The festival of Hanukkah starts on the evening of the 25th day of the month Kislev in this year 5785, overlapping with Christmas in a harmonic convergence. The starting eve of Hanukkah is based on the Jewish calendar, so these holidays don’t coincide often. Why? Because the everyday Gregorian calendar tacks a leap day on to the end of February every four years, but Jewish calendar operates on a 19-year cycle with seven leap years. To kick off a celebration so good it lasts eight days, we present some time tested vintage Hanukkah recipes, starting with a noodle kugel from Vintage Unscripted‘s own Pam.
Pam serves her noodle kugel as a side dish, but since it’s so sweet and rich, it’s sometimes moved onto the dessert menu. Her family insists on having it every year, as they have since they first tasted it at her friend Judy’s house one Thanksgiving 40 long years ago. Just reading the recipe, you know why. Holy buttermilk and cinnamon, that’s some kugel.
Look at that rich, creamy, crunchy on top kugel goodness. Where’s my spoon?
The next recipes come from a crusty copy of Like Mama Used to Make, a community cookbook produced by the women of the Ann Arbor Chapter of Hadassah in 1952. In truth, only the cover is crusty like the covers of many community cookbooks are because of how often they get used. This one in particular must have been well known and popular. I’ve come across multiple copies over the years here on the east coast. Finding the same community cookbook in the wild more than once is exceedingly rare, since most are sold for a limited time to a small niche audience.
Community cookbooks are well loved because the recipes are so good. You absolutely know that nary a soul was submitting something that tasted meh. The vintage Hanukkah recipes below are suggested by the editorial staff of the cookbook. The level of professionalism in this book gives heft to that recommendation. This is a really well done book, especially for 1952. These women were not playing. The cookbook was revised and reprinted in 1974 and 1986, but these recipes are from the original 1952 edition.
The first recipes are for salads of the composed, not tossed, variety. As someone who grew up with a pre-dinner something like a pear with cream cheese or peaches and cottage cheese, often served on a lettuce leaf, these are particularly nostalgic.
There cannot be a post on vintage Hanukkah recipes without latkes. So here they are, as well as another suggested recipe for sour cream pancakes.
Finally, although the noodle kugel can definitely be slotted into desserts, snow balls or heizenblozen are must haves as well. Deep fried twists of dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon…fill my outstretched hands with a dozen (at least).
Hope these time tested vintage Hanukkah recipes bring back some happy memories. Or help you create some new memories with your family.
