Aunt Bea's Noodle Kugel
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cooking Time: 45 minutes
- Serves: 6
This recipe comes from my Great Aunt Bea. It has been winning devoted fans at Yom Kippur Break-Fasts and Shavuot meals for over seventy years. Everybody who tastes the kugel asks for the recipe, but Aunt Bea requested that the recipe be kept in the family, so unless you were born into the family or married into it (which my mother was lucky enough to do) you were out of luck.
Growing up, I couldn't wait for the day when I could start making the kugel on my own. I was thrilled at the prospect of preparing the secret recipe, relishing the compliments and then responding, "I wish I could tell you but it’s not up to me— talk to Aunt Bea.” And then, as I grew up and became a chef in my own right, I learned that food and eating is a shared experience. A few years ago I received permission from my mother to share the recipe, which I joyfully do now.
I make the kugel once a year, on Shavuot. Shavuot is the time when the Jewish People receive the Torah. We do not simply commemorate the original giving of the Torah, but we actively receive it each year, and we have the awesome obligation of passing it down to the next generation. While I wouldn’t quite equate the passing down of our laws with the passing down of a recipe, I would like to recognize that we each have the opportunity and the obligation to transmit our own traditions and shared experiences with one another and with each generation. And so my request is this: when you make the kugel and are asked for the recipe, please share it. Chag Sameach!
P.S. You can make this kugel with low fat products but for the best results, use full fat products.
- Part of Meal: Side
- Food Type: Dairy
- Service Temp: Warm
- Holiday: Shavuot
- Special Diet: Vegetarian
- Kosher Hostess Tip:
Although this kugel cannot be frozen, it can be prepared up to 4 days in advance. Just keep it wrapped tightly in the refrigerator and warm it in a 350º oven for 15 minutes before serving.
- 1/2 pound(s) fine egg noodles
- 6 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup(s) sugar
- 1/2 pound(s) farmer's cheese
- 1/4 pound(s) cream cheese
- 1 cup(s) sour cream
- 1 pound(s) cottage cheese
- 2 cup(s) milk
- 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
- 6 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of cinnamon for sprinkling
1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Boil the egg noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain them and allow them to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Stir the eggs into the noodles and set them aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the sugar, farmer’s cheese and cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
5. Add the sour cream and cottage cheese and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
6. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the milk and vanilla extract.
7. Combine the noodle mixture and the cheese mixture in one large bowl and add the salt and melted butter.
8. Pour the noodle and cheese mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle cinnamon over the top.
9. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the sides are firm but the center is not quite set.