Medoviya Prianiki Russian Honey Rye Cookies Recipes

PRYANIKI - RUSSIAN HONEY SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, dissolve the instant coffee in the water.
• Add the butter, sugar and honey to the dissolved coffee in the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat and cook, stirring, just until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves and the mixture is homogenous. Take off the heat, pour it into a large bowl. and cool for about 10-15 minutes.
• Add all the spices - vanilla, allspice, nutmeg and anise. You can also add cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, mint extract, etc.
• Whisk in the eggs, the baking soda dissolved in vinegar and baking powder. You will notice that the mixture will fizz a little when it's all mixed up.
• Add the flour and mix with a large wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated.
• Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside at room temperature for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Shape the cookie dough into approximately 1 Tablespoon balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving some room around each cookie, since they will expand while baking. I use a 1 Tablespoon measuring scoop to get the cookie dough out of the bowl and then roll it around in my hands. This will make sure that all the cookies are the same size and will bake evenly.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake, or the cookies will be too hard.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the milk to make a glaze. You can flavor the glaze by adding some kind of extract to it, like vanilla, mint, almond, etc.
• Dip the cooled cookies into the glaze, letting the excess run off. Set the glazed cookies on a rack or parchment paper to dry. When the glaze is dry, you can flip the cookies over and glaze the other side as well. When glazing the cookies, work fast, since the glaze will be harder to work with when it starts to dry up. You can add a tiny splash more of milk to thin it out if it hardens.
• Store the cookies at room temperature in a sealed container.

MEDOVIYA PRIANIKI (RUSSIAN HONEY RYE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Heat the honey in a pan until it thins and comes to a boil; keep it very hot.
• Sift together rye meal and flour and heat in skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, so it doesn't brown.
• Add the baking powder, cloves, and ginger to the flour; mix quickly.
• Add part of the flour mixture to the honey (remember it must be very hot) and stir.
• Quickly add the whiskey, anise flavoring, and remaining flour.
• Beat the mixture as hard as you can with a wooden spoon until the mixture easily comes off the spoon.
• Shape the dough into a long roll, then flatten the roll slightly.
• Cut off slices about 1/2-inch thick.
• Place slices on a lightly greased and floured cookie sheet.
• Bake at 325°F until light brown (30 minutes).

ESTONIAN RYE COOKIES (RUISKATUT)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Sift the dry ingredients together and gradually add to the butter mixture. Beat in the milk and mix well. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F and butter two baking sheets.
• Roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out 1 1/2 inch rounds.
• Place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Gather up the scraps, re-roll, and cut out as many more rounds as possible. Prick the cookies all over with a fork.
• Bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on racks and store in an airtight container. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

SWEDISH RYE COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Stir in rye flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
• Mix well and add enough water to moisten the dough.
• Roll out onto a floured board, the thinner the dough, the crispier the cookies will be.
• Cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds using cutter or floured glass.
• Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375°F or until slightly brown.