KNOW IT ALL
BY FRALEY WILLIAMS
anukkah gelt has been around for ages, but not always in chocolate form. In medieval Europe, families gave money—called “gelt” in Yiddish—to teachers as a token of appreciation. By the 1800s, kids got gelt as little Hanukkah gifts. The Loft’s candy company came out with foil-wrapped chocolate coins in the 1920s, and children started betting with them in dreidel games. The treats have stuck around—with some new spins. Last year, Manischewitz debuted chocolate Crypto Gelt! Check out some other fun facts about these beloved sweets.
To play a game of dreidel, players contribute equal amounts of chocolate coins to a communal pot, then take turns spinning. The four letters on the dreidel represent the phrase “a big miracle happened there,” a reference to the Maccabee army’s win in ancient times. “Nun” means you get nothing, “gimel” earns you the entire pot, “hey” is half and “shin” means put in coins.
Cut a thawed sheet of frozen puff pastry into 2½-inch rounds. Press each round into a muffin-tin cup and prick the centers with a fork. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 400˚ until puffed and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and prick the centers again with a fork to deflate. Put a piece of gelt on top of each pastry puff and let soften slightly, then gently press it in.
Big outdoor Hanukkah celebrations run by groups like Chabad sometimes include gelt drops: Firefighters stand on truck ladders and toss hundreds of chocolate coins to the crowd. Helicopters and drones have done the drops too!
GELT PASTRY BITES: PHILIP FRIEDMAN. GELT: ALAMY. BAG OF GELT AND GELT DROP: GETTY IMAGE