An explanation of Hanukkah Gelt, for those who only got one day of Christmas presents: Gelt is yiddish for money. It is customary on Hanukkah to give children a little money in the form of coins. Apparently the tradition started in 17th century Poland and the coins were intended for the children’s school teachers. I remember going as a young child to a family friend’s home on Hanukkah and a grandfather looking kind of man that was there pulled a silver dollar out of his pocket for every kid at the party, year after year. This moment of getting the silver dollar, from a man who seemed to gift them purely for the joy of watching children’s faces light up, is one of my indelibly printed memories of Hanukkah.

Nowadays, usually when we speak of Hanukkah Gelt, we are referring to those gold wrapped chocolate coins that everyone loves this time of year. These cookies are shaped like those chocolates, except the gold is on the inside in the form of extra virgin olive oil.

 

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