Hannukah Recipes

by Vanessa Quirk

Eight days is a mighty long time to come up with Hannukah-inspired dishes night after night. So, just in case you’re running low on the culinary inspiration you need to make it to the 19th, we’ve got a few out-of-the-box recipes to ”lighten” your load.

We’re especially drooling over this fabulous one for Cheese Danish Pastries (Delkelekh), courtesy of the New York Times:

Time: About an hour plus overnight refrigeration.

Yield: About 24 pastries.

FOR THE DOUGH:
1 tablespoon yeast
1/3 cup milk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

FOR THE FILLING:
12 ounces farmer’s cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg yolk
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

FOR ASSEMBLY:
Flour, for dusting
1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Confectioners’ sugar, optional.

1. For the dough: In bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and milk and allow to sit for a few minutes. Stir in eggs, butter, sour cream, sugar, salt and flour. Mix well until dough turns into a ball. Transfer to a covered container and allow to rest for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.

2. For the filling: In bowl of an electric mixer, combine farmer’s cheese, sour cream, sugar, flour, vanilla, egg yolk and lemon zest. Mix well. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed, up to 24 hours.

3. For assembly: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out dough into a rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 4-by-4-inch squares. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into center of each square. Pick up corners of each square and press points together.

4. Arrange pastries on baking sheets about 1½ inches apart. Brush with egg mixture. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and serve as is or sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.