Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel: Breaking the Fast

The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, starts tonight. This is a fasting holiday. The day, and the fast, is over at Sundown tomorrow night. This is a great dessert to make in advance for the Breaking the Fast at the end of the day.  Note: If you're taking this to a kosher household for the Break Fast, check with your host if they are having a dairy meal. I love this Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel (aka Noodle Pudding). FYI: It's great any time!

A bit of  history about Kugel. Kugel is a traditional Ashkenazic Jewish dessert or side dish. Kugel is Yiddish for ball, but it is sometimes translated as pudding or casserole, and related to the German Gugelhupf. The first Kugel were plain -- made from bread and flour, and salty rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, the flavor and popularity changed when cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with noodles or farfel. Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese and milk created a custard-like consistency which is common for today's dishes. In the 17th century, sugar was introduced, which gave the option of serving kugel as a side dish or dessert. In Poland, Jewish women sprinkled raisins and cinnamon into recipes. Hungarians took the dessert concept further with a hefty helping of sugar and sour cream.

Today many people add corn flakes, graham cracker crumbs, ground gingersnaps, or caramelized sugar on top. Some people layer the dish with sliced pineapples or apricot jam, but since this is a chocolate blog, here's a recipe that includes chocolate chips! Enjoy this for the Break Fast or any time!

Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:
12 oz pkg medium wide egg noodles, boiled & drained (I use Manischewitz)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint (16 oz) cottage cheese (large curd)
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter sides and bottom of 9 x 13 Pyrex or another Pan.
Beat together eggs and sugar. Add cottage cheese, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla, and mix with wooden spoon.
Fold in cooked noodles and chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into buttered pan.
Bake at 350°F for 40-60 minutes until just set.

CHOCOLATE CHANUKAH LATKES: Hanukah Cookies!

The Jewish Holiday of Chanukah (Hanukkah) begins next Sunday night. This is a great food holiday! The holiday lasts 8 days, so you'll have plenty of time to make these Chocolate Chanukah Latkes. Hanukkah usually includes the traditional feast of Latkes (potato pancakes), served with applesauce and sour cream. These Chocolate Latkes are not what you think. When you read the recipe, you'll pretty quickly realize that you're really making cookies, but they do look a lot like latkes. Enjoy!

This recipe for "Chocolate Latkes" is from Chocolate Holidays by Alice Medrich. Alice Medrich is one of my chocolate heroes. You'll want to add this cookbook to your collection! 

CHOCOLATE CHANUKAH LATKES

Ingredients

4 large egg whites
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
3 1/2 ounces dark (65-85% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
Dash 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Put some water in skillet and bring to low simmer.

Combine all ingredients in large heatproof mixing bowl, preferably stainless steel (ingredients heat up faster in stainless steel than in glass). Set bowl in skillet of barely simmering water and stir mixture, scraping bottom to prevent burning, until sticky and hot to touch.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of mixture about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with fingers to resemble miniature potato pancakes.

Bake until cookies feel dry on surface and edges and protruding coconut shreds are dark golden brown (despite chocolate color) and interior still looks like melted chocolate, 13 to 15 minutes. Rotate sheets from front to bake and upper to lower about halfway through. Slide parchment paper onto cooling rack. Cool cookies completely before removing from parchment.

***

You'll love these. So much fun and delicious!!!

FRUIT & NUT CHOCOLATE SQUARES: Sukkoth

Sukkoth (Sukkot), the Jewish harvest festival, starts tonight. I love this holiday where families gather and eat meals in a sukkoh. 

The word Sukkot means 'booths'--and refers to temporary dwellings. The sukkah (variations on the spelling) is great fun for children, as it is reminiscent of forts with an open top usually covered with vines or loose branches, cornstalks, or reeds--something that grew from the earth but was cut off. These are laid sparsely, so you can see the sky and stars. A sukkah has at least 2 1/2 walls covered with a material that will not blow away.Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the month of Tishri and is celebrated for 9 days (8 if you're in Israel). 

When I was very young, our neighbor "Uncle Clyde" and his family always had a sukkoh in their small backyard. I would watch from our back porch...they were across the alley (a very wide alley through which horses and cars could pass--garages were on the alley), as he constructed the sukkah. Then we'd go there for food and drink and songs and fun. The sukkah was there for a full week. What an exciting time for a child. It was as close to camping as I came as a kid. My family was not into camping. And FYI, all the children on our two blocks were invited to Uncle Clyde's sukkah, Jewish or not. I have such fond memories of that time.

Sukkoth is a Jewish harvest festival--the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) that begins on the 15th day of the month of Tishri and is celebrated for 9 days (8 if you're in Israel). The Jewish calendar is lunar, so the 'date' is always changing.

