I won’t be playing Mah Jongg with the OMs tomorrow as I will be getting ready for the New Year’s holiday. I am going to a dear friend’s home and volunteered to make cookies, among other things. I did a little research and found two recipes that are specifically for Rosh Hashanah cookies and I thought I would share them with you. 

The first recipe is a rugelach type cookie called Sfratti. What follows is the fascinating story behind these cookies…

Sfratti means “sticks” in Italian, as well as “evicted,” for at one time landlords were allowed to persuade unwanted and delinquent tenants to leave by force of a rod. A similar practice was employed to chase away Jews during all-too-frequent periods of expulsion. This nut-filled cookie, a popular Italian Rosh Hashannah treat, got its name from its resemblance to a stick, the Jewish sense of humor transforming an object of persecution into a sweet symbol.

This filling sets up so fast – you really have to work quickly to form this hard but chewy “stick” before the mixture of honey, spices, and walnuts cools off. I definitely have some finger-burns!

The other cookie I baked today is a Honey Almond Cookie which apparently is also a traditional Rosh Hashanah cookie.

I don’t think either of these cookies are particularly pretty but that’s okay because they are definitely yummy!

You might be asking what this has to do with Mah Jongg…well, nothing! But I will still be cooking and baking tomorrow while the rest of the OMs are busy at the Mah Jongg table so I thought it appropriate to share all of this with you!!!