Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Papernjaci (Papernjak)


These are the BEST cookies. They are from Slavonia, where my father's family is from.

Here is the recipe from Kuharstvo by Mira Vucetic, 1952 (name of recipe is papernjaci iv).

  • 500g flour
  • 200g finely ground walnuts
  • 150g sugar
  • 200g butter
  • 250g honey
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 lemon peel, grated fine
  • 1/2 tsp (2.84 gramscloves finely ground
  • 1/2 (2.84 gramsteaspoon pepper finely ground
Mix the butter and egg until creamy, then add the sugar and mix till creamy, then add the honey and mix well. Add the flour, then the rest of the ingredients. Mix until the dough is very hard.

Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a width of 0.7cm (as fat as a finger) and press down with the papernjak mold (pictured to the right). Remove the mold and cut out the individual cookies. Brush with egg whites. 

You can roll the cookies on the parchment paper as well, if you find it difficult to transfer them from the counter to the baking sheet (bottom photos is baked papernjaci).

Put the cookies in the oven to bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes. Use the middle rack of the oven. 

Sretan Bozic i sve naj naj!