Similar to bread pudding, kugel is a starch baked in custard and tastes awesome in your mouth. However, kugel is also similar to tuna noodle casserole in appearance and concept, which is considerably less tasty. So in spite of how hamburger helper-esque it looks, suspend any trepidation and cook this. You can pick up the cereal and dried fruit from Usdan and you’ll feel like a paradigm of a Jewish grandmother—always a goal.

Sweet Kugel

Adapted from foodiereflections.com

1 pound egg noodles

1 stick butter

2 cups milk

1 pound cottage cheese

6 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract (you can just sub an extra teaspoon of vanilla, or douse it with maple syrup)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins, dried cranberries, other small dried fruit

1 1/3 cups corn flake crumbs, or other sweet crunchy cereal, divided

Preheat the oven to 375°F and coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the noodles until al dente, about 6 minutes. The noodles should be cooked but still have a small bite to them. Drain the noodles.

Melt the butter in the same pot over low heat. Once melted, turn off the heat. Add the milk, cottage cheese, eggs, cooked noodles, raisins, sugar, vanilla, maple if you’re using, salt, and ground cinnamon. Mix well.

Pour in 1 cup corn flake crumbs and mix until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup corn flake crumbs evenly over the top.

Bake at 375°F for 60 to 70 minutes or until set. Be careful not to burn the noodles on top—that means not so much fun in your mouth. Cool slightly then cut into squares. Serve warm.