While we at Kosher.com love to try new recipes, there’s something about the holidays and this time of year that calls us to the favorites we make year in and year out.

And now, we’d like to share our traditional family recipes with you! We’ve collected tried-and-true favorite recipes from the Kosher.com names you know and love, plus the team behind the scenes, to inspire. Plus, scroll down to find out how you can get the free digital cookbook for even more of our favorite Rosh Hashanah recipes.

 

Esty Wolbe (Easy Does It):

For as long as I can remember I make the Majestic and Moist Honey Cake from Smitten Kitchen for Rosh Hashanah. We love it because it’s got depth and warm autumn spices which really sets it apart from any other recipe I’ve tried. I make it in a bundt pan and we dress it up for Yom Tov with a beautiful blanket of white icing and then it gets bejeweled with pomegranate seeds. It’s the perfect Rosh Hashanah cake in every way.

Rorie Weisberg (Living Full ’n Free):

A Yom Tov season does not go by without my Cauliflower Farfel. It’s a great way to fill a third section of your plate with something that has that rice/farfel feel without adding more heavy carbs to the meal. This recipe is one of the few veggie sides I make that I know every person in my house enjoys and will gladly finish. It also rewarms really well, making this dish perfect for the many meals ahead this Yom Tov season.

Naomi Nachman (Sunny Side Up):

The Carrot-Date Muffins from my cookbook Perfect Flavors. (Reproduced with permission from the copyright holders, Artscroll/Mesorah Ltd.)

Streusel Topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/8 cup sweetened shredded coconut  (optional)

1/2 cup canola oil

Muffins:

2 cups whole dates, pitted

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup canola oil

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups flour

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cups ground walnuts

2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Prepare the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and coconut, if using. Add oil; with a fork, stir togther until well combined and mixture begins to hold together but is still crumbly.

2. Prepare the muffins: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with oil or nonstick cooking spray.

3. Place dates into a shallow bowl; pour boiling water over them; allow to soak for 15 minutes.

4. Transfer dates and soaking liquid to a food processor fitted with the “S” blade; and process until almost smooth but a few pea-sized date pieces remain. Set aside to cool slightly.

5. In a medium bowl, combine flour with baking powder and salt.

6. In a bowl, whisk together oil and brown sugar until smooth.

7. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla and cinnamon.

8. Add half of the flour mixture; stir well to combine. Add date puree, carrots, and nuts; mix well.

9. Add in remaining flour mixture. Do not overmix.

10. Divide batter among the muffin cups. Top with streusel, pressing down gently to adhere.

11. Bake for 30 minutes until brown. Yields 12 muffins.

Cook’s Tip: Do not over-mix the batter or the muffins will be dense and tough.

Yussi Weisz (Shabbos with Yussi, Heimish @ Home, Baruch Hashem It’s Shabbos):

Definitely making this spicy gefilte fish for Rosh Hashanah!

Chanie Nayman (Kosherdotcom Editor-in-Chief):

Bobbie’s Recipes
Every Rosh Hashanah I make my Bobbie’s honey cake, and sometimes I make her lukshen kugel, too. These recipes are now hitting the fifth generation (with my children getting involved in the kitchen), and to me, that is part of what makes them so special and so rich.

Mama’s Honey Cake
My grandmother Malka was a very good baker. My mom told me that Malka would bake lemon meringue pie, challah every Friday, and strudel, all without written recipes.

3 eggs

1 cup honey

1 cup sugar

1 cup slightly cooled prepared coffee

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup oil

2 and 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup dark raisins, mixed with a little flour

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (if not using for Yamim Noraim)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, honey, and sugar. In a small bowl, combine coffee and baking soda.

3. Add coffee mixture and oil to the egg mixture and mix to combine. Add flour, baking powder, and vanilla; beat together well. Add nuts, or raisins at this point, if using.

4. Bake in a well-greased tube pan for approximately one hour, testing with a toothpick after 50 minutes. Alternatively, you can do as I do — make it in two loaf pans, which is easier to cut and serve. You keep the same baking time and temperature.

Leah Gottheim (Kosherdotcom VP):

My favorites are Sylvia Fallas’s Apples and Honey Brisket, I’ve made it the last 2 years and plan to make it again! I put it up in the crockpot overnight and it’s perfect in time for the seuda.

