Rugelach for the Holidays

When I had just turned 16 and had my license and a car to drive, I decided I would find myself a part time job to make a little cash...and be able to pay for my gas so I could actually go places.

I had a friend from school who worked at a local bakery and she said she could get me a job so I jumped at the opportunity!

And for the next 2 years, I worked behind the counter, refilling the cookies and cakes and delivering special orders to many happy faces.


Although I didn't make most of the goodies (I left that up to the bakers), I helped some sweets along the way and got to taste a lot.

My bakery was special in that we offered a few Jewish items, such as challah bread and rugelach.

Our raspberry and apricot rugelach were one of my favorites and something that you can't find many places. The cream cheese dough is flaky, creamy and buttery and the jam is just sweet enough and gets crispy and caramelized on the little crescent ends.

You are going to love these little sweet bites and they're perfect for this Hanukkah season, which ends today.

And they're great with so many different fillings, such as:
-Raspberry or Apricot Jam
-Baklava Filling* (2 tbs. melted butter mixed with a little vanilla extract, 4 tbs. honey, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 1/2 tsp. cinnamon)
-Apple* or Pumpkin Butter
-Nutella

*I chose these two options!

All you have to do is pick your filling and slather it over a mini pizza-sized wheel and slice into tiny slices and roll up into a crescent shape.

Then, they bake to be delicious and the perfect size for a party dessert to share.

I'm just saying, if you decided to bring these rugelach to a cookie swap, everyone would want one and want to be your friend.

*Click on recipe card to enlarge and save.