Hanukkah may be called the Festival of Lights, but for us, it’s also about an opportunity to fry our dinner: potato latkes (topped with some chopped liver, perhaps?), donuts, and even some Yiddish schnitzel for lunch. But yes, there’s more than fried food to appreciate on this holy day, which is why we’ve also rounded up our favorite challah, kugel, and rugelach—traditional and otherwise. With our best Hanukkah recipes, we’ve got you covered for all eight days of the holiday.
Rugelach
These airy pastries have a dainty elegance due to their flakey cream cheese dough and compact crescent shape.
Sweet Noodle Kugel
Kugel—the creamy egg noodle casserole that’s a staple of Jewish holiday cooking&dmash;gets a Midwestern topping of cornflakes in this Thanksgiving side dish.
Challah
This eggy, yeasted bread is a welcome addition to any spread. Get the recipe for Challah
Jelly-Filled Donuts (Berliners)
If piping the jelly into these donuts proves challenging, use a paring knife to hollow out the side of the donut, making a cavity for the jelly.
Learn how to make our classic latkes. Author Joan Nathan, from whom this recipe is adapted, likes hers with applesauce; we find them equally delectable with sour cream. Alternating between onion and potatoes when grating keeps the potatoes from darkening. Get the recipe for Classic Latkes
Shtetl Toast
Gribenes, the deeply-flavored result of cooking chicken skin and onions down in fat—a byproduct of rendering schmaltz—is perfect fodder for schmearing on this crostini from Wise Sons Jewish delicatessen in San Francisco. Get the recipe for Shtetl Toast »
Aunt Gillie’s Matzo Ball Soup
Chicken soup may or may not be a cure-all for physical and psychic ills, but if you add a few matzo balls it definitely becomes a deli classic. This recipe, from Gillie Feuer of Long Island, New York, was a tightly held secret, until we pried it loose. The key? Lots of veggies, and her light and floaty dumplings: “They’re very well behaved,” she told us. “They plump up just like little dolls.” The trick? “Margarine.” But, she warned, “I’m not perfect. You can see my fingerprints on them.” It might just be the fingerprints that make them so good. Get the recipe for Aunt Gillie’s Matzo Ball Soup »
