Who says rugelach has to be sweet? (I’m sure someone does, but it sure isn’t me.) Caprese rugelach is your one-way ticket to cheese town!
Wow, that was cheesy (get it?).
Woo hoo, we made it through Passover! And straight to Cinco de Mayo. Nothing could be less Passover than doughy rugelach (in Mexican flag colors) and cerveza, right?
Okay, Cinco de Mayo rugelach mayyyy be a stretch. If you’re following along at home, Shavuot is the next Jewish holiday. Shavuot is all about the dairy (not that I need an excuse to devour cheese and ice cream, but twist my arm.)
But why? I’m glad you asked! Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah to the Jews on Mount Sinai, including all its commandments. What’s one of the commandments? Keeping kosher! And thus not mixing milk with meat. It’s lunch time for our ancestors, and making a cheese plate is way easier than slaughtering a cow, so here we are. Eating all the cheese.
It is officially river floating season summer in Austin, and summer is all about the patio drinking caprese salad, right? So I thought we could take the classic mozzarella, tomato and basil combo and put it into a savory rugelach. The result is a flaky, cheesy dough filled with even more cheese.
Cute, right?
These are best right out of the oven, but you can make them ahead of time and bake when ready to serve. 
Hi. 
Bring these to a family picnic and impress all your friends!
Or pull them out after a few too many rounds of margaritas and really impress your friends!
Caprese Rugelach
Ingredients
- 1 stick room temperature butter cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus more for rolling dough
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese small diced
- ¾ cup tomatoes small diced
- ¼ cup fresh basil cut into chiffonade (that's thin slivers)
- 1 egg
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, sour cream and olive oil with a stand or hand mixer.
- Then add in flour, salt and Parmesan cheese. Mix together just until combined. Dough should be sticky, but if it is very sticky that you cannot even handle it, then add a touch more flour.
- Divide the dough into two balls, and flatten into disks. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. This will make it much easier to handle.
- When ready to bake, roll out each ball one at a time on a lightly floured surface to about 9 inch in diameter circle about 1/8 inch thick. Keep the other ball in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil evenly on the surface, not getting too close to the edge.
- Cut the circle into 12 triangles with a sharp knife or pizza cutter and roll up each triangle from the wide end, and secure the tip onto the bottom so you have a spiral. Place the rugelach on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with other dough.
- Refrigerate rugelach for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 350 F.
- Combine egg with 1 tablespoon of water and wash the rugelach. Sprinkle with a little salt.
- Bake rugelach for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and dough is golden brown. Best warm right out of the oven! You can bake them ahead of time and reheat in the oven, or form a few hours ahead of time and bake right before serving.
Notes
That crispy cheese, though.
first time I thought about savory rugelach. You are genius! I hurt my wrist so I have to use the premade Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts which are already a little bit savory. What a great idea to put cheese into them or even some kind of meat and cheese (for the nonkosher version)! I can’t wait to instruct somebody else to make them! Like my husband maybe!
Ha great idea with the pie crusts!!
hi
I made the dough and the amount of it seems small. Will one batch of it will make 24 rugelach? I’m planning on bringing it to a purim seuda for tomorrow and want to make sure i’ll have enough.
Yup you should be good but can always double it!