Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
1,000 Jewish Recipes (129 page)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1
â
2
cup sugar
1
â
4
teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1
â
2
cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or firm margarine, well-chilled and cut into 16 pieces
1
1
â
2
cups all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons cold orange juice or water (optional)
1.
Combine eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt, orange rind, and butter in a food processor. Process using 10 brief pulses, then process continuously about 5 seconds or until nearly blended. Add flour; process 2 seconds. Scrape down and process about 3 seconds or until dough begins to form sticky crumbs but does not come together in a ball. If crumbs are dry, add juice or water and process using brief pulses just until blended.
2.
Transfer dough to a work surface. Blend dough further by kneading it lightly: push about
1
â
4
of dough away from you and press it with the heel of your hand against the work surface. Continue with remaining dough in 3 batches. Repeat if dough is not yet well blended. With a rubber spatula, transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap. Push pieces together. Wrap dough loosely and press into a flat disk. Wrap well and refrigerate dough at least 6 hours or up to 2 days.
3.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets. Roll out half of dough on a cold, lightly floured surface until about
1
â
4
-inch thick. Cut cookies using a dreidel-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer to buttered baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Gently press trimmings together. Wrap and refrigerate trimmings 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll. Roll out dough and cut more cookies.
4.
Bake cookies about 10 minutes or until very lightly golden at edges. Transfer cookies to racks to cool. Keep them in a cookie tin or airtight container up to 5 days.
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When I was growing up, we never heard of
soofganiyot
, the Israeli jelly doughnuts. Our Hanukkah treats at the end of a meal were my mother's chocolate chip cookies.
If you like, you can make mini cookies and dip them in chocolate to make
Homemade Hanukkah Gelt
.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1
â
2
teaspoon salt
1
â
2
teaspoon baking soda
1
â
2
cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, slightly softened
1
â
4
cup firmly packed brown sugar
1
â
2
cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1
â
2
teaspoon vanilla extract
3
â
4
cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
3
â
4
cup diced pecans
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
2.
Cream butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add both types sugar; beat until smooth and fluffy. Add egg; beat until smooth. Add vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in flour mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
3.
Push batter from a teaspoon with a second teaspoon onto buttered baking sheets, using about 1
1
â
2
teaspoons batter for each cookie and spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie by pressing it firmly with the bottom of a fork dipped in water.
4.
Bake about 7 minutes or until lightly golden. With a metal spatula, carefully transfer cookies to racks; cool completely. Before baking more cookies, cool baking sheets; clean off any crumbs and grease sheets again. Keep cookies in a cookie tin or an airtight container up to 1 week.
Note:
To make mini chocolate chip cookies, use about 1 teaspoon batter for each. Check them for doneness after 5 minutes.
 or
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Chocolate treats are traditional on Hanukkah. Usually they are in the form of coin-shaped chocolates called "Hanukkah gelt" or Hanukkah money, following an old custom of giving children a little money as a holiday gift.
I like to make Hanukkah gelt by dipping small round cookies in chocolate. They don't exactly look like coins because the part of the cookie that you hold doesn't get coated. But they are delicious. You can use any type of small, flat cookie you like, home baked or store-bought. Don't use crumbly cookies because they will break apart when you're dipping them. I like to use
Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans
as the centers for my Hanukkah gelt. Nobody will say there isn't enough chocolate in these treats!
Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans
or 40 to 50 small cookies of your choice
8 ounces fine-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1.
Prepare homemade cookies, if using.
2.
Melt chocolate in a small deep bowl over a pan of nearly simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from water. Let chocolate cool to 88 to 90 degrees, or until it feels neither hot nor cold to the touch. Line 2 or 3 trays with foil or wax paper.
3.
Dip half to three-fourths of a cookie in chocolate, moving it back and forth in chocolate until cookie is well coated. Remove and gently shake several times so excess chocolate drips into bowl. Set cookie on lined tray. Continue dipping more cookies. When chocolate becomes too thick for dipping, gently reheat it by setting bowl above a pan of hot water. Remove it from water before dipping more cookies.
4.
Refrigerate dipped cookies about 15 minutes or until set. Gently remove from paper. You can dip the cookies ahead and keep them in airtight shallow containers about 4 days in the refrigerator.
Note:
It's easiest to dip the cookies when you have more than enough chocolate. Let extra chocolate cool and harden. Store wrapped tightly in foil. You can melt it again to use in cakes, frostings, and desserts, but not for more dipping.
FRUIT DESSERTS
Jaffa oranges, named for the port city in Israel from which they were originally shipped, have long been renowned, and citrus fruits enter the Israeli menu in many ways. They are plentiful at Hanukkah time. This festive salad provides a refreshing dessert to balance all the rich holiday foods.
5 large oranges, preferably seedless
2 small or 1 large grapefruit
2 to 3 tablespoons syrup from Candied Orange Peel
3 tablespoons orange or grapefruit juice, or a mixture of both
1 to 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)
1.
Pare rind from oranges. Use the rind from 2 of them to make Candied Orange Peel. Reserve candied peel in its syrup.
2.
With a serrated knife, cut peel and white pith from oranges and grapefruit. Hold fruit over a bowl while peeling to catch any juice. Slice oranges crosswise in rounds. Cut grapefruit same way. If grapefruit slices are large, cut them in half. Put fruit in a glass bowl and mix gently.
3.
Pour 2 tablespoons syrup from candied peel into a small bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons orange or grapefruit juice and 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier. Add more syrup or Grand Marnier if you like. Pour over fruit and mix gently. With a fork, remove strips of candied peel from their syrup, using 3 or 4 tablespoons. Scatter over salad. Serve cold, garnished, with mint sprigs, if using.
Pears in syrup make a refreshing, delicate dessert on its own or accompanied by vanilla ice cream. For Hanukkah, Shabbat, or other festive occasions you might like to serve this as a partner for
Pear Cake with Honey
.