My Father’s Favorite Dairy Kugel
Anyone who knew my dad, remembered his deep passion for good food. Having been in the wholesale foods business for his entire career, he simply loved talking about food as much as he did eating! He absolutely LOVED this kugel and insisted it be part of just about every family celebration. Normally, I would play with the recipe to provide healthier tweaks, but in memory of my dad, the original mostly remains. Rich and indulgent for sure… and best saved for “that” special occasion!
Servings: 18 to 24
Ingredients
Topping
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 10 ounces fine egg noodles uncooked
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 16 ounces cottage cheese
- 8 ounces sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook noodles in boiling salted water for 4 minutes; drain well. (Fine noodles cook quickly.)
- Place butter in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; melt in oven. (watch carefully so not to burn) Remove baking dish from oven; stir in noodles, coating with butter.
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese for about 2 minutes or until smooth.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating each till combined.
- Add sugar, cottage cheese, sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and vanilla. (Mixture may also be combined until smooth in a large blender.)
- Fold egg mixture into noodles, combining well.
- Sprinkle topping evenly over kugel.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out almost clean and kugel is lightly golden in color.
- Serve warm or cold. If serving warm, allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
Make Ahead and Serving Tips: kugel may be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Delicious served cold or reheat, covered at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until warmed through. May also be frozen for up to 4 months.
This kugel is delicious served on its own or topped with sour cream, plain Greek yogurt or Homemade Labneh.
Can you use healthier ingredients? Absolutely. If you prefer, you may use reduced-fat cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream. You may also replace the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. I often swap cane sugar with coconut palm sugar in sweet dishes, but have not yet tried it in this recipe. As coconut palm sugar has a color similar to brown sugar, it would give the kugel a darker appearance.
