Holiday Apricot Kugel

I came to kugel relatively late in life, introduced to it by my cousin's mother-in-law. It was love at first bite! It seems a stretch to call it a comfort food since it isn't a product of my childhood, but there is something about this lightly sweet, rich dish that wraps me up like a warm blanket, straight from the dryer. This version caught my eye because the creator adds apricot preserves to the mix. It didn't disappoint! My husband, father-in-law, 13yo, and her friend all give it two thumbs up!

HOLIDAY APRICOT KUGEL

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package wide egg noodles
1 (18 ounce) jar apricot preserves
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 (16 ounce) container cottage cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large bowl, stir together the apricot preserves, eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix to thoroughly combine. Fold in the cottage cheese and noodles, and spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven until the center of the kugel is cooked and set, about 50 minutes. Remove the kugel and top with Cheddar cheese, return to the oven, and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 10 minutes. Let the kugel rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Amazingly, I didn't make any changes to this recipe. Of course, how do you mess with kugel, I ask? I used preserves that had no added sweeteners, but regular apricot preserves would work just as well. I imagine it would be a tad sweeter than my version.

ENJOY!


note: click on the recipe name to link directly to the original recipe