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Cookies

Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Ukrainian-Style Walnut Ring Cookies, with Chocolate (волоський горіх печиво)

Here’s another Ukrainian/Eastern-European-inspired cookie recipe: Ukrainian-Style Walnut Ring Cookies, with Chocolate. In my research, I saw these both with chocolate like this, or with just walnuts held on with an egg wash and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. I guess it was how fancy one was being. Or what ingredients are on hand. The cookie dough is quite nice — mostly whole wheat flour (a little unusual for a cookie) and a touch of dark, buckwheat flour honey. As with many of the cookies that I am making, these are mostly made at Christmas time, so it feels a little strange to be making them in the run up to Easter, but oh well. They are yummy no matter what time of year.

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20. March 2022
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Summer Fruit Kolacky

In my research into Ukrainian food, I am finding one very consistent thing: the items and the flavor profiles of many central European foods, as well as Germany and Russia, are pretty similar. There are nuances of course — the further south (i.e. Hungary), the spicier the food, and there are some hyper-regional nuances (i.e. a Lviv-style cheesecake is from Lviv), but in general, there is a whole lot of overlap in Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, Russian and German food. Case in point: this style of cookie is found in Poland, Chechia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia. I chose fruit, but you can also use almond paste or even a sweet cream cheese filling. These are apricot and tart cherry. Yummy.

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13. March 2022
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Honey Plum Linzer Cookies

Lots going on in the world right now, and I am really feeling it. As long long time friends and followers will know, I get very emotionally invested in current events — in a very unhealthy manner, I must admit. I try to now channel pain and anger into learning — try to learn the language, learn about the people, the culture, the food. This could be anything, not just the current situation in the Ukraine, but conflicts in other parts of the world, or natural disasters, or extreme economic situations. But back to now: I tried to come up with a few recipes, this being the first of which, that form every day cuisine in the Ukraine. And I tried not to be too prototypical. Like, I don’t know if they would actually make Honey Plum Linzer cookies like these, but I do know that honey and plum preserves are common. So I made these. Quite lovely in fact.

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6. March 2022
Candy, Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Chocolate-covered, Butterfinger-Sprinkled
Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats

This may be one of the most “American” things that I have ever made, and I am not exactly sure what prompted the “americanism” other than I actually ate a Butterfinger bar for the first time in my life the other day. I am not a huge fan of peanut butter on the whole — I like it as an ingredient in other things, but on it’s own, not so much. Nevertheless, these are delicious, if you like Rice Krispies treats (I do), chocolate and peanut butter (yes to both of those). AS an extra bonus, they are gluten free!

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27. February 2022
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Blondies
with Toasted Pistachios

It’s a cookie in bar form! Not brownie but a blondie! In essence, you can use the exact same recipe to make cookies, but I was in the mood to make bars, so here we are. These are easy to make, flavorful and easily substitutable — in other words, don’t like dried cranberries or pistachios or white chocolate, swap out for raisins, walnuts and semi-sweet chips. Lots of options!

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14. January 2022