[title]
New Yorkers don’t need an excuse to line up for rugelach or ice cream, but two dessert heavy-hitters are giving us one anyway. Van Leeuwen, the cult-favorite scoop shop, is rolling out a limited-edition rugelach ice cream this Friday, December 5, made with actual Breads Bakery rugelach.
The new ice cream folds Breads’ famously flaky, chocolate-swirled pastries into its ultra-creamy base. It lands in select Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island shops just in time for holiday carb loading, priced at $7.45 for one scoop, $8.95 for two, $10.45 for three and $11.15 for a hand-packed pint.
Then come the festivities. To mark the launch, both brands are celebrating with a sugar-forward block party. Breads is hosting a one-day event on Saturday, December 6, at 1pm at its Rockefeller Center outpost at 1230 Sixth Avenue. Expect free Chocogatos—that’s a hot-cold two-step made with Breads’ hot chocolate and topped with a scoop of the new flavor.
If you’re unfamiliar with rugelach, here’s your crash course: the Jewish pastry has its roots in Poland and typically consists of rolled crescents filled with walnuts, cinnamon, raisins, chocolate or fruit jam. The name comes from the Polish word rogaliki, meaning “little twists” and the classic shape comes from rolling a triangle of dough around the filling. (By the way, it's pronounced roo-ga-LAH.)
In New York, the pastry has long held icon status and Breads’ versions are some of the city’s most beloved. Van Leeuwen turning those pastries into an ice cream flavor feels like an almost-inevitable intersection of two local obsessions. The flavor is limited and the event is one-day-only, so don’t wait—this is one mash-up you’ll want to taste while you can.
Read the full ranking of the best desserts in NYC right now.
Plus: Van Leeuwen is opening a new Flavor Lab in Greenpoint to dream up inventive ice creams.