Sweet Raspberry Rugelach | Kosher and Jewish Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What does rugelach mean in Yiddish? ›

Yiddish for “little twists” or “rolled things,” rugelach have become a popular dessert in America, enjoyed by Jews and non-Jews alike. They descend from an Eastern European pastry known as kipfel, which is a croissant-like cookie made with flour, butter, sour cream, sugar, and yeast.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Store leftover rugelach in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.

Some bakeries began to use a laminated yeast dough, with layers of butter, similar to that used for making croissants. Secondly, the filling was given a Middle Eastern spin with the use of halva. Israeli rugelach are lighter and fluffier than their American counterparts.

These croissant-shaped treats are believed to have originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and are also popular in Israel as well as the Jewish diaspora. They make the perfect treat for Rosh Hashanah because we eat sweets in the hopes of a sweet new year.

A perfect rugelach can reduce a grown-up to tears and can convince the most unruly youth to behave. Perfect rugelach or babka also can be used as a bargaining chip in the heated and contested negotiations.

Rugelach (/ˈruːɡələx/ ROO-gəl-əkh; Yiddish: ראגעלעך, or Yiddish: רוגעלעך, romanized: rugelekh and Hebrew: רוגלך rōgalaḵ) is a filled baked confection originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is also a popular treat among Jews in the diaspora.

If you've made rugelach before, you probably have a handwritten recipe card with curling edges tucked in a box in the kitchen. This recipe won't compete with grandma's, but it's darn good as a breakfast treat with tea, coffee, or juice.

Because of the cream cheese, rugelach is a dairy food, and dairy is more traditionally eaten for Hanukkah, the festival of lights, and for Shavuot, a harvest festival celebrated seven weeks after Passover, she says.

Storage: Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days. To refresh, place the rugelach on a sheet pan and reheat at 300 degrees until warm.

The Maghrebi egg dish shakshouka (shakshuka), brought to Israel by Tunisian Jews, is a common choice, comprising eggs poached in tomato sauce. Other Middle Eastern dishes may include Israeli salad, hummus, tehina, halloumi, ful medames, baba ghanoush and the strained yogurt known as labaneh.

What is Israel signature dish? ›

Israel does not have a universally recognized national dish; in previous years this was considered to be falafel, deep-fried balls of seasoned, ground chickpeas.

These might include muesli and granola, cold fish (mackerel, salmon, tuna, herring), homemade jams, baked goods such as croissants and pain viennois and hot dishes such as shakshuka (eggs served in a spicy tomato sauce, served with bread for dipping) and malawach (a flaky fried flatbread hailing from Yemen).

The name rugelach means “l*ttle twists” or “l*ttle corners” in Yiddish, because of the shape of the pastry. Rugelach can be made with different kinds of dough, such as sour cream, cream cheese, or yeast.

It means either (uncooked) groats or buckwheat, or else porridge (grain cooked in a liquid). It's also sometimes spelled “kashi.” In Yiddish, it is spelled קאַשי. The word was likely imported into English with the arrival of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Hence it took on the status of a “Jewish word.”

Knish is a Yiddish word with a Russian root, knysh, "cake" or "dumpling." These petite snacks are either baked or fried, and can be round or square, with fillings that sometimes include cheese or kasha in addition to potatoes.

And yet, honey cake (called lekach in Yiddish from the old German word “to lick”) remains a stalwart of the Ashkenazi Rosh Hashanah table, appearing year after year regardless of anyone's enjoyment.