just right.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Israeli

Keyword chocolate, Cookies, rugelach, yeasted rugelach

Prep Time 3 hours

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 40 cookies

Author LeAnne Shor

Ingredients

Dough

• 4½ cups unbleached all purpose flour 540 g
• 1 tablespoon dry active yeast 10g
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 5g
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 12g
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 114g
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or any neutral oil 25g
• 1 cup milk 250g
• ¼ cup raw honey 60g

Chocolate Filling

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 50g
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 145g
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed 100g
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt 3g
• ½ cup Nutella spread 145g

Simple Syrup

• ¾ cup water 180g
• ¾ cup granulated sugar 160g
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Instructions

Make the dough:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl, then add the melted butter, eggs, avocado oil, milk, and raw honey. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. When the mixture becomes thick and sticky, start mixing by hand. Pinch to incorporate the ingredients. Begin kneading the dough in the bowl, by hand, until it becomes fairly smooth, and forms a ball. This should take about 3 minutes of kneading. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 1.5 hours or until it has doubled in volume.

Make the Filling:

1. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium size bowl, add the softened butter, cocoa powder, brown sugar, salt Nutella. Use a spoon to combine until the mixture is totally smooth, with no lumps remaining. Set aside.

Shape the Rugelach:

1. Divide the risen dough into three equal pieces. Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour. Roll one piece of dough out into a large rectangle, about 15" x 12". The dough should be very thin. Add more flour under the dough as you roll, to prevent sticking.

2. Spread ⅓ of the chocolate filling onto the rectangle of dough in a thin layer, using a small offset spatula. Leave 1/2" border all around. With the long edge facing you, fold the dough up in half lengthwise, enclosing the chocolate filling. Gently tug the edges and corners to meet, and use fingertips to press down the edges to seal. This helps prevent the chocolate filling from escaping.

3. Use a pizza wheel or sharp chef's knife to cut the dough into large triangles. Pick up one triangle, and gently stretch the triangle out even more lengthwise. Place the dough back down on the work surface, and roll the dough - starting from the straight edge top of the triangle, rolling down into a crescent shape.

4. Place the shaped rugelach on a rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Place the rugelach close together, it's ok if they are touching. Repeat the same process with the remaining triangles of dough. Then, repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let proof at room temperature for 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Make the Simple Syrup:

1. In a small sauce pan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and let simmer for 3 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly, and all of the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

Bake the Rugelach:

1. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl, and brush the top of each rugelach with beaten egg. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan 180° halfway through to ensure even browning. The rugelach should be deeply golden brown, almost mahogany on top.

   Remove from the oven, and use a pastry brush to brush the warm rugelach immediately with the simple syrup. Be generous with the simple syrup, and use all of it. The simple syrup absorbs completely, and is really important in keeping the rugelach soft and moist.

Storing Your Rugelach:

1. After the cookies have cooled completely, they should be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, at room temperature. That being said, they are the absolute tastiest when they are fresh from the oven. Enjoy!

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