Hello Sunshine and Honey-Mint Cookies
It’s been raining every day here for the past like 100 days (or what it feels like). The sun is finally out and they promised us 80 degrees this weekend, though we’re not completely out of the rain zone yet and more cold days will arrive next week. I don’t want a hot May anyway, not yet.
But, sheesh, it’s May already, weren’t we just ringing in the New Year?! Time flies in the literal way. My kid will be 20 in a week and is finishing up his second college year. Where is my baby? I haven’t had enough of that! He was such a little terror though. I still have PTSD from his early years: stuff broken, head stuck in a fence, fingers jammed inside the lock sockets, school calling to complain like every week, locking me out of the house before he could even walk yet, refusing to sit inside a playpen but would in a laundry basket (plus throwing all the clothes around), no tolerance for any kind of freedom restrictions whatsoever, nosy neighbors getting ready to call child services on us because he was telling them there was no food in the house so they’d buy him ice cream, and, he doesn’t even like ice cream, he just loved buying it from the ice cream truck. I can go on and on. Can you blame me for having nightmares?! At least I know where these genes are coming from: from two of his grandparents, my mom was exactly like that (yes, my mom, my grandfather was sued once because my mom knocked a boy’s tooth out, he totally deserved it though), my kid’s paternal grandfather was no better when he was little either. I’m getting my own claim ready to sue them both for damages. Despite being a terror, he was a happy kid, busy body but with a big smile. He then slowly transformed into a sulky teenager. But, have you ever seen a happy go lucky teen? Yeah, me neither.
I wasn’t a terror when I was little. I was the opposite. I was quiet, kind of always dreamy, was either reading, drawing or doing some other creative things. I loved wearing pretty clothes and would go into a full OCD mode if something got spilled on them. My mom would change my clothes not because they were dirty, but because she’d get tired of seeing me in the same thing. No force in the world would make me ruin my dresses! I was also either completely withdrawn or a bossy Chatty Cathy, depending on people and circumstances. I was mostly a “good girl”, but, once in a while I’d do something either completely outrageous or totally ballsy. And, all my childhood friends knew not to push me over the edge where a placid looking girl would transform into a ball of fire. Hell hath no fury like a Scorpio child scorned! I was patient and I was kind, but, if anyone tried to completely fuck me over, they had one choice, run. So, I guess, not much changed. 😊
I recently had a consultation with a local astrologer, she pointed her finger at certain planets configuration in my chart and said “See that? You were born with a sweet smile and a dreamy ethereal presence, plus a set of balls that a rare man has. Some people would just automatically step away, because I’d not fuck with you either”. Then she pointed her finger to my kid’s birth chart and said “He’s definitely your child”.
Aren’t we both “little balls of sunshine” and two different kinds of terror?! 😝
What’s Cooking This Week
We have another Russian recipe today and it’s old-fashioned cookies. Pryaniki are thick honey cookies that have a texture resembling a cross between a cookie and a sweet biscuit. They have a hard exterior and soft crumbles inside. Most pryaniki are plain with honey flavor, some have a bit of jam stuffed inside. Mint pryaniki is another variation that I’m making today. They have a hint of mint inside a cookie and minty layer in a sugar glaze. They are excellent with sweet tea for an afternoon snack or big enough to have as a nice breakfast cookie. I’m using a giant cookie cutter for this recipe, you can use standard cookie cutters if you wish. Traditionally, pryaniki are either round or oval, but I thought a heart shape would work well here because I ❤️ pryaniki so much! And, I so hope that, if you get my posts in email format, you actually go to the site to read each post fully and see the rest of the pictures. It is so much more when you go to the site!
Russian Honey-Mint Cookies (Pryaniki)
The recipe is quite simple and you probably have most, if not all, ingredients at home already. Buttermilk base adds an extra leavening power and compliments the honey. Mint flavoring is a nice touch to counterbalance the overall sweet taste.
Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Separate the eggs. Whisk together sugar with egg yolks and egg white until foamy, then whisk in mint flavor. Combine flour with baking powder. Combine buttermilk with honey and oil.
Alternate mixing in flour mix with buttermilk mix into eggs mixture and knead the dough until well combined.
Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead more flour in if needed until the dough becomes elastic. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut the shapes you desire.
Transfer pryaniki to a parchment lined baking sheet leaving some space in-between.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
While pryaniki are baking, mix the glaze. Combine together powdered sugar, a drop of mint flavor and an egg white.
Take pryaniki out of the oven, quick brush the glaze on top of each one and place them back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top before serving.
They are thick and completely satisfying, such a great simple dessert!
Pryaniki are my favorite Russian cookies that I’m so happy to replicate in a gluten free version.
They always remind me of childhood and all the family gatherings.
It’s impossible to only have one, so have as many as you want.
This recipe makes enough cookies to share with everyone. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Russian Honey-Mint Cookies (Pryaniki)
Ingredients
- Makes 24-28 large cookies:
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 3 cups of flour I used King Arthur gluten free
- 2 egg yolks and 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3 Tbsps of oil
- 1 1/2 tsps. of baking soda
- 2 tsps. of mint flavoring
- Glaze:
- 1 egg white
- 3 Tbsps of powdered sugar
- 1 tsp of mint flavoring
Instructions
- Whisk together sugar with egg yolks and egg white until foamy, then whisk in mint flavoring.
- Combine together buttermilk with honey and oil
- Mix flour with baking soda.
- Alternating mixing in flour and buttermilk mixture into sugar and eggs and continue until dough is smooth.
- Transfer dough on a floured surface and knead till it's elastic, roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cut out the cookie shapes and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Mix together glaze ingredients, take pryaniki out and quickly brush the glaze on top of each, return them to bake another 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle more powdered sugar on before serving.
Notes