Make Sweet Potato Knishes

This Eastern European snack food was made popular in North America by Jewish immigrants. Reach back to your roots, or explore a brand new culture, by whipping up a batch of these sweet potato knishes. Mashing up the sweet potatoes brings your child's gross motor skills into play and even gives his arm a healthy work-out! He'll love helping out, and the final product is as irresistible to eat as it is nutrition-packed.

Note: To make this recipe kosher for Passover, simply skip the dough (steps 1–3), and add the filling to a casserole instead. Makes about 60 (4 logs).

What You Need:

• 4 large sweet potatoes (4 pounds total)
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• Solid vegetable shortening or vegetable
• Cooking spray
• Yolk of 1 large egg

What You Do:

1. Ask your child to help you scrub the sweet potatoes thoroughly. Cut off the ends, but do not peel them. Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan, add water to cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender, 40 to 50 minutes. (Testing with a skewer, rather than a fork, will prevent them from breaking up.)
2. Meanwhile, have him help you prepare the dough: Place 2 cups of flour in a bowl and make a well in it. Add the egg, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup oil, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the well and mix with a fork, incorporating the flour until the mass comes together in a ball.
3. Show him how to knead by hand, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is pliable, smooth, and slightly tacky. Divide the dough into 4 portions, form them into balls, cover, and set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Now it's time to prepare the filling: Drain the cooked sweet potatoes and allow them to cool a bit.
5. When they are cool enough to handle, invite him to help you peel off the skin. Combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons of salt, cinnamon, and pepper in a bowl; mash thoroughly.
6. Roll out one ball of dough on a board (if it sticks, lightly flour the board) to form a rectangle measuring about 8" x 14".
7. Place a quarter of the filling in a narrow strip along one long edge of the dough, about 1/2 inch in from the edge. Fold in 1/2 inch of both short ends of the dough, and roll the dough and filling up into a log. The whole log (about 13 inches long) can then be stretched to the length of the baking pan you are going to use.
8. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Place the logs on a baking sheet, cover with aluminum foil, and freeze until solid (to facilitate cutting), 2 to 3 hours.
9. When they are solidly frozen, wrap each log in plastic wrap and then in foil, and freeze.
10. About 2 hours before serving time, grease a baking sheet with shortening or cooking spray. Place as many of the frozen logs as you wish to use, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. (Each log will yield about 15 knishes.)
11. Let them thaw until you can just get a knife through them. Then cut each log, without cutting through the bottom layer of dough, into 1" to 1-1/2" wide slices, keeping the log together. (This will make it easier to cut them into individual knishes later while keeping the log together for baking.)
12. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
13. Whisk the egg yolk and remaining 2 tablespoons oil together in a bowl, and brush the tops of the knish logs with this mixture
14. Once they have thawed completely, bake until golden brown, 45 to 60 minutes.
15. Cut into individual knishes, following the lines pre-cut in Step 5. Serve hot.