Hooray for Sukkos! I love eating outside in the fresh air, smelling the freshly-mowed grass, and enjoying family time. Our sukkah fits on our porch and is easy to enter right through the porch door. I like to think of Sukkos as a time to remember what’s important – that we have everything we need at this very moment, and we’re together as a family. Making family time fun and meaningful is always on my to-do list. To that end, here’s an activity that you and your kids – even your neighbors and friends – can do together.
Mini-Sukkah Centerpiece
I love crafts that my kids can do to get ready for the holidays, especially if they can eat them! This sukkah is relatively easy to put together, and there are many options. The ingredients are limited only by your imagination. If you have the time (and patience), you can take your kids to the candy store or candy aisle and have them pick out their own decorations. If you decide to go a quicker route, with all “prefabricated” materials, your sukkah building will be done in a “Klik” – like our Klik sukkah that is put together very easily. If you choose to make your own cookies, you need a recipe that doesn’t spread (one is provided below). I find the store-bought icing to be stiff enough to hold the cookies together. Or you can make your own with the recipe below.
The Sukkah
Graham crackers (or homemade gingerbread)
Icing (store-bought or homemade)
Jelly beans for decorations (or any colorful candy)
Cinnamon sticks or pretzels (thick or thin) for the roof
Pretzel “waffles”
Green sour belts for schach. (You could use fresh herbs, like parsley or sage, but I find the herbs do not hold up well outside the fridge.)
Chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds) for the “dirt” floor
Use 3 full graham crackers (or your homemade cookies) for the walls. Fill a Ziploc-type plastic bag half-way with icing, and snip a corner to make a piping bag. Stand 2 graham crackers together, pipe icing on each edge and connect. Repeat the process for the third wall. (Tip: Refrigerate the icing to make it stiffer.)
Carefully place the cinnamon sticks or pretzel logs (or any edible item that is long enough) on top of your sukkah. Use the icing as glue to keep them in place. Weave your green sour belts like schach through the “planks” of pretzels or cinnamon sticks.
With the icing, you can start “gluing” on decorations like dried/candied fruit, candy, nuts, etc. The more colorful, the better.
To make furniture, use 1/4 of a whole graham cracker rectangle as the “table,” then break another 1/4 rectangle in half to use for 2 “legs” and glue to the underside of the table. To make chairs, use small pretzel waffles as the seat of the stools, and glue on “legs.”
While we’re talking about fun edible things for the table, once you already have the graham crackers and icing out, you can make an edible place card for each person. Simply pipe their names onto a graham cracker cookie, adding an icing border to be fancy. Lean place card against the person’s glass or lay it on their plate.
Homemade Icing
2/3 c. butter, shortening, or non-transfat margarine
2/3 c. almond milk
1 T. vanilla (optional)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
2-lb. bag confectionary sugar
Dissolve salt in almond milk. Place shortening, almond milk, vanilla, and sugar in a medium bowl and mix on low speed with an electric mixer (can be done by hand, but takes longer) until fully incorporated. You want to start on the slow speed so that the confectionary sugar doesn’t escape the bowl in a poof. Scrape the sides down to make sure everything gets mixed. If the mixture is of perfect consistency, hooray. If not, add 1 tablespoon of confectionary sugar at a time to thicken or 1 tablespoon of milk at a time to thin. Makes approximately 4 cups.
Homemade Sugar Cookie
1 c. cold, unsalted butter, shortening, non-transfat margarine, cubed
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375°, and line baking sheets with parchment. Cream the butter and sugar, just until smooth and combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt, and mix on medium low speed. The mixture will seem very dry and sandy at first, but after 3 to 5 minutes in the mixer, it will gather itself into a ball and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into shapes, and bake for 9 to 12 minutes.
These cookies do not spread, so cut them into the rectangles before baking. You’ll have to decide what size you want your sukkah. Then you’ll make 3 “walls” (leaving the fourth side open like a diorama. I like a 5 x 2.5-inch wall, but this is entirely your preference. This recipe makes about 15 such walls.
If you have cardboard handy, you can make your very own cookie stencil. Cut out a 5 x 2.5-inch rectangle in the middle of the cardboard, then cover the rest of the cardboard with foil.
A few tricks: The parchment paper really does help the cookies retain their shape. And the cornstarch helps the cookie hold its shape instead of spreading! If you have rolling pin “rings” (rubber band-like things that go on each side of the rolling pin), you can easily get uniform thickness for your rolled-out dough.
After making the walls, you can cut out smaller cookies for chairs and tables (1/2 x 1 inch). You can also use graham crackers or the square thin pretzels (as above) for the furniture.
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Once Sukkos is over, I am always on the lookout for what to do with etrogs. There have to be more recipes out there then just etrog jelly. I found the following recipes from Melinda Strauss (a blogger with Kitchen Tested) and just love them.
Etrog Salt
This recipe takes some effort, but you can use the salt for many future dishes: for instance. on salmon and chicken.
2 T. etrog zest (from 2 etrogs)
1/2 c. fine or flakey sea salt
Scrub the peel and then zest the etrog. Add salt to the zest in a bowl and make sure it is thoroughly mixed. Spread in a thin layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 225° F. for 1 hour. Once cooked, keep in a sealed container until use. If kept sealed, it will keep as long as salt does.
Etrog Simple Syrup
This syrup can be used to sweeten tea or any homemade drink, and can be used instead of simple syrup for any recipe where a citrus flavor is desired.
2 etrogs
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
Using the zested etrogs, cube the entire etrog (seeds and all) and place in a food processor. Pulse with the S-blade until ground up. Place ground etrog in medium pot with sugar and water. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes. Strain mixture, leaving only the syrup (about 1 cup).
Etrog Drop Candy
1 c. sugar plus extra for sprinkling
3 T. etrog simple syrup (recipe above)
Sprinkle a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet with a thin layer of sugar. In a pot mix the sugar and etrog simple syrup. Boil until the sugar is dissolved. Boil until candy reaches 300 degrees (using a candy thermometer). This takes about 5 minutes. If you do not have a candy thermometer, you can take a drop of the candy mixture and drop it into a cup of cold water. If it hardens right away, it’s at the right stage, so and turn off the heat. With a metal spoon, drop the sugar mixture by the half-teaspoonful onto the sugar-sprinkled parchment paper. Sprinkle sugar on top of each candy as soon as you can as it will harden quickly.
Etrog Drop Candy Cookies
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. etrog salt
1 c. shortening or non-transfat margarine
1 T. etrog zest
1 1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 to 1 c. etrog drop candies, crushed
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and etrog salt and set aside. Mix the sugar and etrog zest in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the shortening and mix on medium-high for 1 minute, until pale and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, then add the vanilla and lemon extract. Gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the crushed etrog drop candies.
Drop tablespoons of the cookie dough on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and flatten the tops slightly. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350° F. until the edges start to brown. Cool for around 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
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