Sweet Kugel (Noodle Pudding)
This is one of my favorite dishes that my mom used to make. I've added my own twists to it that have gotten rave reviews from friends.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raisins I prefer golden raisins, but black are also commonly used.
- 16 ounces wide egg noodles
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups sour cream
- 8 ounces cottage cheese For this recipe, I like to use cottage cheese with pineapple in it.
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened - OR farmer's cheese crumbled (1 cup)
- 1 cup applesauce optional, but I love it to enhance the sweetness
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt if desired – I don't use it.
- Cinnamon or nutmeg for dusting
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Cover the raisins with hot water and let them soak to plump while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles to the pot, bring back to a boil, and let them cook until tender (not overly soft), about 5 minutes. Drain and return the cooked noodles to the pot.
- Either in a food processor or blender, OR by hand, blend together the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, applesauce, sugar, melted butter, and salt.
- Pour the egg mixture over the cooked noodles in the pot and stir until well combined.
- Drain the raisins. Stir them into the noodles.
- Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking oil. Pour the noodle mixture into the dish.
- Bake the kugel for about 60 minutes, until the center of the kugel is set and the tips of the noodles turn golden brown. Remove from the oven.
- If desired, sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on the top for some flavor and nice color.
- Let the kugel rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Kugel can be served warm or cold.
Notes
One year I decided to make kugel for my coworkers. I prepared it the night before and stuck the uncooked mix into the fridge. In the morning, first thing, I put it in the oven to cook while I showered and dressed. When it was done, I reached into my alphabetized spice cabinet for the cinnamon. I said to myself, "I'm going to use a lot because it's the holidays and cinnamon is nice, and isn't that a really red batch of cinnamon coming out of the jar!" Turns out, I accidentally used cayenne pepper instead. A lot. So don't do that.