Christmas decorations are going up all around the farmhouse, and even though we haven’t quite made it to Thanksgiving yet, I can’t help looking forward to baking Christmas cookies and watching our favorite Christmas movies and helping the kiddos make their lists for Santa. I just love this time of year, and I want to enjoy it as long as I can!
Every Christmas I always make sugar cookie cut-outs with this fail-proof recipe, and then I’ll bake a few other types of cookies like my snowball cookies, molasses cookies or frosted sugar cookie bars. This year I wanted to try something a little different, and I settled on a recipe for Honey Nut Rugelach, which are the most tender, flaky little pastries wrapped with a sweet honey walnut filling and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar on top. They are so delicious and make the perfect, little holiday cookies!
I think what I love about them the most is they remind me of an old family recipe with the flavors of honey and walnut, and it’s such a comforting smell when they’re baking up in the oven. This rugelach recipe takes a little more preparation and effort, but I promise you the end result will be very much worth it! Crunchy and sweet… tender and soft… and absolutely delicious!
- Dough:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
Filling:- 2 cups finely chopped walnuts (and/or pecans)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Topping:- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese using a stand or hand mixer. Add the egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and salt and beat until well combined. Add the flour in two batches, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form a ball. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into 1" thick disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the finely chopped walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and honey and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator at a time and allow the dough to set on the counter for 1-2 minutes before rolling. Sprinkle your work surface and the rolling pin with flour and sprinkle a small amount of flour on the surface of the dough as well. Roll the dough into a ⅛" thick circle. Then spread ¼ of the filling on the dough all the way out to the edges. Gently press the filling into the dough, then use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Starting on the wide outer edge, roll up each wedge and transfer onto the prepared baking sheet spaced 2" apart with the tip tucked underneath. Refrigerate the cookies on the baking sheet for 20 minutes while preparing the remaining batches.
- Brush the tops of the unbaked cookies with milk and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake 22 minutes or until lightly golden with bubbling filling. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
I’d love to hear how you like this honey nut rugelach! Here are a few more of my favorite holiday recipes: sugar cookie cut-outs, gingerbread bundt cake, snowball cookies, molasses cookies, cherry chocolate chip cookies, frosted sugar cookie bars
More Holiday Cookie Recipes To Try:
I’ve teamed up with some friends to share even more holiday cookie goodness, and these recipes all look amazing! I can’t wait to try out a few to add to our cookie collection this year, and I hope you enjoy them too!
Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies by Ella Claire | Pecan Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies by A Burst of Beautiful | Cinnamon Cookies by Zevy Joy | Gingerbread Houses by Miss Mustard Seed
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti by anderson + grant | Paleo Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies by Nesting with Grace | Chocolate Crinkles Cookies by So Much Better with Age | Cranberry Rosemary Butter Cookies by Nina Hendrick Design Co.
Gluten Free Coconut Fudge Bites by City Farmhouse | Maple Sugar House Cookies by Finding Home Farms | Honey Nut Rugelach by Love Grows Wild | Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecake Cookies by Nest of Posies
Mexican Spicy Chocolate Cookies by Maison de Pax | Coconut Shortbread Cookies by My Sweet Savannah | Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies by House 214 | Cinnamon and Sugar Lattice Pie Crust Cookies by Craftberry Bush
Yep! Making these. Can you tell me how many this recipe yields? Thanks!!
Hi Bryn! This recipe makes 32 servings! Enjoy 🙂
Thank you, Liz, for these delicious looking cookies. You had me at the gorgeous photography. Cheers, Ardith