Since Sukkoth is primarily a harvest festival, I thought today's post would reflect fruits and nuts - and, of course, chocolate. Here's a great recipe adapted slightly from Epicurious. I've substituted a few different fruits and nuts, and you may want to experiment with some others. These Fruit and Nut Chocolate Squares are perfect to eat in a Sukkoh.

Fruit & Nut Chocolate Squares

Ingredients
1 1/4 lb fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
Vegetable oil for greasing pan
2/3 cup dried cherries (or cranberries)
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup salted roasted shelled pistachios (3 oz)
2/3 cup salted roasted cashews or walnuts (3 oz)

Directions
Melt chocolate in top of double boiler or metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
While chocolate is melting, line bottom and sides of 8-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving  2-inch overhang, then lightly oil foil.
Remove chocolate from heat and stir in fruit and nuts, then spread evenly in baking pan. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Lift candy in foil from pan using overhang and transfer to cutting board. Peel off foil and cut candy with long heavy knife into 36 pieces (or whatever you want).
Tip: If you have more time, chill candy in refrigerator (instead of freezer) until firm, about 1 hour. 

CHANUKAH CHOCOLATE LATKES (really Cookies!)

Tomorrow night starts the 8 day Jewish Holiday of Chanukah  (Hanukkah). This is a great food holiday! You'll have plenty of time to make these Chocolate Chanukah Latkes. Hanukkah usually includes the traditional feast of Latkes (potato pancakes), served with applesauce and sour cream. These Chocolate Latkes are not what you think. When you read the recipe, you'll pretty quickly realize that you're really making cookies, but they do look a lot like latkes. Enjoy!

This recipe for "Chocolate Latkes" is from Chocolate Holidays by Alice Medrich. Alice Medrich is one of my chocolate heroes. You'll want to add this cookbook to your collection! 

CHOCOLATE CHANUKAH LATKES

Ingredients

4 large egg whites
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
3 1/2 ounces dark (65-75% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
Dash - 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Put some water in skillet and bring to low simmer.

Combine all ingredients in large heatproof mixing bowl, preferably stainless steel (ingredients heat up faster in stainless steel than in glass). Set bowl in skillet of barely simmering water and stir mixture, scraping bottom to prevent burning, until sticky and hot to touch.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of mixture about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with fingers to resemble miniature potato pancakes.

Bake until cookies feel dry on surface and edges and protruding coconut shreds are dark golden brown (despite chocolate color) and interior still looks like melted chocolate, 13 to 15 minutes. Rotate sheets from front to bake and upper to lower about halfway through. Slide parchment paper onto cooling rack. Cool cookies completely before removing from parchment.

***

You'll love these. So much fun and delicious!!!

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW DREIDELS: CHANUKAH aka Hanukkah

Hanukkah (aka Chanukah) starts December 25 this year, and these fabulous Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels are perfect for the holiday.  And, since Hanukkah lasts for 8 days, you'll have plenty of time to make these. They are delicious.

A Dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. During Chanukah (Hanukah, Hanukkah), children play a game that involves spinning the dreidel and betting on which Hebrew letter will show when the dreidel stops spinning. Children usually play for a pot of 'gelt' -- chocolate coins covered in gold colored foil.

You won't be spinning these tops unless you want chocolate all over the floor, but making these Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels is a fun activity to do with children.

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe for Chocolate Marshmallow Dreidels. If you want to take it up a notch, make your own marshmallows or buy some high end marshmallows made with natural ingredients like those from Recchiuti. I usually use whatever dark chocolate I have, but you can use any good dark chocolate. For the white chocolate I use Green & Black's White Chocolate that's made with Madagascar vanilla. I also use Paul Newman's Own Organic pretzel sticks. They are a little long, so I snap them in half. Or, you can use a short lollipop stick.

Apologies for the poor calligraphy. Practice makes perfect, and I'm very out of practice. :-)

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW DREIDELS

Ingredients
12 chocolate kisses (I use Hershey's Kisses)
8 ounces melted dark chocolate
12 marshmallows (homemade or whatever you have)
12 thin pretzel sticks (I use Newman's Own)
2 ounces melted white chocolate (I use Green & Black)

Directions 
Dip bottom of chocolate kiss in melted semisweet chocolate. Press onto marshmallow; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat to make 12 dreidels. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Cut small slit in bottom of each marshmallow or just one thin pretzel stick into the marshmallow. Dip dreidels in dark chocolate, and return to baking sheet. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.

