Caramelized Onion and Feta Rugelach
Caramelized Onion and Feta Rugelach are crispy, flaky, slightly sweet from the caramelized onions, and the perfect appetizer. A great savory alternative to traditional 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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!