Krusczyki... with a twist

"All the good things in life happen by accident."

I am the author of the above quote...and I say this out of personal experience, take my marriage for instance. You can read all about it here.

Believe it or not, the first cookies were created by accident. In fact a lot of the famous history of cookies is filled with accidents. The very first cookies were just an oven temperature test. Early bakers used very small amounts of cake batter to test their oven temperatures before baking the final cake. These little test cakes were called "koekje", which means "little cake" in Dutch. By accident, the first "cookies" came into being.

Each country has its own favourite cookies. The word 'cookie' generally conjures up an image of something sweet. However, there are a few savoury versions too. Something sweet...something salty...isn't that what life is all about! But then again I digress.

I recently made Krusczyki, which is a deep fried Jewish dessert cookie. I made mine savoury though (with all the sugar-overdose I have been on), a nice twist for this overtly sweet festive season.

Savoury Krusczyki
Ingredients-

4 egg yolks
1 cup cream cheese
2 tsp carom seeds

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 tsp salt
1/4 cup melted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
oil for deep frying

Method-
In a large bowl mix together all ingredients (except oil) well. Stir into a ball, then turn dough out onto a floured surface . Knead dough for 1/2 hour.

Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough like you would a flat bread, about 1/4th of an inch in thickness.

Using a cookie cutter cut into desired shapes. (Traditionally they are made bow-shaped.)

Once cut, use a fork to mark/impress the cookies.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry on medium high heat till crisp and brown on both sides.

Tip: The fork impression helps in cooking the cookie throughout, thus making it crisper.

Traditionally Krusczykis are made in the form of bows/ribbons. However since I am a person who puts all her heart into whatever she does and then expects the results/outcome, with a twinkle in her eyes...I made mine in the form of hearts and stars. ( Yeah I can do with a little self -praise once in a while..lol.)

This goes out to Meeta's current Monthly Mingle-'World of spice cookies'.


Crunch...crunch...munch..munch!!