Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil; add 3 tsp. salt.

Butter an 8x8 glass baking dish.

Once the water has boiled, toss in pasta and cook al dente as directed (usually 5-7 minutes). Drain noodles and set aside to cool.

In the empty pasta pot or a saucepan, melt 1/4 stick of salted butter and let it brown slightly. Pour the butter into a bowl to cool slightly.

As the butter cools, separate your eggs: yolks in a small bowl and whites in a medium sized bowl. *Make sure no egg yolk or fat of any kind touches the bowl so that the whites whip correctly.

To the butter add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and the two egg yolks. Whisk or mix together with a fork. Then add in 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1 cup sour cream and 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese. Mix until combined and uniform.

In the medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff.

Combine the cooled pasta with the sour cream, egg and buttermilk mixture. Then carefully fold in the egg whites. 

Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Do not flatten it all down, simply let the mixture settle in.

Mix 1/2 tsp of cinnamon with 1 Tbsp. sugar, and sprinkle lightly over the dish. 

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

*When done, the kugel will have a slight jiggle in the middle and will be golden and just slightly crispy on top.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe was written by Leah Klein of Leah's Life.