Crunchy Noodle Kugel à la Great-Aunt Martha

There’s a brand of cottage cheese called “Good Culture” that works really well here, presumably because it lacks the gums and stabilizers nearly all big brand cottage cheeses use these days. Another too: chopped dates instead of raisins.

This is always such a big hit. I bake mine in a tube pan for about 45 minutes. It’s very pretty to look at and I use Gran Marnier to soak the raisins.

Very important note for cutting kugel: Cut it when it's cold... right out of the refrigerator; then reheat. Cutting it when it comes out of the oven will result in it falling apart. So definitely yes, make in advance and store in the refrigerator. (From my Lithuanian grandmother!)

Used good ricotta instead of cottage cheese and minced dried apricots instead of raisins — I can’t stand raisins. I microwaved the apricots in sherry and they absorbed all the liquid. The result was superb, as I imagine the unaltered recipe is. Perfect mix of crunchy top and creamy inside.

I added a touch of vanilla and less sugar!

If I make this a day ahead, do i refrigerate?

I followed directions except for the orange juice, which I didn't have. I used less butter on the noodles and salted them. I, too. used a 13x9-in. dish and baked it for about 45 minutes. I put cinnamon on top. Truly delicious and my mother and grandmother are smiling from the mah jong game in the sky.

I use apricot preserves instead of sugar. This takes it to a whole new level.

Tofutti makes a great non-dairy ricotta and sour cream so this dish can be prepared and enjoyed with a meat meal.

A co-worker taught me to make it with the thinnest possible egg noodles. We love it that way -- blends into the custard better.

Found an old fashioned recipe which used cream cheese and sour cream and I used chopped fresh peaches, but its best idea was crushed cornflake topping sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon. Make in the requisite deep square Pyrex dish, it was like the sweet Ashkenazic equivalent of Macaroni N cheese.

Thanks for the tips about using ricotta and for making a crunchy cinnamon and sugar topping. I baked mine in a pottery casserole dish so the cooking time was extended a bit. The kugel was great and a BIG hit at a friends and family brunch.

Oh My Melissa this is the best thing I have ever made with such a little bit of nothing. Work, ingredients, in other words no big work or fancy ingredients! Thank you so much to you and your Auntie Martha! p.s. the best recipes I find are the Jewish ones and I am Irish to boot!

I usually like Melissa Clark’s recipes but my kugel turned out to be just “ho hum.” Next year I will modify the recipe by adding 1/2 c of sugar, 3T of butter, and Friendship cottage cheese instead of Breakstone’s. A topping of tart cherry pie filling or another fruit filling is in order. Happy Hanukkah

All our ancestors were from Lithuania but I don't know whether my mother inherited or created her recipe. She would make a similar version, also crunchy on top and sides, but pareve (minus the dairy ingredients) and with vegetable oil subbing in for butter so it could be served with meat and comply with the rules of kashrut. It also included sliced apples and plenty of cinnamon. When I make it I use more eggs to get the custardy quality normally afforded by cheese and sour cream.