.. .Easy-to-make vegan rugelach 3 ways with raspberry jam, fig jam, and homemade Mohn (poppyseed filling).
This recipe is dedicated to my Papa, a rugelach addict, who had the biggest sweet tooth i’ve ever known. This truly is the recipe I have been most excited to share! Rugelach holds a special place in my heart. After trying to find a store or bakery that could hold up to what I knew to be the best rugelach cookie I have ever had, I knew I had to stop searching and just make my own.
To me, this is the best rugelach recipe you will find on the internet. If you eat dairy, feel free to substitute with regular cream cheese and butter 1-1 ration. But this best vegan rugelach will not disappoint.
When I first told my mom I wanted to perfect vegan rugelach she laughed and said it needs butter and cream cheese, are ya crazy?! Now, she craves them and she truly is a rugelach connoisseur Perfectly flaky, buttery, and filled with all of the best things! Let me walk you through the process.
WHAT ARE RUGELACH COOKIES?
Well, first, let’s talk about what rugelach actually is. Rugelach cookies are a Jewish, light and crisp pastry filled with jams, cinnamon and sugar, nuts, and chocolate rolled into a crescent shape. The word Rugelach means Little Twists in Yiddish. If you follow a strict Kosher diet, meat and dairy cannot be eaten together. Therefore this vegan rugelach recipe really is the cure all for that!
Irresistible, if I really had to put it into one simple word And they are my love language. Here’s how you make them.
HOW TO MAKE RUGELACH
I used to be so intimated by the thought of making my own pastry dough, but truthfully this rugelach dough is both easy and forgiving. Begin by combining flour and salt in a small bowl. In a separate large bowl beat cream cheese & butter together with a handheld mixer and with a wooden spoon fold your flour into butter mixture until you get soft dough.
Lay a large piece of plastic wrap out onto your work surface and turn the dough out. Form it into a ball and wrap tightly, then flatten dough and form it into an 8x4 rectangle and place in fridge to chill for 8-24 hours.
Make your poppyseed (Mohn) filling by add all ingredients into a blender until combined & set aside until dough is ready. Be sure your poppy seeds are ground up beforehand!
Remove vegan rugelach dough from the fridge and cut it into 3 equal pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece out into a 12x8 rectangle and transfer to parchment paper. If your dough gets small holes, just patch it back together. it puffs up really nice in the oven that it will form back together regardless. With the long side facing you, fill 1 rectangle with Mohn, one with the raspberry jam, and one with the fig jam. Spreading the fillings evenly over the dough.
For each piece of dough, roll into a tight log (like cinnamon rolls) seam side down and pinch ends closed. Brush with non-dairy milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar and cut into 1” rolls and bake them off!
Wasn't that easy?!
CAN YOU FREEZE RUGELACH DOUGH?
My favorite part about this rugelach dough, is that it can be made well in advance!
The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and wrapped tightly and placed in fridge. If you want to always have some rugelach dough hanging around your house here's what you should do. Wrap the dough tightly and place in freezer bags for up to 3 months in advance. Easy! Be sure to thaw overnight in the fridge before using and continue following instructions from step #6.
Even better, baked rugelach cookies freeze super well for up to 3 months, just place in freezer bags. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temp before serving and sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar!
YOU CAN ALSO MAKE:
- Dairy Free Matcha Babka
- Herby Gruyere Creamed Spinach Challah Bread Pudding
- Dairy Free Chocolate Pumpkin Pecan Pie Cinnamon Rolls
- Creamiest Two-Bean Hummus
If you make these Vegan Rugelach Cookies please let me know by leaving a rating/review below! And make sure to sign up for emails so you never miss a new recipe and follow along on my Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more About to Sprout goodness!
Vegan Rugelach 3 Ways
Ingredients
Rugelach Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt ⠀
- 8 oz. vegan cream cheese room temp
- 8 oz. vegan butter softened
- ½ cup raspberry jam for filling ⠀
- ½ cup fig jam for filling
- non dairy milk for brushing ⠀⠀
- turbinado sugar for sprinkling ⠀
Mohn (Poppyseed Filling)
- 6 tbsp. ground up poppy seeds
- 3 ½ tbsp. raisins ⠀⠀
- 4 tbsp. maple syrup ⠀⠀
- 2 tbsp. vegan butter ⠀⠀
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract ⠀⠀
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
Instructions
- Combine flour & salt in a small bowl
- In a large bowl beat cream cheese & butter together and with a wooden spoon, fold flour mixture into butter mix until you get soft dough
- Lay a large piece of plastic wrap out onto your work surface and turn the dough out
- Form into a ball and wrap tightly, then flatten wrapped dough and form it into an 8x4 rectangle and place in fridge to chill for 8-24 hours
- Make your poppyseed (Mohn) filling by add all ingredients into a blender until combined & set aside until dough is ready
- Remove rugelach dough from the fridge and preheat oven to 350F
- Cut dough into 3 equal pieces and on a floured surface, roll each piece out into a 12x8 rectangle and transfer to parchment paper. (Be sure to keep the other pieces of dough in the fridge until ready to roll them out)
- With the long side facing you, fill 1 rectangle with the Mohn, one with the raspberry jam, and one with the fig jam, spreading evenly over the dough
- For each piece of dough, roll into a tight log, seam side down and pinch ends closed
- Brush with non-dairy milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar and cut into 1” rolls
- Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown
Notes
Such a delicious recipe ! I’ve always loved these sweets and now I can make them and still be vegan and delish ! The dough is soft and crispy at the same time . The instructions are so easy and I can’t wait to make more !
Thank you so much for the kind comment Chelsea! It was my favorite dessert growing up and I am so glad you loved the vegan version!
Easiest and tastiest vegan rugelach I've ever made! I have tried a few different recipes to make them vegan and these were the best I have found! Perfectly soft and flaky and I loved the different fillings!
Have a question about the vegan cream cheese:
Is there a difference between the cream cheese made with tofu and cream cheese made with cashews?
Do they both work ok in baking?
I have the tofu kind.
Thanks,
Denny
They both should work just fine! Let me know how they turn out!
These were delicious! My whole family loved them. Am making them again today as the first batch went so quickly. Also, there are a few steps but none too difficult. FYI I used Mykonos butter- much closer to real butter taste, in my opinion. Thank you for sharing this delectable recipe!
Hi Jenny! Thank you so much for such a kind review! Totally agree Miyokos butter is the best you can use in taste and texture for the rugelach!
Do you bake these with the spiral up or seam side down?
Ignore my last question. I see that you say seam side down. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