My family’s Christmas morning dish, made with my mom since I was little, and told out loud because that is how it travels
The “baking therapy” discussed on this blog refers to my personal experience using baking as a self-help and relaxation tool.”
Hey everybirdy, Robby here. We made it to day 15 of Winterfest Baking, and I saved the most personal one for last.
This is my family’s Christmas morning dish. Heavenly Kruggel, a sweet, creamy egg noodle casserole that my mom and I have made together every year since I was a little girl. Christmas morning would not feel like Christmas morning without it. There is no formal recipe. There never has been. It changes a little every year, and that is part of what it is.
And this chapter of Briella’s Winterfest is the one where she shared it. In 2019 I told her the recipe the way my mom told me, and I told her she could share it, and she did, on her show, with my name on it. Reading it back now still gets me. Here is her chapter, and then the most settled version of the recipe my family has, the one on the card below.
Meet Briella Ponder
The chapter opens with news. Briella has not been eating too many sweets, because she and Berto are expecting a baby.
Then she tells her viewers what today is. Today we are making my friend Robbie Birdie’s Winterfest breakfast. The dish that she and her mom make every year. It is called Heavenly Kruggel.
Robbie’s mom found the recipe in a newspaper recipe book. It was shared as a good Winterfest breakfast because after opening presents you could sit down to this heavenly creation.
And then Briella says the truest thing anybody has ever said about this dish. As for the actual recipe, there really isn’t one. Robbie told me that it changes slightly every year.
What does not change: the egg noodles, and they are a must, because the flavors are not the same with any other noodle. Eggs, however many that year says. A can of crushed pineapple with its juice. Sour cream. Vanilla. Cinnamon. Raisins. And finely chopped nuts on top. Robbie’s family usually uses walnuts.
Briella asked Robbie for the recipe once and Robbie laughed, because there is no recipe. The ingredients are changeable and the instructions are very simple. So Briella asked her permission to share it anyway, and she said it was fine.
The instructions, all of them: put everything in a greased 8×8 pan, mix it, cover it, and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, heat the oven to 350 and bake it for one hour.
Two family swaps ride along with the recipe card Briella printed, and they are my dad’s. The sour cream can be swapped for ricotta cheese. And the raisins can be swapped for figs or dates.
Her tags were short and sure: this recipe screams Christmas, and I love it so much.
A Robby note: my reblog of her chapter in 2019 said the rest. My family’s Christmas breakfast. This past Christmas was the first time I made it myself. There is a first time for everything, even the dish you have eaten your whole life.
What You Will Need
The most settled version, the one on this post’s recipe card. My mom found the original in a newspaper recipe book. Pop’s swaps are built into the card already.
- 1 package (12 oz) wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
- 4 large eggs
- 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, with juice
- 1 cup sour cream (or ricotta cheese, Pop’s way)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup raisins (optional, or chopped figs or dates, also Pop’s way)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Let’s Get Baking
- Cook the noodles until just tender, drain them well, and grease a deep 8 inch or 9 inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, stir the noodles together with the eggs, the pineapple and all its juice, the sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon, gently, until everything is coated.
- Fold in the raisins, pour it all into the dish, and scatter the walnuts over the top.
- Cover it tight and put it in the fridge overnight, at least 8 hours. This rest is not a delay. It is where the dish happens. The noodles drink up the sweet, creamy liquid while everybody sleeps.
- In the morning, heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake it uncovered for 1 hour, until it is set and golden on top.
- Serve it warm, after the presents, the way it was always meant to be eaten.
Questions and Robby
Do I really need to boil the noodles first?
Yes. Boiled until just tender, they finish soft and even after the overnight soak. Raw noodles soak up unevenly and some stay firm.
What if I forget to make it the night before?
Give it as many hours as you have, at least a few, but plan for the overnight if you can. The rest is what makes it heavenly instead of just mixed. Future you, standing in a quiet kitchen on Christmas morning with nothing to do but turn on the oven, will be grateful.
Can I swap the sour cream or the raisins?
You have Pop’s permission, since they are Pop’s swaps. Ricotta for the sour cream makes it lighter, a more classic kugel texture. Chopped figs or dates stand in for the raisins any year.
What does a batch really cost?
Counted the usual three ways, on the blog card amounts: $9.51 at Walmart, about $0.79 a serving for 12 servings. Costco does not sell egg noodles, crushed pineapple, or sour cream, so there is no honest all-Costco batch; a hybrid comes to $7.88. The food bank way, with the egg noodles given, is $7.03. And a gentle note that belongs to this dish alone: since the recipe changes a little every year, your total will too. Five eggs instead of four moves it about sixteen cents. That is not an error. That is the recipe.
Your card says $9.09. The sheet says $9.51. Which is right?
The sheet, counted this fall. The card’s count is older, most likely older noodle and pineapple prices. My suggestion: update the card to $9.51 and $0.79 so they agree.
Closing
Some recipes are instructions. This one is a inheritance. My mom found it in a newspaper recipe book, we have made it together every Christmas since I was little, I told it to Briella out loud because that is how it travels, and she carried it to her viewers with my blessing. Now it is here, as settled as it will ever be, and it still changes every year.
Does your family have a go-to Christmas morning breakfast recipe? Tell me in the comments, and tell me if it is written down or if it lives in somebody’s head and hands. Either way, you are not alone in the kitchen. You never were.
Bake the real thing: The recipe card is right on this page, and it makes 12 servings. Counted three ways: $9.51 at Walmart, $7.88 as a Costco and Walmart hybrid batch, $7.03 with gifted egg noodles.
Join the Flock: Robby’s Baking Therapy on Substack
Support the kitchen: Robby’s Baking Therapy on Ko-fi — $1 of every $5 goes to the Geneva Center of Concern.
Shop the story: Robby Birdy on Benable
My Go-To Christmas Brunch Since Childhood: Heavenly Kruggel
Ingredients
- 1 pkg 12 oz Wide Egg Noodles (cooked and drained)
- 4 large Eggs
- 1 can 20 oz Crushed Pineapple (with juice)
- 1 cup Sour Cream or Ricotta Cheese
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 cup Raisins optional; or chopped figs/dates
- 1/2 cup Finely Chopped Walnuts
Directions
- Cook wide egg noodles until just tender, drain thoroughly, and set aside. Thoroughly grease a deep 8-inch or 9-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked egg noodles, eggs, crushed pineapple with its juice, sour cream (or ricotta), vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Stir gently until well incorporated.
- Fold in the raisins (or figs/dates). Pour into the prepared dish and scatter finely chopped walnuts evenly across the top.
- Cover tightly with foil or a lid and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (overnight) to let the noodles absorb the liquid.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake uncovered for 1 hour until set and golden brown on top. Serve warm.
Notes
- Overnight Essential: Do not skip the overnight chill! The noodles need that time in the fridge to soak up the juices for the right texture.
- Custom Swaps: Swap sour cream for ricotta cheese or raisins for chopped dried figs/dates for a fun twist on tradition.
Leave a Reply