Fill plastic bag (or pastry bag) with melted white chocolate; cut a tiny opening in corner, and pipe Hebrew letters onto 3 sides of each dreidel. I used a pastry bag with a tip, but I should have practiced a bit first so I wouldn't have any drips.

Refrigerate at least 5 minutes or up to 8 hours before serving. 

 

CHOCOLATE HAMENTASCHEN: Purim

The Holiday of Purim is upon us. It actually starts tomorrow night, but there are a lot of Purim parties today. Hamantaschen are served during this Jewish holiday. Hamentaschen, a wonderful pastry, are made to resemble Hamen's (the villain of the story) hat! Traditionally, hamentaschen were filled with prune, apricot, or munn (poppyseed). But who's to say that Hamen's Hat couldn't be made of or filled with chocolate? I must mention that this holiday is about a Jewish woman (Queen Esther) who saved her people. How can you not love a holiday that honors a strong clever woman?

In the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on its thirteenth day ... on the day that the enemies of the Jews were expected to prevail over them, it was turned about: the Jews prevailed over their adversaries. - Esther 9:1
And they gained relief on the fourteenth, making it a day of feasting and gladness. - Esther 9:17
[Mordecai instructed them] to observe them as days of feasting and gladness, and sending delicacies to one another, and gifts to the poor. - Esther 9:22

Short summary: The holiday of Purim appears in the Book of Esther. The story is read from the Megillah. So as not to give you the whole 'megillah' here, the story goes that Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin (uncle?) Mordecai, who raised her as a daughter, was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of Ahasuerus' harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther and made Esther queen. But the king did not know that Esther was Jewish. The king’s aide, Haman, wanted to kill all the Jews (yet again, someone wanted to annihilate the Jews). Esther told the king that Hamen was plotting to have her killed -- well he was plotting to have all the Jews killed. When she tells the King that she is Jewish, the King kills Haman instead and saves the Jews.

During Purim, everyone eats hamantaschen. They are supposedly modeled after Haman’s three pointed hat. In Israel they are often shaped like Hamen's ears (oznei Haman), but I feel better about eating hats than ears), but if you're so inclined here's a great video and recipe for Haman's Ears with Halva Spreads (one features Bittersweet Chocolate Sea Salt Halva spread) from Jamie Geller at Joy of Kosher! 

So on with the Chocolate!

Following are two great recipes for Chocolate Hamentaschen for Purim. You'll find them quite different, and I suggest you try both. Although the holiday begins Monday night, there's no reason that these great pastries (cookies) can't be made and consumed now (or anytime)!

Victoria Sutton at MyJewishLearning has a really wonderful recipe for Decadent Chocolate Hamantaschen. (Victoria Sutton has a BA from Barnard College, and the Grand Diploma in Classic Pastry Arts from the French Culinary Institute. She works as a freelance chef in New York City.) When I made these I filled them with Nutella. Great addition. So many possibilities. 

The second recipe has a darker chocolate pastry (I use DARK cocoa), and the hamentaschen are filled with jam (I like Bonne Maman Dark Cherry Preserves). The recipe is from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily. Another taste treat  is to fill these with peanut butter.  Of course, you can make your own family recipe for Hamentaschen and fill them with chocolate. Any way you make them, have fun! I've added a third link for yet another Purim treat!

Before you begin, here are some TIPS for making good Hamentaschen.

Dough: Be sure and chill your dough. Put the dough in your refrigerator before rolling out. Roll out dough between pieces of parchment or wax paper rather than adding more flour, so the final product isn't too dense and doughy.

Tip for shaping: Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle, folding the last corner under the starting point, so that each side has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under. Folding in this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood that the last side will fall open while cooking, losing its filling. It also makes a better triangle shape.

I. Decadent Chocolate Hamentaschen
Recipe from Victoria Sutton at MyJewishLearning 

Chocolate Pâte Sucree:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 egg
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate Ganache Filling:
8 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
8 ounces heavy cream
Dash salt
Rum to taste (optional)

Chopped cherries, cranberries, nuts, or toffee (optional)

To prepare sucree: Cream butter, sugar, salt, and almond extract if using until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add to butter mixture in two stages, alternating with the heavy cream. More or less cream might be needed depending on the consistency of the dough. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, and form a flattened disc. Chill for at least one hour.

To prepare ganache: Over a double boiler, heat cream and chopped chocolate. When chocolate is mostly melted, lightly whisk until ganache is smooth and shiny. Whisk in rum (optional) and salt. Chill for several hours.

To form hamantaschen: Roll chilled chocolate sucree to slightly more than 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cutter or glass rim dipped in flour, cut circles of about 3 inches in diameter. If adding dried fruit or nuts, sprinkle a small amount in the center of the cut discs.

