Rugelach (2024)

FAQs

What does rugelach mean in Yiddish? ›

The name rugelach means “l*ttle twists” or “l*ttle corners” in Yiddish, because of the shape of the pastry. Rugelach can be made with different kinds of dough, such as sour cream, cream cheese, or yeast.

Historically, Rugelach is said to be linked with the Viennese Kipfel, crescent shaped pastries which commemorate the lifting of the Turkish siege in the Battle of Vienna. Rugelach is also similar in shape to the French croissant, which may be a descendant of the popular sweet pastry.

Satiny soft dough made with butter, cream cheese, and sour cream wrapped around a filling of sugar, nuts, and dried fruit: that's rugelach, which in Yiddish means "little twists." Beloved in many Jewish communities, these cookies flake like a Danish or croissant with its buttery flavor the perfect foil for the sweet ...

Rugelach has been all around eastern and western-central Europe and has ended as different pastries carrying the same name in the US and Israel. Rugelach became popularized in America in the 1940s by Ashkenazi Immigrants. In America, bakers crafted a simpler dough that does not have yeast, and has cream cheese in it.

Rugelach (/ˈruːɡələx/ ROO-gəl-əkh; Yiddish: ראגעלעך, or Yiddish: רוגעלעך, romanized: rugelekh and Hebrew: רוגלך rōgalaḵ) is a filled baked confection originating in the Jewish communities of Poland.

Because Judith saved the Jews from a death order, many Jews honor her by eating cheese and dairy dishes: rugelach, blintzes, cheesecake, cheese latkes, even sour cream on potato latkes.

“How many days will the rugelach stay fresh? I'm taking it back to the U.S.” Hi- It will stay fresh for a week or so at room temperature. If frozen, which is what I do when I bring it back to the states, it can stay fresh for months.

Babka is a yeast bread that is rolled with chocolate filling. Babaka usually made in a loaf pan as one cake. Cooks roll rugelach like croissants, creating a more individual dessert. The main differences between the two of them are their shape and the type of dough they use.

Rugelach are a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish treat made from a sweet yeast dough folded over a filling of your choice. Although the American version uses Cream Cheese for the dough, these Israeli-style Rugelach are made from a yeasted enriched dough that is quite similar to a Babka.

You can freeze rugelach pastries before or after baking them. Before baking, you can freeze them on a parchment-lined baking sheet until frozen. Then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

What does babka stand for? ›

Etymology. borrowed from Yiddish & Polish; Yiddish babke (in sense a), borrowed from Polish babka (in sense b), literally, "old woman, grandmother," diminutive of baba "grandmother, midwife, old woman" First Known Use. 1846, in the meaning defined above.

Like many Jewish-American specialties, babka originated in Eastern Europe – Poland and Ukraine in particular – in the early 1800s. As a way to use extra challah dough, Jews there would roll up the dough with cinnamon or fruit jam and bake it alongside the challah.

One of two major ancestral groups of Jewish people whose ancestors lived in France and Central and Eastern Europe, including Germany, Poland, and Russia.

In the early 20th century, American Jewish cooks took the concept of kipfel and added cream cheese to the dough, resulting in the delicious rugelach we know and love today. Rugelach are often served on Jewish holidays like Hanukkah and Shavuot, though of course they can (and should!) be made throughout the year.

It means either (uncooked) groats or buckwheat, or else porridge (grain cooked in a liquid). It's also sometimes spelled “kashi.” In Yiddish, it is spelled קאַשי. The word was likely imported into English with the arrival of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Hence it took on the status of a “Jewish word.”

Knish is a Yiddish word with a Russian root, knysh, "cake" or "dumpling." These petite snacks are either baked or fried, and can be round or square, with fillings that sometimes include cheese or kasha in addition to potatoes.

Strudel (in Yiddish, שטרודל, pron. shtrudl) in general is also associated with Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, particularly of German, Swiss, and Austrian Ashkenazi Jews. Apple and raisin filling is popular, but cabbage has historically also been used as a filling for a savoury strudel.

And yet, honey cake (called lekach in Yiddish from the old German word “to lick”) remains a stalwart of the Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah table, appearing year after year regardless of anyone's enjoyment.