Baking a sweet treat before Passover

It was a Monday unlike many others as 30 young professionals (ages 22 to 35) came together earlier this week at The House for a unique, dynamic and creative program, one not yet held anywhere else in the city.

Emily Goldstein, program co-ordinator for the organization, wanted to go beyond the popular baking event Challah for Chesed with an offering of a different sort.

The Rugelach Bake-Off was a smash success to an equal extent.

While the dough was left to set, the lead baker of the evening, Estee Kafra, led the event's attendees in a brief discussion on Jewish values and traditions that highlighted the importance of the miracle we'll read about in the Passover Haggadah. It was not just that we were freed from the yoke of slavery, she said, but it also marked the first reference to Klal Yisrael as being God's people.

Everyone then returned to their baking stations to finish preparing the delectable treats. The recipe everyone was following offered two filling options. The traditional route was the classic chocolate with added chocolate chips. For those bold enough to try something new, the alternative was to roll them up with a spicy apricot preserve, with raisins thrown in for good measure.

If anyone was suffering from any residual feelings of depression from the frigid winter temperatures we faced this year, the sense of accomplishment that seasoned bakers and first timers alike derived from Monday's event changed all that indeed.