Tayglach is a traditional Ashkenazi dessert, whose name loosely translates to “little dough” in Yiddish. Made of enriched, eggy dough balls boiled in a honey syrup, tayglach is often served during Rosh Hashanah. While the recipe is time consuming (and often messy), it is a deceptively simple dish to make. It also happens to be insanely delicious.
The trick to tayglach is to cook them slowly in the syrup, to prevent the sugar in the honey from burning. This recipe uses chopped pecans, though walnuts and dried fruit are also often added to the syrup. Serve them as is, or add them to muffin liners, for an easy grab-and-go dessert. These tayglach are shaped by cutting the dough into small pieces, but some people prefer to tie small pieces of dough into knots before boiling. Whichever way suits you to serve them, these tayglach will be a hit this sweet new year.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp whiskey or rum
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 cups honey
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon and whiskey.
- Add the baking powder, flour and sea salt, mixing with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes a workable dough. Divide into 4 pieces, and roll each piece into a 9–10-inch rope, about ½ inch wide. Use a small knife to cut ½ inch pieces, transferring to a baking tray in a single layer. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Over medium heat, bring the honey and sugar to a boil in a medium pot.
- Reduce the heat to a low simmer, and add the dough balls, a few at a time, shaking in between each addition (this helps reduce sticking).
- Cover, simmer, and shake occasionally, cooking for 30 minutes, or until amber in color.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the tayglach and place onto a lined baking tray.
- Bring the syrup to a boil, then add the water and lemon juice, mixing until thickened slightly. Stir in the pecans.
- Drizzle the syrup over the tayglach and serve warm.
- If making in advance, add the tayglach to a container, then pour the syrup and nuts over top.