In Machane Yehuda, Marzipan bakery is famous for their ooey gooey chocolate rugelach. These yeasty, rich rugelach are in the Israeli style and inspired by those you find at Marzipan.
Related: 14 Israeli Desserts
Marzipan Chocolate Rugelach
Servings
3 Servings
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk or water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
- 3 ¾ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs + 2 yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ tablespoons butter or margarine softened
- 7 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 6 ounces dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Make the dough: Heat the milk or water to about 110°F. (It should be lukewarm; if the liquid gets too hot allow it to cool slightly before moving on to the next step as hot liquid can kill the yeast).
- Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and stir to dissolve slightly. Sprinkle the yeast over and allow to stand for 10 minutes (it should start to bubble and fizz slightly).
- Mix together the flour, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs, yolks, vanilla extract and yeast mixture. Knead (with your hands or a dough hook attachment) for about 5 minutes.
- Add the butter and knead for another 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic.
- Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Put the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, and sugar in a pot over medium-low heat. Stir until the mixture is full melted.
- Roll out the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface (or on parchment paper) to a large rectangle.
- Spread the filling evenly over the dough.
- Cut the dough in half lengthwise, then slice it in 10-12 even pieces the other direction so there are about 24 rectangles.
- Cut each of these rectangles down the middle to create a triangle (there should be about 48 in total).
- Roll up each triangle starting from the base of the triangle to form rugelach.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Allow the rugelach to rise once again for 30 minutes, until doubled in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup by heating the water and sugar together over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Allow to boil for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken is just slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon.
- Brush the sugar syrup over the rugelach and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned (take out sooner rather than later as they continue to cook for a few minutes out of the oven, and you want a slightly doughy texture).
- Remove from the oven and serve.
6 oz. chocolate – is that weight or volume?
Filling says to use 6 oz. chocolate. Should I use semi sweet?
That’s what I would use.
Can you use an alt milk instead of water like almond milk or rice milk?
Yes, for sure.
Nice, it’s easier too.
Jamie, Tried this recipe with puff pastry. A much lighter Rugelach. Same filling and topping. YUM!
Is it possible to make the dough in a bread maker?
This yeast based rugelach dough is flakey and the process is streamlined for the home cook. In this recipe there is no need to fold the butter into the dough the way puff-pastry is made.
Marzipan’s rugelach is flakey, more pastry like. Can the butter be folded into the dough the way puff-pastry is made?
It is made both ways, and they are both good.
I always make my rugelach with a cheese based pastry. This is the first time I have seen it with a yeast based dough. Have I been doing it wrong all this time, or is it made both ways?
Roll them thinly. Place seam side down, brush with egg wash and I would recommend chilling the dough for an hour and then bake.
This should keep them from opening up. 🙂
I made them last night but seems I need some help. They opened up during baking. Is that because I didn’t roll out thin enough? Tasty though!
Thanks – I will add that to my recipe -they tasted great knowing the size would have helped out!!
hi Lisa! i would roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut 3 X 5 inch rectangles and then cut those into 2 triangles. you will need to roll scraps to get the full amount of 3-4 dozen as the recipe suggests.
thank you! enjoy!
Hello! I made this today and the one thing that threw me a bit was the lack of measurements. How large the rectangle needs to be before we start cutting – I wound up having wildly different sizes based on that as I cut them differently after the first ones.
If anyone else has made this, let me know what size and thickness the dough needs to be rolled to before one starts cutting.
Thanks!
Excited to try this! I want to bake 3 days ahead to serve at a party. How well do they keep? Would it help to keep them in the fridge/freezer? Thanks!
Where’s the Marzipan?
Sorry for the confusion, this recipe is based on the rugelach from Marzipan bakery in Jerusalem. There is no actual marzipan in it.