Many Jewish families have their own special Christmas traditions. Thomas Fiffer remembers—and recreates—his mother’s German Pancake.
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We all have our own holiday traditions for this festive time of year.
When I was growing up – in a Jewish home that celebrated both Hanukah and Christmas—my mother would make us a German pancake on Christmas morning.
Where did she find the recipe? In The Settlement Cookbook of course.
It seemed like the pancake took forever to rise, before my brothers and I could enjoy it with warm apple slices and a thorough dusting of powdered sugar—which she added liberally to almost everything.
We would wait and wait, but then, at the moment mom took the beauty out of the oven, we had finally given up and were nowhere to be seen.
“My pancake is falling!” mom would lament.
Even after it collapsed, the pancake still tasted delicious, with its combination of crispy dough and soft apples sweetened by the powdered sugar.
I continue this tradition with my own children, who—like clockwork—also disappear just as its ready.
What are some of the traditions and associated stories that you’ve carried forward into your own family celebrations?
Originally published on Westport’s HamletHub.
Photos courtesy of author.
That German pancake looks delicious. For Christmas, we always make homemade pierogies, krunchikis and kielbasa. The krunchikis is a recipe from my great-grandmother who had it written out in polish so it’s pretty special. Every year my Mom would host and cook Christmas dinner single-handedly. I have no idea how she did it because we would have 40 people every year over to our house. It was a crazy amount of work. We were all pretty much able to fit at one table that my great-grandfather built. It is a beautiful long table with long benches that when my parents… Read more »