Almond Rugelach (with almond paste or marzipan)

These almond rugelach were one of the very first recipes I made for this blog back in 2014. I had about 3 styled but blurry pictures of them. So I remade them recently to get process shots and prettier photos! You can use almond paste or marzipan as the filling.

They are such fun little treats, especially when you can customize them with so many different rugelach filling. If you want something simple, try these cinnamon rugelach. Want a more traditional jam and nut filling? Try these fig and walnut rugelach. And if you’re looking for something totally unconventional, I’ve got these tropical rugelach with guava, coconut and macadamias.

Helpful tools

Here are some of the equipment I like to use when making this recipe for cinnamon rugelach:

• A stand mixer to make the dough.
• A bench scraper to divide the dough into portions quickly. It also helps with scraping and lifting the dough off your surface easily if it happens to stick.
• A rolling pin to roll out the dough and the almond filling.
• And a pizza wheel to simplify cutting, though you can also use a knife.

Ingredients and substitutions

As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:

1. Cream cheese – full fat brick cream cheese.
2. Unsalted butter – I don’t recommend substituting salted butter here since it will make the dough saltier than intended.
3. Granulated sugar – for the dough and to sprinkle on top of the rugelach just before baking.
4. Kosher salt – just a small amount is used in the pastry dough as well as the almond paste filling. If you use table salt, use half as much.
5. Pure almond extract – to enhance the almond flavor. You’ll want to use it in both the dough and the filling but you can also use vanilla extract for the dough if you want.
6. All purpose flour – the original recipe uses half AP flour and half white whole wheat flour. But you can use all AP flour in the dough.
7. Almond meal or almond flour – for the almond paste filling.
8. Powdered sugar – you’ll need this for the almond paste filling and to dust the baked cookies before serving.
9. Eggs – you’ll need 2 eggs. Use the egg whites for the almond paste filling and the egg yolks for the egg wash.
10. Milk – just a tablespoon is needed for the egg wash. Or you can also use water if you don’t have milk.
11. Sliced almonds – to top the cookies before baking. This is optional.

How to make almond rugelach

The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Make the dough

Note: You don’t need to knead the dough excessively. Just run your mixer until the dough comes together, that’s enough. But if you accidentally over-knead the dough, it is also okay, this dough is quite forgiving and will stay tender when baked.

Prepare the filling

Tip: You can use a food processor to make the almond paste, it will take just a min to whip it up.

Assemble and bake

More baker’s tips

• Use store bough almond paste or marzipan – I’ve baked with Odense almond paste plenty before I started making almond paste at home to save money! Both the almond paste and marzipan are always available at grocery store year round. You can use either one. Marzipan will be sweeter as it contains more sugar.
• Stretch your store bought filling – You’ll need 2 packages of store bought almond paste or marzipan for this recipe so it can be pretty expensive. If you want to stretch your filling, you can use 1 package divided into 4, but the filling layer will be thinner and less flavorful. Homemade filling is a lot more economical.
• Let the dough come to room temp before rolling – if your dough has been in the fridge overnight or it was frozen, just make sure to let it soften, it will be easier to roll and the dough won’t crack. When the dough is too cold, it tends to crack in the middle when you roll it out.
• About the egg wash – typically, egg wash is made with 1 whole egg and some cream or milk. For this recipe, since you’re already using 2 egg whites for the almond paste, just use the 2 leftover egg yolks for the egg wash so they don’t go to waste.
• Almond paste storage and yield – the homemade almond paste can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. This recipe yields about 14 oz of almond paste filling.

Storage

These marzipan rugelach will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-5 days. You can also keep them refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before serving.

The almond rugelach dough, unbaked, can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

You can also freeze the unbaked assembled cookies for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen and increase baking time by a few minutes or more to get the cookies to brown to your liking.

FAQs

This post may contain affiliate links. For more details on how we utilize affiliates, ads, and sponsored content, see our full disclosure policy. Thank you for your continued support, which enables us to keep bringing you delicious recipes, at no extra cost to you.