The Feast of Dedication, the Festival of Lights, Eight Crazy Nights, Not Christmas….Hanukkah has many nicknames. But I like to call it the Season of the Skillet. That’s because potato latkes, donuts and other fried delicacies are my favorite Hanukkah tradition. (Shopping for 8 presents each for 3 kids on Black Friday? Not so much.) In the name of good health, though, I’ve been dialing back the greasy pastries in recent years, and serving a sweet rather than savory latke dish instead. The kids love its dessert-like taste, and ingredients like Greek yogurt and fresh apples make me feel like I’m throwing some nutrition their way during a time of year when holiday class parties, chocolate gelt and other sweets are dominating!
Gluten-Free Cinnamon-Apple Latkes
1 cup of finely chopped or pureed fresh apples (or unsweetened applesauce)
1 cup gluten-free flour
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. raw honey
½ tsp. organic cinnamon
½ tsp. sea salt
1 large egg
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
High-heat organic safflower oil, for frying (I’ll use this all Hanukkah long, in place of the less healthy vegetable oil!)
Top with maple syrup (optional—it’s pretty sweet without the topping)
Directions
- Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
- Beat egg with honey, almond milk and yogurt, then set aside.
- Peel, core and chop apples into small pieces, then grate in a food processor—or, measure out one cup of applesauce.
- Combine liquid mixture, apples and flour mixture together and mix with a spoon.
- Heat skillet and coat with ¼ cup of oil. When oil is hot, drop in spoonfuls of the batter (much like making pancakes).
- After about a minute, flip over and fry for another minute or two.
- Blot excess oil with a paper towel, then serve!