Cheese Latkes - Holiday Series

                                                                                         

Cheese Latkes

This is another recipe to indulge in on Chanukah or any time of the year.  It is cooked in oil, making it appropriate for the holiday.

I have submitted this to Foodie Fridays.

I happen to love cheese latkes.  For those of you, who do not use the word latkes, try pancakes.  There is something heartwarming about pancakes.  It brings back memories of when my children were little and pancakes were a Sunday morning breakfast, particularly "puzzle pancakes."  There will be a photo below.  That was the part of making pancakes that was fun, creating shapes that looked like animals or familiar objects.  Sometimes, we didn't know until the pancake was on the plate, what it turned out to be, if anything.  The ones, below had no significance to me but if you find something in them, do share.


Although I found this recipe on Goldmine.com, it comes from one of my favorite cookbooks and chances are that I have made these, several times, over the years.  The book is a big purple hard covered book which is well worn and it is called, Spice and Spirit, The Complete Kosher Cookbook.  There are good solid recipes in the book and has been a go-to book up until I began my journey to learn how to cook gluten free. Then, I expanded and picked up a few gluten-free books to later find, I did better with regular cookbooks, making my own adjustments.

As a result, I built a new library (small but good for me) and attempted to get books by many of the cooks we bake or cook "with" online.  Today, I got the best one, so far, Baking, from my home to yours, by Dorie Greenspan.  I thought I would sit down and put a sticky on a few pages that caught my eye.  I found that every page had a great recipe and that the sticky solution is not a solution, with this book.  I think now, I will look at the recipes, that Tuesdays with Dorie has used, and make some of them.

This has nothing to do with pancakes so I leave the rambling and get to the recipe.

Ingredients:                                                 

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup cottage cheese, drained

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour   (I used a gluten-free mix)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil for frying              

Method:

Place all the ingredients except oil together in a large bowl. Mix until smooth.

Heat 1/2 cup oil in a skillet.

Using a large spoon, drop the batter into hot oil.

Fry 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

Continue until batter is used up, adding oil when necessary.                                                                    Puzzle Pancakes Above

The latkes may be served topped with sour cream, applesauce or maple syrup. (I went for the maple syrup. Hubby ate them plain.)

These make a good weekend breakfast, a lunch dish, even a snack.  Just think how healthy the cheese is and forget the oil but of course the oil is for Chanukah.