My Raspberry White Chocolate Rugelach Bites are loaded with raspberries, white chocolate, coconut, and pecans. Rugelach is a buttery, flaky pastry made with a cream cheese dough and filled with sweet fillings. I’ve changed up the traditional crescent shape to a fun cup shape so you can load it up with extra fillings.
Driscoll’s Berries sent me Dorie Greenspan’s fabulous new cookbook, Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere, and challenged me to add a raspberry spin to Dorie’s rugelach recipe.
What nationality is rugelach?
Rugelach is a Jewish pastry often associated with Hanukkah. My non-Jewish family enjoys it any time of year, but especially at Christmas time.
What does rugelach taste like?
Rugelach is a crisp, flaky pastry filled with sweet and crunchy fillings. It’s small and easy to eat similar to a cookie.
Traditionally, rugelach dough is rolled into a circle; sprinkled with sugar, spices, and nuts; cut into triangles and rolled up like crescent rolls.
I decided it would be fun to create a cup instead, so you can load up the cups with even more luscious fillings. (For a traditionally shaped rugelach see my Orange Cranberry Rugelach.)
Making Rugelach Dough
Rugleach dough is made with butter and cream cheese. Cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour to create a flaky crust.
How To Cut In Butter
Cutting butter into flour is easy, just use a pastry blender or two forks if you don’t have a pastry blender. You’re just breaking the butter into small pea pieces and combining it with the flour.
High heat explodes the pea-sized pieces of butter. The explosions create steam which gives your pastry flaky layers. If your oven isn’t hot enough or your butter isn’t cut into the pastry, the fat just softens and melts—no explosion, no steam, no flaky crust.
If you prefer, you can also grate the butter instead of using a pastry blender.
Shaping Rugelach Dough
To make the cups, roll the chilled dough into a rectangle, then cut the rectangle into squares. You’ll need to roll each square just a little bit bigger, then fit each square into a mini muffin cup by pleating the sides. You could roll the rectangle bigger, but the dough is easier to handle if the dough isn’t rolled out as thinly.
After you’ve created the cups, loaded them up with white chocolate chips, coconut, raspberries, and chopped pecans in that order. The fresh, juicy raspberries are wonderful paired with the buttery, flaky crust, sweet coconut, creamy white chocolate, and crunchy pecans.
Can you freeze rugelach?
Yes, you can freeze rugelach. Freeze baked rugelach in Ziploc freezer bags for up to 2 months.
Raspberry White Chocolate Rugelach Bites are a perfect addition to any holiday party. Whenever I take them to parties, they’re a big hit. I hope you’ll give this easy-to-make version a try.
Raspberry White Chocolate Rugelach Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cold cream cheese
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick cold unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 package 6 ounce Driscoll’s Raspberries
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup pecans toasted and chopped
- powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Let the cream cheese and butter rest on the counter for 10 minutes — you want them to be slightly softened but still cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt, cut butter and cream cheese into flour with a pastry blender or two knives until crumbly.
- Shape into a square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 day.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 24 cup miniature muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, flour the top of the dough and roll it into a 12-inch x 8-inch rectangle. Cut in to 24 2-inch squares–6 rows by 4 rows. Roll each piece a little bit bigger, about 2.5 inches. Place each square in a muffin cup. (You will have to pleat it a little bit to get it to fit.)
- Divide the white chocolate chips and coconut between the cups. Add two or three raspberries to each cup and sprinkle with the pecans.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the bites are golden brown. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar right before serving if desired.
Notes
Disclosure: Driscoll’s Berries sent me Dorie’s Greenspan’s cookbook, Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere, and coupons for ingredients, but all opinions expressed are always my own.
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Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
These turned out beautifully, Barbara. But don’t raspberries make EVERYTHING wonderful?! 🙂
Jessica @ Sweet Menu
Cream cheese dough? I am in love!
Betty
With all of those good things inside them, they can’t help but be delicious! Pretty too! 🙂
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
Oh this have to be so melty buttery delicious with the tang of raspberry. Oh be still my heart!!!!
Their shape are perfect too because they look so special.
Kristen
Those rugelach cups are really brilliant. I am sure the filling possibilities are endless. I love how festive the raspberries look in them.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
That last photo just yells “Merry Christmas!” to me. Beautiful!
cristina
Barbara, these rugelach bites are adorable!! Love the presentation and use of the berries. 🙂
Kim - Liv Life
My kids always laugh at the name of these guys, but last year I made a version that they loved. This one looks like a winner too! Raspberries and chocolate get me every time.
Cookin Canuck
What a beautiful treat for a holiday party or gift! That is, if they would make it out of the house before I ate them all.
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
These are GORGEOUS, Barbara!
Christina
I really like this idea, and even more so because they are made with fresh raspberries! Yum, I’d love to get baking these right now!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
The add of raspberries make these rugelach bites really special.
Patricia
Can frozen raspeberries be used in this recipe? I have frozen my home grown berries individually before packaging. Would I need to allow a longer baking time. They look gorgeous and I am anxious to bake some. Blessings!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Patricia! I don’t think frozen berries would work very well in this recipe. I’d be worried about them adding too much moisture to the pastry. However, you could certainly give it a try. Just bake a couple of pastries with the frozen raspberries. You shouldn’t need to thaw the raspberries, nor add any extra time. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
Lisa @ Garnish with Lemon
I love bite sized desserts and the fresh berries in here are the best!
Sweet and Simple by April
This look easy and delicious. Great idea for a party!
Stephanie Hartley
Rugelach sounds incredible – gutted that I haven’t tried it before! This recipe looks delicious for having over the Christmas period 🙂
Rosa
A wonderful idea! Those Rugelach bites must taste heavenly.
Cheers,
Rosa
Maria
Perfect little dessert! I love Dorie, raspberries, and dessert so this is a winner all around!
Jolene M
More filling can never be bad! these look so pretty and festive.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Such delicious looking bites! Love these!