Chocolate chip, fruit cocktail, Noodle Kugel

We are trying to make something for a meal or side dish, that everyone will eat. The idea is to entice a preschooler who is a chocolate lover. As she said to me, "Auntie Rosie, I love any kind of chocolate."
I thought of lots of recipes and then came up with this one. This recipe makes 12 kugle cupcakes and one larger, flatter, 9" x 13", kugel. I will also include the ingredients for a dozen kugelettes and a larger rectangular 9" x 13" thicker kugel.

The recipe for 12 cupcake kugelettes and one 9" x 13" rectangular pan of thin kugel include:

butter and/or cooking spray (I suggest using both in the cupcake tins)
22 ounces of medium noodles
6 large eggs slightly beaten
10.3 ounces (two small containers) of vanilla, Greek Yogurt
1 cup of dried cranberries (craisins or raisins)
2 cans of fruit cocktail in juice (drain, but save the juice from both cans)(save a few cherries too)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup or more of mini chocolate chips

Take the cold eggs and the yogurt out of the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Spray and butter the insides of the cupcake and rectangular baking pans.

Boil the 22 ounces of noodles in a large pot per package directions, drain well, and set aside to cool. In another bowl, beat the 6 eggs slightly, add the yogurt, add the dried cranberries (or raisins), and add the drained two cans of fruit cocktail, saving the fruit juice. Add the cinnamon and stir the egg mixture gently. One should have about one cup of fruit juice for later use in the baking of the kugelettes and larger kugel.

Temper the egg mixture by adding a few of the luke warm noodles (tempering not needed if cooked noodles are at the same temperature as the egg mixture). Then gently add the entire egg mixture to the big pot of drained noodles. Fill the well-greased cupcake tins and 9" x 13" pan. Add mini chocolate chips to the tops of the kugels and add a cherry, dried cranberry or other fruit for extra decoration.

Bake at 350 F for about 20-30 minutes and spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the saved juice on each of the 12 kugels and spoon the rest of the canned juice on the large kugel. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the tops look brownish and crunchy.

Cool slightly and gently remove all of the kugels from the pans.

Kugels may be eaten at any temperature, warm, hot, or cold.


To make a thicker rectangular kugel, in addition to the 12 smaller round kugels use:

33 ounces of noodles
3-4 cups of vanilla, Greek yogurt (15-20 OUNCES)
9-12 eggs
3 cans of fruit cocktail
1-2 cups of craisins or raisins
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
mini chocolate chips per taste (optional)

Secret Russian Tea Biscuits

Russian Tea Biscuits freeze well and are a wonderful treat to bake in cool weather to enjoy anytime. A single recipe makes containers full of wonderful treats to share with family and friends. I like to keep some on hand in the freezer for special company or for those occasions when it is too hot too bake as this summer of 2012. Luckily, I baked a load of the raspberry treats in the early spring. Since I don't bake them as often as I would like, my biggest problem is to remember how much filling to put on each biscuit before I roll it up.

The secret to great tea biscuits is to buy the best filling products,  such as the best raspberry jam you can find, as it will be worth the wonderful aroma these biscuits have even after months in the freezer!

My husband prefers pecans to walnuts, thus, I use pecans but walnuts work fine too. I use Smucker's raspberry preserves as preserves are easier to spread than jam and don't try to use jelly, the pastry dough is too delicate!

Turn off your phone and prepare to spend some time making the most wonderful Russian Tea Biscuits. You will not regret it. The dough comes out perfect every time and does not stick to your rolling pin or break as you role up the cinnamon, raspberry preserves, raisins and chopped nuts.  I have used orange juice or lemon juice in the dough and both work great!

For those dairy allergic or following Kosher dietary rules for a Parve desert, use a margarine that does not include dairy products. I have used Fleishman's and Mother's margarine for an excellent product. Per its healthful benefits, I prefer using canola oil which tastes great in baked goods.

Here is the recipe and the next time I take some out of the freezer, I will post a picture, enjoy!

Sift together:

4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3/4 cup sugar,  note:  (you will also need a few tablespoons of extra sugar for the biscuit tops)

Make a well and add the liquid ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup margarine melted
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 whole eggs plus, note: you will need an extra egg white as a dip for the rolled biscuit dough. 

Mix the above and knead for ten minutes until the dough forms a soft ball. Divide into quarters if making the normal size biscuits. Roll each quarter of the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and add filing of red raspberry preserves, raisins, nuts and cinnamon. Try not to over stuff the roll with filling but you can use as much or as little as you like. Please note that if you use too much raspberry, the roll might leak yummy juice in the oven. Roll up the stuffed roll like a jelly roll.

Spread the top of the roll with egg white and dip the roll in granulated sugar before you cut the roll into slices as it is much easier this way (I can verify that it is time consuming and tedious to cut the roll into serving pieces and dip each piece into the egg white and granulated sugar). Cut the roll into one inch slices and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.Share with your best friends and your favorite cup of tea.