My Aunt Gussie passed away this morning. In honor of her wonderful life, her warmth, love and good food I am reposting her Rugelach recipe. I could always show up at her house and be welcomed with a meal. I think she always cooked extra food, just in case. Aunt Gussie, you will be missed terribly…
I love recipes that come from my mother, aunts or uncles. It never fails, they all have a list of ingredients with quantities like “enough flour to make the dough stiff” or, in the case of these ruggies, “3 cups flour or enough (up to 5 cups).” What is “enough”? Then the directions are “mix and knead and roll flat,” how flat is flat? The food is delicious, but only if you make it right. So today I will try to interpret my aunt’s wonderful rugelach into a recipe with real numbers and directions, while staying true to how I have watched them being made.
One of my favorite thing about my family’s baked goods is that they are all orange juice doughs – baked goods made with orange juice are the BEST!
Aunt Gussie’s Rugelach
3 eggs (from Farmer Kim)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
3 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup mixture of cinnamon & sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips (I used half golden raisins and half dark chocolate chips)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and vanilla.
Mix in the salt, baking powder and 3 cups of flour. Knead in an additional 1/2 cup flour until the dough is dry enough to roll.
Roll the dough out to 1/8″ thickness.
Cut it into triangles or diamonds (today I did triangles).
Sprinkle heavily with cinnamon sugar.
Sprinkle with nuts, raisins and/or chocolate chips.
Roll into crescents, pressing in the end point, and place on cookie sheets.
Bake in batches for 12-15 minutes.
Enjoy!
makes 30 – 40 rugelach, depending upon the size you make them.
Related articles
- Recipe for cinnamon-pecan rugelach cookies (o.canada.com)
- Ha! Did I just discover Rugelach? (theecaffeinatedcrow.wordpress.com)
- Rugelach… Rugelwhat? (ferventfoodie.com)
Andrea's Garden Cooking 
I have nothing else to say other than YUUUUMMMMM.
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Yum! I can’t wait to try this!!!!
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I hope you enjoy them! Let me know how they turn out.
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I’m so sorry for your loss, what a wonderful way to remember a loved one through cooking. I love the step by step photos you’ve included. I’ll have to try this recipe!
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Thank you Neelie
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I am so excited to have found this recipe. It is nearly identical to my family recipe (I too had a great Aunt Gussie)…. All I could remember was that the recipe (which was never written down) was 3, 3, 3, 1/2, 1/2, 1/2 and it had OJ in it- but I didn’t know which ingredients went to what and could never recreate the exact consistency of my childhood, and sadly everyone from that generation had passed on. This is the only recipe that calls for OJ and not sour cream or cream cheese…. maybe it was a regional thing. Anyhow, much thanks!!!
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Your comment made me so happy! I am so glad I was able to share it with you! My family used OJ in all the traditional baked goods – rugelach, mandel bread, hamentaschen. Perhaps it was regional – this part of my family was from Odessa.
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Andrea you are a gem! This my grandmothers recipe that I have been searching for. Thank yo so much
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I am so happy to hear that this recipe brings you joy! It makes my heart glad.
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