My grandmother (or Babci in Polish) never wrote her recipes down and she passed away over 30 years ago. Fortunately, my older sister had the foresight to watch her make these traditional celebratory cookies and take notes. While variations of this cookie recipe abound (my cousin's grandmother used sour cream and heavy cream in hers) my sisters and I agree that this Chrusciki recipe is closet to our grandmother's -- very light, delicate and flaky.

The dough for these cookies is not very sweet -- most of the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar sprinkled over the cookies. The cookies are ultra-delicate, so they, unfortunately, don't ship well, although if you pack very carefully, it can be done (but not recommended).

Important Tips and Hints:
The eggs and the butter need to be at room temperature before beginning!

While you can mix this dough by hand, I recommend an electric mixer. It really needs a lot of beating and kneading. Nonetheless, my grandmother did it by hand, so if you don't have a mixer and are ambitious, it can be done.

Traditionally lard was used for frying the cookies. Of course, that was what was readily available in the days of my grandmother. My cousin Arlene still makes them this way. I personally like to use vegetable shortening. My sister Bambi prefers a neutral cooking oil, like canola oil. All three cooking mediums will do the job well, so take your choice.

While one person can make these cookies alone, it is much easier as a two person job -- that way one person is cutting and shaping the dough while the other is frying. If you are working alone, I would suggest rolling out, cutting and shaping all the cookies first, keeping them on a baking sheet, lightly covered with a barely damp clean kitchen towel, until you are ready to fry them.

Variation!
Click the link below for a variation on this recipe -- Chrusciki Rossettes.

2 eggs at room temperature
4 egg yolks at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1 shot (1 1/2 ounces) of brandy, rum, brandy, or whiskey

vegetable shortening, canola oil or lard for frying

confectioner's sugar for dusting

Makes About 6 Dozen Cookies

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, egg yolks and salt until thick and lemon colored. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, brandy and alcohol of choice.

Change to the dough hook attachment on the mixer. Slowly mix in 2 cups of flour. Use the dough hook to knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. The dough should be thick, almost like bread dough.

Rolling and Frying the Cookies
To roll the dough you will be working with small balls of dough. Keep the rest of the dough in the bowl, covered with a clean damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out while you are working.

Take a piece of dough about the size of a baseball. On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out very thin -- 1/8 of an inch at the most!

Take a sharp knife and cut the rolled out dough into strips about 2 inches wide. Then cut the other way on a diagonal to make pieces of dough that are about 2 inches by 4 inches (Photo 1).

Take your knife and cut a small slit (1 inch or less) in the center of each piece (Photo 2).

1. 2.

To form the cookie, take one end and place it through the slit (Photo 3).

3.

Very gently pull the end of the dough through the slit to form a bow shaped cookie (Photo 4).

4.

In a large pot or deep skillet heat about 3-4 inches of shortening, oil or lard until very hot. (You could alternatively use a deep fat fryer with clean oil.) Test the oil by putting in a small scrap of dough, it should sink to the bottom then immediately float to the top. When this happens your oil is ready.

Fry the cookies in small batches -- depending on the size of your pot -- no more than 6 at a time (Photo 5). Fry for about 30 seconds then use tongs to gently turn the cookies over. The cookies should just be barely golden brown. Drain on paper towels or on a wire rack set on a baking sheet. Dust liberally with confectioner's sugar. Store cool cookies in an airtight container for a week or so.

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