Hanukkah Recipe: Cheese Knishes
I know latkes are the traditional food of Hanukkah, but I’m just not a big latke person. I am, however, a big knish person, and in my family they are a requirement at not only every Jewish holiday, but every holiday, period.
For those not in the know, a knish is a pastry filled with either minced meat, potato, or cheese. And it is ridiculously delicious.
What’s more, in Boston, where I come from, the knishes are usually small, say about one to two bites. Elsewhere in the country, they are huge — the sort of thing you might share with people at a deli as an appetizer. And, in my opinion, nowhere near as good.
Lucky for me then, my parents’ friend is a magnificent baker, and she gave me her recipe for the Boston bite-sized cheese knishes so I can make them whenever I want them. Which is all the time, as they are to-die-for good.
Don’t let the fact that you make the pastry from scratch daunt you. It’s actually pretty easy. Although, since the recipe makes about five dozen knishes, it is a little labor-intensive, so leave yourself some extra time. Oh, and, you’re welcome.
Cheese Knishes
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 lb margarine
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 large onions
- 1 lb farmer cheese (can substitute Mozzarella if you can’t find this)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 lb cream cheese
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
Mix dough ingredients (flour, margarine and sour cream) and refrigerate overnight.
Dice the onions and saute in margarine. Mix them with the farmer cheese, salt, cream cheese (softened in microwave) and sugar to form the filling.
Flour the counter and rolling pin. Roll dough thin, cut with round glass. Fill each cut-out pastry circle with filling (around 1 spoonful), seal, and then brush tops with the beaten egg.
Bake for 20 minutes at 375F on a greased cookie sheet. Try not to eat them all yourself!
