Teiglach Recipe

TRY THIS OUT! HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Yields about 80 pieces (Parve)

Ingredients:

Syrup:

• 1 lb. honey
• ¾ cup water (plus more if needed)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar

Dough:

• 6 eggs
• 1 Tablespoons ginger
• ½ Tablespoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3½ cup flour (plus ½ cup or more for rolling dough)

Garnish:

• ¾ cup slivered almonds
• ½ cup whole glacéed cherries
• ½ cup sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil and oil lightly. Set aside.
2. In a large, heavy pot (at least 6-quart capacity*) mix together the honey, water, lemon juice, and sugar. Heat to boiling.
   * (This pot size may seem too large; however, the syrup would overflow a smaller pot later in the recipe.)
3. While the honey syrup is heating, beat together the eggs, oil, ginger, and salt until blended. Sift together the baking powder and 3½ cups flour. Add to the egg mixture to form a sticky dough.
4. Cut into 8 pieces. Dust each piece with flour and roll between your hands until it forms a “snake” about ¾ inch in diameter. Slice each snake into about 10 slices, ¾ inch thick.
5. Add to the boiling syrup and simmer slowly for about an hour. It is important to cook the dough for the full time.
   At the end of the first half hour, the teiglach will be an attractive golden color , but they will not be hard and crisp. Further cooking will improve their texture and make them a beautiful dark mahogany color.
6. Stir gently every 10 minutes or so during the cooking period. If the liquid seems close to evaporating, add more water, about 1/3 cup at a time. Ten minutes before the end of the hour, add the almonds and cherries. Stir frequently until done, to make sure that the syrup doesn’t burn.
7. When the cooking is complete, remove pan from heat. Immediately place the teiglach, almonds, and cherries on the oiled pans, keeping as much of the leftover syrup as possible on the pot.
8. Separate the teiglach so that they don’t stick together.
9. Stir the sesame seeds into the leftover syrup, adjusting the quantity to the amount of syrup that remains, if necessary. When the sesame-syrup mass cools enough to be handled, form it into spheres the size of gumballs.
   Work quickly but carefully: the syrup is extremely hot at first, but will become too hard to shape as it cools. Form the teiglach into pyramids–one large or several small–and decorate with the cherries, sesame balls, and slivered almonds.

Note: Teiglach keep very well and make an excellent gift. If it is necessary to cover them, use lightly oiled aluminum foil. Some cooks roll the finished teiglach in finely chopped nuts or coconut, which makes them less sticky. Others form the teiglach dough into shapes, such as spheres or knots. They can be stuffed with bits of nut or dried fruit before they are cooked.

The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.