passover, matzah balls, and rugelach

there is an obvious commonality here- but also- if you know about each of these- you know that one does not belong:

all of these are related to the Jewish culture.

Passover (this year Pesach, the Hebrew word, was April 19th) and Passover Seder- 'Seder' is a Hebrew word for order, organization. This festive meal is organized so that all of God's commandments (mitzvot) are observed.

Passover is reminding the believers of the Exodus from Egypt, as told in Exodus 12:13-14.

Matzah (there are a variety of spellings of this) balls are then a part of Passover because they are a flour-less type of bread- if bread can be called that without the flour! often matzah balls are served in a soup, can be the size of an orange or, more common, the size of a golf ball. they are considered to be a 'comfort' food.

Matzah is known as both the bread of affliction (for the bread that kept them alive as they served as slaves) and as the bread of freedom (the slaves fled so quickly toward their freedom that they did not have time to wait for the bread to rise.)

Unleavened bread that is eaten during Passover is rich in symbolism.

rugelach is a scrumptious pastry- that may be filled with a chocolate or fruit filling. what sets rugelach apart from the others, is that it is made from flour, and thus not a part of the Passover celebration.

my girlfriend brought some chicken noodle soup with a matzah ball to me for lunch this week, along with a few rugelachs.

she is christian, her husband jewish. they observe both cultures as much as possible- so when passover arrived, she asked her husband about making rugelach, forgetting about the flour. he made them for her anyway. they are such a cute family!

i enjoyed both the food she shared~ and that they led me to look a bit further into this celebration!

Chocolate Rugelach Recipe

DOUGH:
7 ounces (200 grams) butter
8 ounces (250 grams) cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

CHOCOLATE FILLING:
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup grated bitter-sweet chocolate
butter, melted

TOPPING:
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar

PREPARATION:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add flour and mix lightly. Refrigerate dough for an hour or more.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3.Divide the dough into four balls. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll one ball out into a circle until about 1/8 inch thick.
4. In a small bowl, mix the first four filling ingredients together (cocoa, cinnamon, sugar, grated chocolate). Spread some melted butter on the center of the circle. Sprinkle the chocolate mixture on top.
5. Cut the pastry into pie-shaped wedges. For bite-size and nice looking rugelach, the thick end of the wedge should about an 1 to 1 1/2 inch wide.
6. Start at the wide edge of the wedge and roll the dough up toward the point.
7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place each pastry, seam side down, on the paper.
8. Brush each pastry with the egg and sugar.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

TIPS:
1. Using too much filling leads to messy looking rugelach.
2. A pizza cutter makes it easier to cut the dough into pie-shaped wedges.
3. If you don't want to use parchment paper, you can spray the cookie sheets with non-stick spray.
4. After rolling the dough up and placing on the parchment paper, you can stick them in your freezer. When you need fresh rugelach, take them right from the freezer into the oven and add a few minutes to the baking time.