Adding a Swedish Flavor to Traditional Chanukah Fare

I was facing a dilemma with several people who said they are planning on bringing sufganiyot to the Chanukah party we are having tomorrow.

And, honestly, I was not in the mood to make latkes for that many people by myself, which can be quite time consuming-not to mention also labor intensive.

Then I remembered a conversation I had a few years ago with someone who converted to Judaism.

She is of Swedish ancestry, and talked about how she grew up celebrating Christmas, as well as St. Lucia’s Day with her family. Then she went on about wanting to give her children a strong Jewish identity.

Then she mentioned the rosette cookies that her mother always made, and how she wanted to share that part of her upbringing with her children. So she would make them for Chanukah since she felt it fit in well with the Chanukah theme of oily, fried foods.

Sometimes, traditions are about recreating and making them your own, as well as celebrating the diversity within Judaism.

So tonight, I am taking a page from her playbook and making rosette cookies for the Chanukah party tomorrow!