Remove ganache from fridge, and using either a small ice-cream scoop or by hand, form about 1 inch round balls and place in center of sucree circles. Carefully fold in the edges to form a triangular shape, and pinch the corners to seal.  Ensure there are no gaps or tears in the dough, to prevent filling from oozing out during baking.

Bake hamantaschen on greased cookie sheets at 350 F for about 15 minutes, until crust is baked through. Ganache will liquify during baking, but will set as hamantaschen cool. 

This second recipe features a really dark chocolate pastry,  and these hamentaschen are filled with jam. This recipe is adapted from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily. Another great taste treat is to fill these with peanut butter.

II. CHOCOLATE HAMENTASCHEN 
Recipe from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily.

Ingredients
Recipe originally adapted from Coconut and Lime
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup DARK cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of any flavor jam, divided

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line with cookie sheet with parchment paper
In large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly.
Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, and mix until thick dough forms. Refrigerate dough for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle  clean work area with powdered sugar. Roll out dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 2 to 3 inch rounds. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
Spoon 1-2 tsp of jam (or peanut butter) in middle and fold sides to create  triangle shape. Pinch corners and lightly smoosh them down so there isn’t a visible seam. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

III. And, here's a recipe to a third recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Chocolate Hamentaschen from With love and Cupcakes.

CHOCOLATE CHIP HAMENTASCHEN: PURIM

The Jewish Holiday of Purim starts tonight, and that means it's time for Hamentaschen. Hamentaschen are three pointed pastries with delicious fillings. Traditionally that means mun (prune), but since this is a chocolate blog, and chocolate is my favorite, I suggest chocolate chip hamentaschen with a variety of chocolate and other sweet fillings!

Why does the pastry have three corners in the shape of a triangle? That would be because Hamentaschen are shaped like Hamen's Hat. Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Hamen, who planned to kill all the Jews. This took place in the ancient Achaemenid Perisan Empire and is recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther. It's a fun holiday with food, drink, gifts,  charity -- and costumes. Interesting to note, when I was a child I never dressed as Queen Esther as most of the other little girls did. No, I was a hamentaschen. I made my own costume out of a paperbag, painting in the filling. It was a surprise to my classmates and family, but certainly foretold my future career and interests in baking, art, and fashion design.

Here are two recipes for CHOCOLATE CHIP HAMENTASCHEN. The first is from MyJewishLearning. The second recipe is Paula Soyer's recipe and appeared in Hadassah Magazine. They're both great. Let me know which you prefer.

1. CHOCOLATE CHIP HAMENTASCHEN 
(from MyJewish Learning)

Ingredients 

For the dough: 
½ cup butter (or margarine), at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk (or almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
 ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Filling suggestions: 
Chocolate hazelnut spread
Dulce de leche
Cookie butter
Chocolate chips + mini marshmallows

Directions 
Beat butter and sugars together until smooth. Add egg, milk, and vanilla until mixed thoroughly.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl.
Add dry mixture to wet mixture until incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Chill dough for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Dust work surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking. Cut dough in half and roll out in batches. Roll dough to about ¼ – ½ inch thick. Using round cookie cutter, cut dough and place onto cookie sheet. To keep dough from sticking to cookie cutter, dip cutter in flour before each cut. (In place of a cookie cutter, you can also use a regular drinking glass or mason jar top).
Fill cookies with scant 1/2 tsp of chocolate hazelnut spread, dulce de leche, cookie butter or a few chocolate chips + mini marshmallow in each round. Pinch circle into triangle.
Repeat with remaining dough, putting scraps back into dough 3-4 times until all dough has been used. Place cookies on baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper and place entire baking sheet into freezer for 5 minutes before baking (or put in fridge for 10-15 minutes). This will ensure the cookie don’t fall apart while baking.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Allow to cool before serving.

2. CHOCOLATE CHIP HAMENTASCHEN 
(recipe by Paula Shoyer-one of my favorite cookbook authors)

Dough 
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
Dash of salt
3 ozs semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces, no larger than 1/4 inch

Filling
6 1/2 ozs semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into 1/2-inch squares, or 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
In large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour and salt and mix until dough comes together. Gently mix in chopped chocolate. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in fridge for one hour to firm up.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Divide dough in half.
Take another two pieces of parchment paper and sprinkle flour on one, place one dough half on top, and then sprinkle a little more flour on top of dough. Place second piece of parchment on top of dough and roll on top of parchment until dough is about 1/4-inch thick. Every few rolls, peel back top parchment and sprinkle a little more flour on dough.
Use 2- to 3-inch drinking glass or round cookie cutter to cut  dough into circles. Use metal flat-blade spatula to lift up circle of dough and place on another part of flour-sprinkled parchment paper. Place one, 1/2-inch square of chocolate or 7 chocolate chips into the center and then fold three sides in toward middle to form a triangle, leaving small opening in center. Pinch three sides together tightly. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and roll and cut any dough scraps, making sure to sprinkle a little flour under and over dough before you roll.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned but tops are still light. Slide parchment paper onto wire racks to cool the cookies. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or freeze for up to three months.

