Rosh Hashanah is a time for reflection and celebration. In Jewish tradition, we dip apples and challah in honey for a sweet New Year.
“I am all about the symbolism of honey for the sweet new year,” Challah guru Mandy Silverman, founder of Mandylicious, told the Journal. “And like honey, sometimes the new year can mean sticky times can be ahead, but overall the hope is that the sweet will be the part it is remembered for.”
Silverman believes every year it is “a journey in personal growth, with a side serving of delicious food and wonderful family moments.”
Mandylicious’ Honey Spice Challah is the perfect addition to any holiday meal.
Mandylicious Honey Spice Challah
For the Challah Dough
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons table salt
4 1/4 cups high quality bread flour
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 scant teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon instant yeast (Note: Instant
yeast does not need to be proofed. Just
add it in)
Extra water and flour, if needed
For the Egg Wash
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead for 5 to 7 minutes by hand or by using the dough hook in a stand mixer. To reach desired consistency: if sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time; if dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Allow dough to rise in a large bowl, covered with a towel for 1 ½ hours.
- (Alternatively, you can add dry and wet ingredients to a bread machine in the order specified by the manufacturer. Set machine for the “dough” cycle.)
- Remove dough from the bowl or bread machine and divide into 6 equal portions. On a floured surface, roll three portions into long ropes, carefully braid together, then place on a greased loaf pan or greased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- To craft a round-challah for Rosh Hashanah, make your three strands extra long (20” to 24”), braid them, and then roll it into a circle shape, tucking the tail underneath.
- Cover with a towel and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes in a draft-free place.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat egg yolk and mix in water to prepare the egg wash. Brush over each challah.
- Bake challahs for approximately 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack. Best served slightly warm.
If you have any problems or questions, direct message @mandyliciouschallah on Instagram.
“In my family, delectable culinary delights vie for top billing when it comes to Jewish holidays,” Chef Jeff Frymer told the Journal. “For Rosh Hashanah, that means baked apples with honey.”
Frymer’s dessert is the perfect recipe for the High Holy Days.
“It represents the simple sweetness of what is true for me,” he said. “We can taste and savor the essence of a new year of life, forgive others and be forgiven of ourselves.”
For this recipe, Frymer prefers Granny Smith apples as a savory balance to the sweetness of honey. However, if you are big fan of sweet, feel free to use Fuji apples instead.
“I use butter in this recipe, so I usually prepare a honey glazed salmon as the main course to keep everything on theme and kosher,” Frymer said.
Chef Jeff Frymer’s Baked Apples with Honey
Organic Ingredients
Granny Smith Apples
For each apple:
1 tsp honey
1 tsp crushed pecan/walnuts
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tsp butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cut the top off the apples, about 3/8 inch, allowing the stem to remain. Be sure to remember which top goes to which apple for presentation.
- Using a melon-baller, if you have one, core the apple, removing seeds and surrounding area. You want to leave a little clean apple bowl ready for the rest of the ingredients.
- Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the honey and surrounding apple. Add crushed pecan/walnuts. Smear butter to cover it all. Finally, season with cinnamon and fresh grated nutmeg.
- Return the apple tops to their respective recipients, place in an oven-safe baking dish and add a cup of water to the dish. Bake for approximately 40 to 45 minutes, until the apples soften and caramelize. Once done, allow to cool, quarter, plate, and serve.
Warning: Your house is going to smell amazing.
Those allergic to honey can add sweetness to their meal in other ways. For instance, Michael Tanenbaum’s Festive Fruit Compote and Fruit Punch will “knock your socks off.”
Tanenbaum’s recipe uses coconut sugar instead of honey (honey works too), and you get the sweetness from the fruit as well.
For Tanenbaum, founder of Consciously Kosher, the High Holy Days hold deep meaning.
“I feel joy and renewal during this time of year,” Tanenbaum told the Journal. “It’s a time to reconnect to the source of all Creation, to meditate upon the abundance that God has provided me and my family and to consider what lies in the year ahead.”
Consciously Kosher’s Homemade Hawaiian Punch
Ingredients (amounts are approximate)
1/2 gallon water (filtered or spring)
3 large Ceylon cinnamon sticks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2-3 Tbsp coconut sugar (or substitute
agave or raw honey)
8 – 10 ripe and pitted fruits, including
but not limited to peaches, nectarines,
plums, pluots, apricots, apples (Fuji or
Gala), Asian pears and strawberries
- In a large pot, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pour in the coconut sugar and the spices.
- Wash the fruit well, slice it in halves (or quarters), remove the pits and/or seeds and add the fruit to the boiling water mixture.
- Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes with the lid slightly ajar, then remove from the heat and let it cool.
- Filter the liquid from the fruit, using a fine mesh sieve.
- Bottle the liquid and serve chilled. Serve the fruit with non-dairy yogurt or parve ice cream.
