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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.

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.

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.

6. March 2022

Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Pâte à Choux Beignets

As they say in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, Laissez les bons temps router! Instead of making Fasnachtsküchle or Krapfen this year for Fat Tuesday this year, I went with traditional Pâte à Choux Beignets. Light and airy, these were great. Eat them quickly though because they don’t taste nearly as good once the fry oil has chilled. Would be great with a strong black chicory coffee!

1. March 2022

Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Cardamom Swirl Muffins

Decided to make these lovely Cardamom Swirl Muffins (are they a cinnamon bun? are they a muffin?) to share with fellow tenants after the weekend snowfall, and the respective digging out of the cars and clearing of the snow. For once, almost everyone pitched in. These are a cross between a muffin and cinnamon roll — definitely bigger than a usual muffin though. I used my hamburger bun pan, with homemade parchment paper liners, because the big liners are too high and the normal sized liners too small. Because of the butter and sugar, it’s best to go with liners even in a nonstick pan, lest they stick. Recipe makes 12 swirls so I had to bake in two batches. At any rate, these are fantastic straight out of the oven.

28. February 2022

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