Chrusciki Polish Angel Wing Cookies Recipes

POLISH ANGEL WINGS-CHRUSCIKI

Steps:

• Beat eggs until thick.
• Add salt slowly while stirring.
• Add sugar and vanilla, beat well.
• Add cream and flour, alternating until blended. You may need more than the flour listed above depending on how humid it is that day.
• Turn onto a floured board.
• Cover with a cloth for 10 minutes.
• Knead until dough blisters.
• Roll very thin.
• Cut into 1 inch by 4 inch rectangles.
• Cut a gash in the middle of the rectangle and pull one end through so it looks like a twist.
• Fry in 375 degree oil until golden brown.
• Drain on a rack for 3 minutes then roll into powdered sugar.

CHRUSCIKI - POLISH ANGEL WING COOKIES

Steps:

• Using a stand mixer, whisk whole eggs, egg yolks, butter and salt until thick and lemon colored.
• Slowly beat in the confectioner's sugar and brandy.
• Change to the dough hook and slowly mix in the flour a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough forms and pulls away from the bowl.
• Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. It should be thick like bread dough.
• Keep the dough in the bowl covered with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.
• Snip off a baseball sized piece of dough. On a floured surface, roll to 1/8 inch thick at the most!
• Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch wide strips. Then cut the other way in a diagonal to make pieces of dough that are about 1 1/2 X 4 inches.
• Next use your knife to cut a slit in the center of each piece.
• To form the wing shape, take one pointy end and poke it through the slit. Very gently pull the end through the slit to form a bow shaped cookie.
• In a heavy pot or deep skillet, heat the fat of choice (I like lard) to 350°F Use a thermometer!
• Drop the cookies, 3 cookies at a time, into the fat. Drop 3 cookies at once not 1 at a time. The cookies will sink to the bottom at first then they will puff up and float a couple of seconds later. As soon as this happens use a couple of forks to turn them.
• Immediately after you turn them use a deep fry strainer to remove them from the fat to drain on brown paper bags.
• Dust the still hot cookies with confectioner's sugar and repeat, cooking 3 cookies at a time until finished.
• Store in tightly covered, wax paper-lined tins.

CHRUSCIKI I

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, salt, vanilla, and whiskey. Stir in 2 cups of the flour. If dough is sticky, add the rest of the flour. Knead dough for 5 minutes; divide into three parts. Keep dough pieces covered with plastic wrap until ready to use.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Or, alternately, melt 2 pounds lard(see Editor's Note). Oil should be about 1 inch deep.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough until it's paper-thin. Cut into parallelogram (long diamond) shapes, and use a sharp paring knife to cut a slot in the centers. Pull one point of the diamond through the slot; set aside and repeat with remaining pieces.
• Fry 2 to 4 pieces at a time, depending on the size of your pan, about 5 to 10 seconds on each side. The cookies should not be browned. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels; dust with confectioners' sugar when cool. Store any remaining cookies in an airtight container.