Definition

Noun 1. A type of pastry: A small, filled pastry of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, typically made from a dough containing cream cheese, rolled into a shape (often a triangle, square, or crescent), and baked. It is characterized by various sweet fillings.

Usage

• Rugulah is a traditional Jewish pastry often served during holidays and celebrations.
• The key to good rugulah is a flaky, tender dough wrapped around a flavorful filling.
• Which type of rugulah do you prefer, the one with cinnamon and walnuts or the one with apricot preserves?

Advanced Usage

• As a mass noun: While typically countable ("two rugulahs"), "rugulah" can sometimes be used uncountably to refer to the pastry in general.
  • There was plenty of rugulah left on the platter after the meeting.

Variants and Related Words

• Rugelach (noun): This is the more common and standard transliteration of the original Yiddish word (ראָגאַלעך). "Rugulah" is a variant spelling.
• Pastry (noun): A general term for a baked food product made from dough; rugulah is a specific type of pastry.

Synonyms

• Pastry
• Cookie (in a broad, informal sense, though rugulah is distinct from typical cookies)

Notes on Meaning

• The defining features are the cream cheese dough and the rolled, filled form. The specific fillings (e.g., raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, chocolate, fruit preserves) can vary widely by recipe and region, but they are always sweet.
• It is important to distinguish the single word "rugulah" from compound terms. For example, "rugulah dough" refers specifically to the dough used to make this pastry.

Noun

1. pastry made with a cream cheese dough and different fillings (as raisins and walnuts and cinnamon or chocolate and walnut and apricot preserves)