We have been overdosing on sweets around here. With all of the holiday baking and my birthday mixed in, we have had more than our fair share of desserts and cookies. On a whim I came up with these Caramelized Onion and Feta Rugelach.
I decided after all the cookies I’ve been making, I needed to mix things up and try something different. I have never heard of savory rugelach, but since my rugelach dough is not sweetened, it can really go either sweet or savory.
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We love caramelized onions and try to incorporate it into different dishes. One dish that we make all the time is my Mushroom Crust Quiche with Ham and tend to add a layer of caramelized onions. We also use it on top of burgers, add it to dip, or breakfast burritos. Caramelized onions add sweetness and a rich flavor to any dish.
You guys, not to toot my own horn but these are delicious. They are crispy, flaky, slightly sweet from the caramelized onions, and the perfect appetizer. Finish these off with some flaky salt before popping in the oven and you are rewarded with delicious savory appetizer.
2. Roll out the dough and spread caramelized onion evenly over the dough
3. Sprinkle with feta and black pepper then cut into triangles
4. Start rolling from the outside in
As I’ve mentioned before, we have an air fryer that we love. These Caramelized Onion and Feta Rugelach are really good reheated in the air fryer. They get warm and crispy again, making these perfect to make ahead and reheat before you want to serve them.
Tips for homemade rugelach
Make the dough and caramelized onions the day before you want to bake, you want both to be chilled before using. The dough needs to be well chilled, otherwise it is quite sticky and would be impossible to work with.
Once you are ready to roll the dough, make sure you have enough flour on your surface so it won’t stick. I like to pick up the dough and rotate it as I’m rolling to ensure it’s not sticking.
6. Place rugelach on parchment lined pan with point side down
7. Brush rugelach with milk
8. Sprinkle with flaky salt
Don’t worry if your dough is not a perfect circle, mine never are and they still turn out great. It makes them look homemade and rustic! My rugelach are also always different sizes, but I don’t mind.
I prefer to use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into triangles. A sharp knife would work perfectly fine as well, it’s just fun using the pizza cutter on these.
Rugelach dough can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to three months. Any leftover baked rugelach can be frozen up to one month. I like to freeze my dough ahead of time during the holidays so I can just roll and bake cookies when needed.
Make sure to finely chop the caramelized onions. It will make it easier when spreading them over the dough. As you can see in my pictures, I have some spots that look like there’s no onion. That’s ok though, as you roll them up there will be onion evenly distributed.
If you really wanted to, you could blend the onions into a paste to spread out. I like the rustic look and the pieces of onions. Do what feels right to you, there’s really no wrong way to do these as they will still taste great!
I highly recommend the addition of flaky salt on top. I’ve tried this recipe with and without the salt, and the salt version was better.
Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!
Caramelized Onion and Feta Rugelach
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour (1/8 cup is equivalent to 2 tablespoons)
Caramelized onions
- 1 1/2-2 large onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- pinch kosher salt
- water, for deglazing the pan if needed
Filling
- 1 cup caramelized onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon milk (I used alternative milk), to brush on top
- flaky salt for topping, optional
Instructions
Make the caramelized onions
- Heat up vegetable oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the diced onions and stir with a wooden spoon °until translucent.
- Season with a pinch of salt and reduce the heat to medium-low. Keep stirring for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown in color.
- If the bottom of the pan starts getting too brown, add a splash of water and scrape the brown bits off. The onions will absorb the water. You do not want your onions to have too much moisture, so be sure to cook off any excess liquid.
- Transfer to a bowl to cool completely. Once cooled, refrigerate until needed.
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well blended together.
- Add in 1/2 of the flour and mix until incorporated, then add in the remaining flour and mix until fully incorporated. Scraping down the sides as needed. The dough will be soft and sticky, but don’t add any additional flour.
- Divide the dough in 1/2 and place each piece of dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Fold over half of the plastic wrap and press down into a 1-inch thick circle. Then wrap up with the remaining plastic wrap.
- Continue until you have all of the dough wrapped. Place in the fridge to chill overnight.
Making the rugelach
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly coat your dough circle with flour and on a lightly floured surface (I like to use parchment paper), roll out one disk of dough to a 11-inch circle. Use more flour as necessary as you don’t want the dough to stick to your surface.
- Spread 1/2 cup of finely chopped caramelized onion over the surface of the dough and sprinkle on about 1/8 cup of crumbled feta. Sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) of black pepper.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each circle into 16 wedges. Roll up each wedge starting from the outer edge in towards the middle.
- Once rolled, place on the prepared sheet pan with the point side down. Continue rolling the remaining rugelach until you have enough to fill your pan. Once the pan is filled, brush on milk and sprinkle with flaky salt (if using).
- Bake for 30-33 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the tray 1/2 through baking. Transfer to a wire cooling rack once they come out of the oven to cool. These are best served warm or at room temperature.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. These will keep up to 4 days in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer.
Notes
- I like to make the dough and caramelized onions to day before. This makes the assembly process easier as everything is chilled and ready to go.
- You can easily double this recipe or just the dough. This is the exact same dough recipe as my Raspberry Walnut Rugelach. You could make 1/2 savory and 1/2 sweet for an appetizer and dessert!
- The dough freezes really well, you can make extra keep dough on hand for when you want an easier rugelach.
- You can freeze the baked rugelach in a plastic freezer bag for up to a month. When you are ready to serve you can simple refresh them in the oven or air fryer at 350F until they are warm and crispy.
If you make any of my recipes, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amysdeliciousmess and use #amysdeliciousmess. I’d love to see all of your pictures!
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