It seems like the Jewish world has sweets on the brain lately! I think the kosher world is continually striving for a greater variety of kosher desserts and specialty items, and it seems like we are slowly getting there which is pretty exciting.
I’ve long been saying that the moment of the cupcake has passed, and that other desserts are taking its place instead. I thought for a little while it might be replaced by the whoopie pie, or even the cake pop. But the macaron has really taken center stage over the past 2 years.
Macarons are not my personal sweet of choice – I don’t love the chewy texture. But a lot of people DO love them, and they are a great option for Passover or Shabbat, because they are often pareve and flour-free! Want to be bold and make your own? What Jew Wanna Eat’s Amy Kritzer has a recipe for (dairy) Raspberry Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling.
But for those of us less willing to put in the grunt work, Macarons and Cookies By Woops just opened a new location in the Garden State Plaza Mall in New Jersey! Check out their beautiful sweet on their website. And yes, they are kosher!
I adore a good pot of freshly brewed tea, especially made with high quality loose tea. A friend posted on Facebook this week that Davids Tea is now offering over 90 kosher certified loose-leaf teas! I am partial to chamomile and English Breakfast, but they also offer several oolang varieties, blueberry flavored black tea, chai, chocolate and sweet dreams, just to name a few of the 90 flavors! You can place an order from on their website.
And in the Lakeview area of Chicago, a small sweets shop called Windy City Sweets has allowed members of the observant Jewish community’s nearby synagogue to create Shabbat accounts so that the the community can enjoy ice cream on Shabbat afternoon. The arrangement was so successful that Rabbi Asher Lopatin (the rabbi of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation) now uses the sweet shop to regularly host ice cream happy hours and post-holiday ice cream celebrations. Now that’s a community with its priorities straight! Read more about this from The Forward’s Jew and the Carrot.
kosher
Pronounced: KOH-sher, Origin: Hebrew, adhering to kashrut, the traditional Jewish dietary laws.
pareve
Pronounced: PAHRV or pah-REV, Origin: Hebrew, an adjective to describe a food or dish that is neither meat nor dairy. (Kosher laws prohibit serving meat and dairy together.)
Shabbat
Pronounced: shuh-BAHT or shah-BAHT, Origin: Hebrew, the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
