Most people make these cookies with brown sugar and nuts. I wanted fruit and nuts instead, so I tried a different combination. I found that I did not care for added sugar in this cookie, so I left it out of the marmalade, the cookie dough, and the cranberry walnut mixture. I still needed a touch of sweetness, so I used powdered sugar that I could control myself. Since orange marmalade is made from bitter oranges, the powdered sugar helped soften the sharp citrus flavor and made the orange taste a little sweeter.
Cranberries are often call a superfood, because they are a highly nutritious berry. The cranberry and orange make a perfect tart duo along with the crunch of the walnuts. The sticky marmalade helps hold the cranberry-walnut mixture in place as you roll the triangles up to the crescent shape.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- All purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Unsalted butter
- Cream Cheese
- Egg yolk
- Vanilla Extract
Filling
- Orange marmalade
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped walnuts
- (Optional Orange peel)
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling
Step-by-Step Instructions
If only I could make my cookie dough in a food processor all the time, I would be happy!
Make the Cream Cheese Dough
I love working with cream cheese dough. It rolls out easily when you need it to be thin and does not break apart.
Measure or weigh the flour and add it to the food processor. Now, add the salt, cubed butter, and cut blocks of cream cheese. Put the lid on.
Pulse until your mixture looks like small crumbs. In my food processor it took ten pulses.
Add the egg yolk and the vanilla extract to a small bowl and mix with a fork. Add it to the food processor.
Pulse until the dough comes together. Pull out your pastry mat and dust it with powdered sugar. This helps sweeten the crust a little.
If the dough is a little sticky, add a bit more powdered sugar and shape it into a six-inch round that is about one and one half inches high.
Cut the disk into four quarters. Shape each quarter into a five-inch round that is about one quarter inch high. Wrap each one in plastic wrap.
Chill for at least 2 hours.
I saved two of my disks for another time, so after the two hour chill I added them to a freezer bag and placed them in the freezer.
Prepare the Cranberry Orange Walnut Filling
This cranberry mixture is for all four rugelach disks. If you are only using two of the disks, you will have cranberry mixture left over.
Add the dried cranberries and walnuts to a food processor and pulse two or three times.
I then add the orange peel and pulse another two times. You want the mixture to look like tiny pebbles.
Roll Fill and Bake the Rugelach
Empty the orange marmalade into a microwave safe dish and heat for thirty seconds. Using a spoon, stir until it is smooth.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper. I dust my pastry mat with powdered sugar and have the ⅛" bands on the ends of my rolling pin (red band in the picture).
I dust the pastry mat with powdered sugar, then roll out the dough to a pie shape about an eleven to twelve inches round.
Spread a thin layer of orange marmalade, leaving about an inch from the edge without any marmalade.
Next, add a layer of the cranberry mixture. I press down lightly so the cranberry mixture sticks to the marmalade, then dust the top of the cranberries with powdered sugar.
Slice like a pizza. You can either do it freehand or use something straight like a ruler as a guide.
Start rolling from the outer edge and work towards the center. I sometimes use a butter knife or a pie server to lift the rolled rugelach up and onto the prepared sheet pan.
Filling and Baking Tip!
- Try not to overfill! OMG, I wish I could take my own advice but I am notorious for stuffing as much filling into my rugelach's as I can. When only using two of the disks I do over stuff. I love when they overspill and you get all the gooey marmalade and cranberries mixed together. They firm up as they cool.
- As hard as I try I can never get a completely even pie shape triangle for rolling. My advise is remember these are homemade and usually for your family, don't sweat the small stuff or chase perfect cookies. Taste conquers all.
- Take them off the cookie sheet right out of the oven and move to sheets of parchment paper preferable over a wire cooling rack. It does not take long for them to stick to the parchment paper on the baking pan.
I had ten rolled up rugelach cookies from one disk. I added them to the parchment lined cookie sheet pan and stick the whole pan into the fridge just to firm up the dough before I bake them.
Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 20-25 minutes. Just keep an eye on them after 20 minutes. You want them to be browned and slightly bubbly looking.
Cooling Tip!
Add parchment paper to the top of your wire cooling rack or just lay a couple of pieces right onto your counter. If you put the rugelach straight onto the wire rack the marmalade will stick to the wire and pull apart when you try to take them off of the rack after they have cooled.
Move them to the parchment paper right as soon as they come out of the oven. You want to move them while the sticky marmalade is still warm and gooey. Let them cool completely before storing them in a container.
Enjoy!
FAQs
Whether you are going for sweet, tart or something in between you can add almost anything for the filling. I like apricot with almonds, so this might give you some ideas. Swap out the nuts or the jam and make it your own.
Yes, these freeze well. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap, chill them first, then add them to a freezer bag and freeze.
I did not but you can if you like. It will give the walnuts a deeper flavor.
Love Cranberry Cookies - Try One of These
Recipe
Cranberry Orange and Walnut Rugelach
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted cold
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) Cream Cheese cold
- 1 (1) Egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
FILLING
- 13 ounces (1 jar) Orange marmalade
- 2 cups (242.42 g) Dried cranberries
- ½ cup (58.5 g) Chopped walnuts
- 1 cup (120 g) Powdered sugar for sprinkling and dusting
- ¼ cup Orange peel (optional)
Instructions
COOKIE DOUGH
- Weigh or measure the flour and salt and add them to a food processor. Pulse once or twice. Cut up the butter and cream cheese and add them to the flour mixture. Pulse until it looks like small pebbles. Mix the egg yolk and vanilla with a fork before adding it to the mixture. Pulse until the dough starts to come together in a large ball.
- Cut the flattened disk into quarters and mold each piece into a flat disk about five inches round and quarter inch thick. Wrap them in plastic wrap and chill for two hours or for up to three days. Keeping them round makes them easier to roll out.
FILLING
- Take the wrapped disks out of the refrigerator and let them warm up. In a food processor, add the dried cranberries and walnuts and pulse 2 or 3 times until they are in small pieces. If you are adding orange peel, add it now and pulse 1 or 2 more times, then transfer the mixture to a bowl. Put the orange marmalade into a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 30 seconds, then stir until smooth. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) while you finish making the cookies. Since I did not add sugar to the cranberry mixture, I used powdered sugar instead of flour to coat my work surface for rolling out the dough. Use as much powdered sugar as needed to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Roll out the cookie dough until you have a circle about 12" across, then use a pastry brush to spread a layer of orange marmalade. I leave about half an inch around the outside rim without any marmalade. Sprinkle the cranberry walnut mixture on top of the marmalade. The more you add, the harder it will be to roll the triangle shapes into crescents. I press down lightly on the cranberry mixture so it sticks to the marmalade, then sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.
- Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter (which I find easier), cut the dough like a pizza. Start at the outside edge of one of the triangles and roll toward the middle. Pick it up and place the cookie on the parchment lined cookie sheet. You can easily fit 10 on a pan. Put the whole pan into the refrigerator so the cookie dough firms up before baking for 21 to 24 minutes at 350°F (175°C or 180°C). I added parchment paper to my cooling rack so the bottoms of the cookies do not stick to the wire rack. Move them to the prepared cooling rack as soon as you pull the pan from the oven.
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Notes
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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