Shlishkes

Shlishkes (the plural form is standard) is a potato-based small dumpling of Hungarian Jewish origin, and are a popular part of the Jewish cuisine of the Ashkenazi community. They can be sweet or savory.

It is formed from a soft dough of cooked mashed potatoes, egg, flour and water; the dumplings are boiled and rolled in sugar and hot buttered caramelized breadcrumbs (streusel), or in browned breadcrumbs as a savory preparation. The dough is first rolled into a rope, and then cut into pieces, which are then twisted, before boiling. It can also be filled with prune lekvar or with a sweet poppy seed filling; this version is commonly eaten during Hanukkah, alongside latkes and sufganiyot.

The dish is a version of Kartoffelklösse, and is comparable to gnocchi, but is firmer and lacks ridges. There is a baked or pan-fried variant of it called bilkas or bilkhalekh. It can include sauteed onions, and during Passover, matzah cake meal is used instead of flour.

Shlishkes began as a way for using remaining potato dough from making gombóc. It became a Friday-night treat amongst some Hungarians during the 1800s, and during the 1930s, it became popular amongst eastern European Jews in Brooklyn and Queens as a side dish on Friday nights and during holidays; the dish can still be found in Kosher stores and at some weddings and bar mitzvahs in New York today.

The name "shlishkes" comes from the German word schulterstuck, which means "twisted knot", because the dumplings are twisted while being made.