A kugel, usually a bread pudding cooked with the Sabbath cholent, was the kind of slightly sweet Eastern European dish we think of as dessert. Sugary desserts were actually a very late invention. I have turned this kugel, a very old and beloved recipe from the Feinberg family of Cincinnati, into little muffins or kugelettes.
Equipment:
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoon
- Vegetable peeler
- Grater or food processor
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- 24 paper muffin cups
- Muffin tins for 24 cupcakes
- Rubber scraper
Note: Baking soda is kosher for Passover.
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From “A Sweet Year” © 2024 by Joan Nathan. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Vegetable Kugelettes
Spiced, sweet and packed full of veg, these mini kugels are great to make with kids.
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24
Ingredients
- 2 apples
- 1 large sweet potato
- 4 carrots
- 1 cup matzah meal
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted dairy or vegan butter, melted, or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda (see notes)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ cup light- or dark-brown sugar
Instructions
- Adult: Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Child: Place the paper muffin cups in the muffin tins.
- Child alone, or with adult: Peel, core and grate the apples, and peel and grate the sweet potato and carrots, and measure so that each makes 1 cup, putting them into a bowl as you go. Mix in the matzah meal, your choice of melted fat, the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Spoon the batter into the cups, making them two-thirds full.
- Bake, covered, for 20 minutes, then raise the oven to 350°F, remove the cover, and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
Baking soda is kosher for Passover.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi
What’s with the ‘vegan butter?’ That’s just ‘new speak’ for margarine. Call it what it is…