These chocolate hazelnut rugelach are made with a cream cheese based dough and filled with cinnamon, chocolate, and hazelnuts.
During my high school years (circa late 90s- early 2000s), I relied heavily on All Recipes as my go-to source for baking adventures.
This was before I started my crazy cookbook collection, before there were thousands of food blogs to learn from, and when Food Network still played reruns of Emeril Live and dubbed Japanese Iron Chef.
I would scour All Recipes for new cookies I’ve never tasted or tried. That’s how I was first introduced to rugelach.
Chocolate Hazelnut Rugelach
The first time I made rugelach, I remember my friends went into a frenzy.
None of them had ever tried this cookie pastry before. We devoured the four dozen batch I made in one night. Oh, the voracious appetite of high schoolers.
Delicious qualities of rugelach:
What’s not to love about this sweet crescent shaped treat? It’s flaky like a palmier (also known as elephant ears), it looks like a cute tiny croissant, and the subtle cream cheese flavor is so addicting.
Many years later, I still run into old friends that ask when I’ll make another batch of rugelach to share.
My answer is always the same: move and be my neighbor! You’ll be gifted with endless treats every week.
How to assemble rugelach:
I find the easiest way to make rugelach is by rolling the dough into a circle and then slicing it like a pizza to get little wedges.
Rugelach can be filled with a variety of ingredients: raisins, walnuts, jams and jellies. (Here’s a raspberry rugelach perfect for holiday gatherings!)
Since I’ve been on a Nutella kick lately, I made this chocolate hazelnut version.
Because I’m big on crunch, I sprinkled the outside of the rugelach with turbinado sugar.
With the melted chocolate chips, toasted halzenuts, and flaky dough, this chocolate hazelnut rugelach is one cookie I can’t ever tire of!
Chocolate Hazelnut Rugleach
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
Filling:
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ¼ cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, chopped
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
Topping:
- 3 Tablespoon turbinado sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg white
- 2 teaspoon water
Instructions
Dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add salt and flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are fully incorporated. Scrape down bowl as needed during mixing.
- Transfer dough to a clean working surface. Divide into 4 equal parts. Pat into a flat disk about 1/2 inch in thickness. Wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge and allow to chill for at least 1 hour until firm (or overnight).
Filling:
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- Place cooled, melted butter in a separate small bowl. Keep chopped hazelnut and mini chocolate chips in separate bowls as well.
Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Work with one chilled dough disk at a time. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to circle with a thickness of about ¼ inch. Brush melted butter over the entire piece of dough. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the sugar mixture over dough. Sprinkle 1/4 of chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Press hazelnuts and chocolate chips into the dough.
- Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into wedges (triangles). Beginning with the wide outside edge, roll dough. lace cookies with the small tucked end underneath. Space cookies about 1 ½-inches apart.
- Repeat with remaining 3 disks of dough.
- Topping: Whisk together egg white and water. Lightly brush rolled cookies tops with egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon-turbinado mixture.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature
I’ve never had this before nor heard of it. It seems like I am completely missing out on a tasty treat. Must make this soon!
It’s really fun to make! You can make them big or bite sized :)
These flavors sound delicious. Love the “pizza” photo. It makes so much sense to do it that way. Love it!
Thanks! The “pizza” method saves a lot of time :)
Se ve delicioso, otra preparacion de las q nos tiene acostumbrados The Little Epicurean, deliciosas, como siempre, se las estoy preparando para el fin de semana para la familia. la receta es excelente!!!!!
Thanks Carmen!