The Family Table

raspberry walnut rugelach

While I loved preparing Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks ago, the real excitement came in knowing I can start playing Christmas carols. But I also enjoy sharing in the traditions of my mother in law's Jewish heritage, so this past weekend I was making latkes and preparing the Menorah. In a reversal of religions, my husband was watching Bob Dylan's Must Be Santa video. Thanks to Olga I now have the best latke recipe ever and will share it with you later this week (but you can click the link if you just can't wait). I was also prepping homemade apple sauce and some rugelach to bring to a friend's Hanukkah brunch.

Don't you just want to lick the screen? Olga's latkes were a hit with the kids.

My husband has fond memories of the rugelach his grandmother made, but unfortunately his mother was not a baker and didn't think to get the recipe before her mother passed away. Talk about lost treasures. Hopefully technology won't change too much and my girls will be able to read this blog post way in the future (I will one day write a cookbook just for them!). Homemade rugelach is easy and fun to make with the kids—it just requires a little planning. First step is to make the dough, and since it needs time to chill, best to do this without them even knowing, unless you like hearing "is it ready yet?" over and over. Cutting the triangles is also a great math exercise for older kids (and much easier than Everyday Math in my opinion). And about those fine motor skills...after rolling 48, the amount each batch makes, they'll be a super star in pre-k.

one smart (butter) cookie

December was a crazy month before children. Add two to the mix, along with school recitals, classroom holiday parties, gift shopping and work and it's no wonder Pillsbury slice and bake cookies work their way into those "homemade" cookie plates. You don't have to sacrifice real homebaked treats just because life is on fast-forward this month. All you need is a cookie that's as versatile and good at multi-tasking as you. This basic butter cookie recipe was featured on one of my other blogs Gourmet, Unbound. The directions simply called for, ahem, slicing and baking or rolling in colored sugar and pressing flat. The closest I came to listening was using the colored sprinkles you see above. Kids will love rolling, dipping and pressing.