Light Jewish Holiday Desserts

When most people think of Jewish desserts, the same old rugelach, babka, and stale macaroons come to mind. Author Penny Eisenberg, in her new book, Light Jewish Holiday Desserts, proves that Jewish baking has so much more to offer, including cookies, Charlottes, turnovers, loaf cakes, layer cakes, Bundt cakes, Napoleons, and tarts. Most Jewish desserts are also laden with fat, but Penny shows you, with her absolutely delicious recipes, how to cut the fat by as much as 75 percent in some caseswithout sacrificing any of the taste.

Jewish holidays are steeped in culture and tradition, so the chapters are organized by holiday and explain why certain foods and recipes are significant. Some recipes, though, are just fun, like the Chocolate Nut Roulade that can be shaped to look like a Torah for Simkat Torah. For Passover (Pesach), very strict guidelines must be followed, like no consumption of wheat flour, so Penny offers a Fresh Strawberry Torte with a crust made from ground matzoh.

Many of these recipes are so delicious, home cooks will want to prepare them year round. But come high holidays, these recipes are sure to impress family and friends.