Hannukah Baking

In light of the fact that all across Germany people are baking Weihnachtsplätzchen, many of which are incredibly sweet and sugary, I thought I'd try out a few savoury biscuits for Hannukah instead. This is a picture of the results. It's a simple cheese pastry with mustard and a dash of cayenne pepper and decorated with different seeds and toppings.

Starting at the top left, we have 'Caraway Stars,' top right; 'Bleeding Hearts', bottom left; 'Cheese and Olive Menorahs', middle; 'Ketzakh Kokhavim', (Black Cumin Stars) middle right; 'Magen Davids' and bottom right; 'Gabriels'.

I thought up these names for the biscuits, which are to remember the events surrounding the Feast of Dedication in 164 BC. The 'Bleeding Hearts' are simple cheese pastry hearts brushed with a bit of sundried tomato pesto - to remember Hannah whose seven sons were brutally martyred by Antiochus Epiphanes rather than worship his gods and assimilate themselves to Hellenism. The 'Menorahs' (topped with a bit of gouda and a 1/8 of an olive) are to remember the miracle of the Menorah oil in the Temple which, although only enough for one day, miraculously lasted 8 days. The 'Magen Davids' are to remember that Yeshua is the Lord and our shield and the 'Gabriels' (brushed with egg white and covered with sesame seeds,) are to remember that Mariam was visited by the Archangel Gabriel  and told that she would conceive the Messiah by the Holy Spirit. Maybe next year I'll find a dove biscuit cutter and make biscuits like doves. This was fun.