One of the rewards of enduring my family's five hour seders were the farfel muffins made by my Grandma Jean who made these (and everything else) from scratch.
Her farfel muffins were like a Jewish version of Yorkshire pudding, very light and almost hollow on the inside. As you can see, my muffins, while delicious, haven't yet achieved the high standard my grandmother set.
I'm lucky to work just a few blocks away from the Streit's Matzoh factory on Manhattan's Lower East Side, which has a retail shop attached, as I was unable to find farfel in any of the grocery stores in my Park Slope neighborhood. Matzoh yes, farfel no.
These muffins, from my mother's recipe (below), are very easy to make, and almost impossible to stop eating.
 |
| Soak the farfel in water and then drain before proceeding with the recipe. |
 |
| My mother's recipe. When I took this recipe card, she said, "Mine were never as good as Grandma's." |
Luckily I have eight days to get these right.
Production notes: Grease the muffin tins. Soak the farfel in cold water until soft, then drain. Beat eggs separately, and add to drained farfel, melted butter, salt and matzoh meal. These make approximately 15 muffins. (Alternately, you don't need to beat the eggs separately, just mix them into the rest of the ingredients -- I'm sure that's what my mother did.)
hi susan from Elaine, sheryl comet's mom. I've been reading, and enjoying, your blog and was hoping you would have a passover recipe. I made these muffins this morning -- I had some charoseth left over from the seders, and added some to the muffin mix, and the muffins were great. (PS-- remember when sheryl and alex "cut" hebrew school and took a car service to visit their "boyfriends" at age 11 or 12 ?????)
ReplyDeleteLove the Anonymous comment about Sheryl and Alex's past but how about DH bringing some of those muffins in for a taste test before Passover passes over us all? ABA
ReplyDelete@Elaine: I'm thrilled you read my blog and so happy that you made the muffins. What a great idea to add charoseth to the batter. And of course I remember that episode, with great humor now. All's well that ends well, I guess ; )
ReplyDelete@ABA: DH will have something even better for you tomorrow!
I love these and even made them myself a few times. When I was not eating yeast, your grandma would send us home with a bag full, along with a melon and other things she insisted we take. I wonder who got that "snack set for 12" she pushed on us for years!
ReplyDeleteFarfel is impossible to find here too.
Farfel is just crushed Matzah. I never buy it - I just make it myself. I just take matzah and break it up with my hands. It's worked well for the last 32 years.
ReplyDeleteHappy Passover!
Thanks for writing and apologies for my delayed response. Bravo to you for making your own. I'm lazy and fear never getting the pieces in a uniform enough size (some too big,others too small) for this recipe. Plus, I like to support the local matzo place, it's such a throw back.
DeleteHope it's okay to post..... I'm not Jewish and I live way down south. The muffins look delicious, but if Farfel is just crushed Matzah, what is Matzo meal in the recipe above. I'm not sure if these items are in the stores here. I'll look, but please give me an excuse on not knowing.
ReplyDeleteFarfel is crushed matzo -- the pieces are about the size of peas (but flat). Matzo meal is matzo crushed fine, nearly as fine as flour. (That I either purchase or grind in a food processor.) You can make your own farfel, but I'm lazy and the farfel in the purchased product has a uniform size that's difficult to achieve at home. I think -- I've never tried it! Thanks for writing!
DeleteSometimes you have to temper the eggs first if you use boiled water to soften the farfel. If you do then either temper the eggs or stir in quickly before ends have a chance to start cooking in the mixture.
DeleteVery excited to try these. They are in the oven!
ReplyDeleteI make a similar recipe every year for Pesach. It's from my wife's family, and they call them "kugelachs." The primary difference is that the kugelachs include chopped onion and pepper. It's a real treat to see them here.
ReplyDeleteI just found these and can’t wait to try them today! I haven’t had much joy preparing for Passover this year because my family can’t be together - again. This will definitely cheer me up. Thank you and I enjoyed reading about your Hebrew School adventures and your Grandma Jean. Happy Passover!
ReplyDeleteAdd these for our Seder, they are very light and enjoyable. Happy Passover to all!
ReplyDelete