I also made Rivky Kleiman’s Cran-Raspberry Swirled Butternut Squash Pie, but 5 eggs is much too eggy, I used 3 and it was still too eggy, this time I plan to try only 2 eggs. Canned butternut squash is a great time saver- Trader Joe’s has some with a hechsher.

Nechama Fink (Kosherdotcom Back End Management Assistant):

What’s better than making a simple, delicious apple pie that both wows the guests and pleases the kids? This apple pie gets a big thumbs up at our table! This recipe is a creative way to bring apples to the Rosh Hashanah table as well as to make sure everyone leaves your Rosh Hashanah meal pleased and ready to start the year off right!

Jenna Grunfeld (Kosherdotcom Managing Editor):

In recent years my family has really enjoyed the standing rib roast recipe from Renee Muller’s cookbook Our Table. It’s such a good special treat for yontif and it disappears in one meal every time! Renee herself serves it with these unbelievably addictive fried onion crisps that are amazing and a little bit of a potchke – aka perfect for special Yom Tov occasions.

 

Rachel Kor (Kosherdotcom Editorial Assistant):

One side of my family is Sephardic (from Egypt), so every year my family likes to make special Sephardic recipes for special occasions like Rosh Hashanah. One of my hands-down favorite recipes that we feature on the menu is called Ma’amoul. It’s a small rounded pastry, filled with a sweet date filling, crimped with decorative designs and then dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

One of my favorite parts about making Ma’amoul for Rosh Hashanah is that I get to use my Great-Grandmother’s decorating tweezers she gave me. It makes the cooking process that much sweeter!

You can find the recipe for Ma’amoul in Poopa Dweck’s cookbook, Aromas of Aleppo. The dough recipe can be found on page 272, and the date filling recipe can be found on page 268. Enjoy!

Naomi B. (Recipe Data Assistant):

This recipe appeared many years ago in the Young Israel of Israel cookbook (I believe it was a limited, one-time printing) and it was contributed by Debbie Broder of Yerushalayim.

Jaffa Chicken

cut up chicken

garlic powder

paprika

orange juice concentrate

Sauce:

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon onion soup mix

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with the seasonings.

2. Cover and bake at 180 degrees Centigrade (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15–20 minutes (it might take longer depending on your oven/type of roasting pan you use) until barely white. Drain the accumulated liquid. Spread concentrate over the chicken and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cook the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan until thick. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with paprika; bake in covered pan until hot and bubbly (around one hour, but check earlier). May be served garnished with orange slices.

Raquel Cohen Malul (Kosherdotcom Marketing Assistant):

My favorite Rosh Hashanah recipe is my mom’s Apples and Honey Challah. I love making challah every week, but on Rosh Hashanah, we elevate our challah to new levels! This challah has dried apples, honey and cinnamon and is sooo good, every bite screams Rosh Hashanah. I always make many batches of it and give this special challah to some very lucky family and friends. So be prepared to make more than one batch- trust me, you’ll be thanking me later! I love adding different toppings to it too- sometimes I add cinnamon and sugar, a crumble topping and sometimes I leave it plain and simple. Have fun with it and enjoy! Shana Tova!

Renee Schwartz (Kosherdotcom Recipe Editor):

My family eats out most of our Rosh Hashanah meals, but I do have to prepare healthy mini-meals and snacks to keep us going all day long. Last year, I put my very low sugar diet on hiatus for the yom tov — a bad, bad idea in retrospect. Cue a horrible blood sugar spike! This year, my menu goal is to prepare foods in keeping with the spirit of the day while keeping the sugar to a minimum. To that end, I’ll be making these lightly sweetened honey cookies from She Loves Biscotti, which I first made for our Winnie-the-Pooh-themed mishloach manot earlier this year. I’ll also be making these carrot muffins, this beet cake (without the glaze), and some sort of vegetables roasted with silan.

For help planning your holiday meals from A-Z, check out our new Rosh Hashanah menus and roundups:

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah with this Complete Menu

Healthier Recipes for Your Rosh Hashanah Table

45+ Ways to Go Gluten Free this Rosh Hashanah

And for even more recipes, click here to download our FREE Rosh Hashanah cookbook.

Check out our complete collection of Rosh Hashanah recipes for mains, sides, soups, desserts, and more inspiration for the holiday.