No Gingerbread Man in Russia, but gingerbread we do have and it is a taste treat to delight the senses. I know of a place in Tula, Russia that makes pryanik and when Sveta and I travel, you can find these huge cookies at many a roadside stand, with a babushka keeping an eye on you as you look at her wares…
The big cakes are usually filled with jam or condensed milk and they are the ultimate in gingerbread treats. Besides the ones I see on the roadside are so big, that they will serve as a weapon in times of trouble. They also will feed the whole family several times, as you sip tea or coffee after dinner and or an afternoon snack…
You can find these delights as little round balls in a market, to cakes as big as a meter across. at specialty stores. Below is a recipe that will try to make it simple to create a delicious treat and you will not be sorry at the outcome. Your family definitely will not be sorry as they munch…
Lets make Pryanik…
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup honey
25 grams butter
2 tablespoons baking soda
1/4 tablespoon each cardamon, ginger and cinnamon
1/2 cup thick jam (any flavor)
1/2 cup water
Preparation:
Make the sugar syrup:
Bring the water to a boil.
Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water.
Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat.
Dough
Add melted honey, melted butter, soda and cinnamon to dough, knead until mixed. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface, then roll dough to a thickness of not more than 1cm or about a third of an inch. Cut dough into rectangles. Spread a generous tablespoon (just a little more than that: okay!) of jam into a rectangle of dough, then cover it with another rectangle, sealing the edges to prevent leakage. Put on greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Bake for 5-10 more minutes at 300 degrees F. Glaze with the sugar syrup when cool…
I like them served warm, not hot and I also like to create a icing kinda like we put on cinnamon rolls in America. But that is putting the horse before the cart and you have to make them first on time to see what you like, or your family likes…
So try this recipe and then as you bite a Pryanik for the first time: Say Yummy – Num Num Num Num…
Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…