***

And, as with many baked goods such as bars and cookies, you can always dip your Hamentaschen in melted chocolate for that extra chocolate touch!

CHOCOLATE CHIP NOODLE KUGEL: Breaking of the Fast or Any Time!

Since the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, starts tomorrow night, I thought I'd post a recipe you can easily make for the Breaking of the Fast. I love this Noodle Kugel with Chocolate Chips.

A bit of  history on Kugel. Kugel a traditional Ashkenazic Jewish dessert or side dish. Kugel is Yiddish for ball, but it is sometimes translated as pudding or casserole, and related to the German Gugelhupf. The first Kugel were plain -- made from bread and flour, and salty rather than sweet. About 800 years ago, the flavor and popularity changed when cooks in Germany replaced bread mixtures with noodles or farfel. Eventually eggs were incorporated. The addition of cottage cheese and milk created a custard-like consistency which is common for today's dishes. In the 17th century, sugar was introduced, which gave the option of serving kugel as a side dish or dessert. In Poland, Jewish women sprinkled raisins and cinnamon into recipes. Hungarians took the dessert concept further with a hefty helping of sugar and some sour cream.

Today many people add corn flakes, graham cracker crumbs, ground gingersnaps or caramelized sugar on top. Some people layer the dish with sliced pineapples or apricot jam. So it's not surprising that I like a Chocolate Chip Kugel! Enjoy this for the Breaking of the Fast or any time!

Chocolate Chip Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:
12 oz pkg medium wide noodles boiled & drained
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint (16 oz) cottage cheese (large curd)
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter sides and bottom of 9 x 13 Pyrex or another Pan.
Beat together eggs and sugar. Add cottage cheese, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla and mix with wooden spoon.
Fold in noodles and chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into buttered pan.
Bake at 350°F for 40-60 minutes until just set.

Tu B'shevat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the day that marks the beginning of a 'New Year' for Trees. This is the day in Israel when the earliest blooming trees begin a new fruit bearing cycle. I'm a gardener, and I live in a Mediterranean climate, so this is a holiday I love to celebrate.

About Trees in Jewish literature from Kolel:
Trees figure prominently in Jewish literature and lore—from the very first trees planted at creation and the Garden of Eden, to the trees worshipped by King Ahaz in the final chapters of the Bible. In the Bible, the Hebrew word for tree appears over 150 times, and more than 100 different kinds of trees, shrubs and plants are named. The Mishnah (Masechet Zera’im in particular deals with laws of agriculture) adds hundreds of names of plants. Midrashim, too, often use plants in similes and parables. In all, over 500 different plants are mentioned in classical Jewish sources.

The Bible uses images and descriptions of trees but is not meant to be a botanical encyclopedia. The names and descriptions of plant (and animal) life are casual; many common species of plants are not mentioned in the Bible (like the carob), while others appear only once (such as ebony, pistachio, and walnut).

I love trees and the nuts and other fruits that grow on them. Here's a great drop cookie recipe that uses lots of different fruits and nuts. You can substitue dried apricots, raisins, currants, dates, dried figs, dried cranberries, and other nuts for any of the additional ingredients. This recipe makes a very moist chewy cookie. Eat them within 3 days. You shouldn't have any problem doing that :-)

Can't make cookies today? Plant a tree. I am.

TU B'SHEVAT COOKIES

Ingredients
1-1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1⁄4 tsp. baking powder
1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
1⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
3⁄4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1⁄4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup flaked toasted coconut
3/4 cup chopped pistachios
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
3⁄4 cup chopped dried cherries
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Grease 3 baking sheets.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl.
Cream butter in mixing bowl, add sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy.
Add egg and beat until smooth. Add lemon zest and beat until blended.
Stir in 1⁄2 of flour mixture until blended.
Stir in 1⁄2 of sour cream.
Repeat with remaining flour mixture and sour cream.
Stir in coconut, pistachios, walnuts, cherries and chocolate chips.
Drop batter on prepared cookie sheets. Use two teaspoons to shape and drop (about 1 Tbsp. batter for each cookie. Mound high. Space 2 inches apart (they will spread).
Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown at edges and nearly set but soft in center.
Transfer cookies to racks and cool.