Estonian Kringel -Gabi’s version

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Makes (4) 9” kringels, or you can make them larger if you wish

Homemade Marzipan:

2-1/4 cups ground blanched almonds

1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 egg white

2 tsp almond extract

2tsp Kirsch

Mix all together to make a smooth dough. Tightly wrap and refrigerate until needed.

For Kringel:

Soak 2 cups dried cranberries in boiling water with 2T Amaretto added to cover for 5 minutes.

Drain well and put on a plate lined with paper towels. Roll and blot until fairly dry. Set aside.

Ingredients:

  • (3) 1/2 oz packets active dry yeast (6-3/4 teaspoons)
  • 1.5 Cups, plus 1Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ½ Cup warm water (75F)
  • 3 cups half and half, warmed (75-90F)
  • 10 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 sticks butter melted (20Tablespoons)
  • 1 teaspoon salt, heaping if kosher
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1-1/2 oranges or lemons- your taste
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom
  • 2 cups cranberries -see above
  • Softened butter for filling, maybe 1-1/2 sticks or a bit less, divided
  • 8 teaspoons Ceylon Cinnamon, divided
  • 1 cup brown sugar, divided
  • Marzipan from above, divided
  • 1 egg lightly beaten for egg wash
  • Sliced almonds
  • Pearl sugar for sprinkling over top
  • ¼ C Amaretto for brushing on tops after baking

Instructions are for the Ankarsrum mixer using the dough beater. Adjust to your mixer as needed.

In the metal bowl of the Ankarsrum add the yeast and 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar to the warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes, until bubbly. Add the warm half and half to the bowl along with 4 cups of the flour, mix on low with the dough beater. Cover with the bowl cover and put into a warm place to rest for 1 hour. After the hour, remove the cover, replace the beater and mix for a minute or two on low.

Combine the melted butter, remaining 1-1/2C granulated sugar, salt, egg yolks, zest and cardamom. Add to mixture and beat well. Add the cranberries and the remaining 6 cups of flour. Be careful that the dough doesn’t come up over the beater and out of the bowl. Knead on low then increase the speed slightly and knead for 14 minutes, using the timer. The dough will be silky, a bit tacky and a little slack. Cover the bowl with the top and a tea towel and put into a warm place for about an hour. It should double or more.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Turn out the risen dough and divide into however many kringels you want.

I make four:

Cover the pieces while you work with each in turn so they don’t dry out.

For four, roll each piece in turn into a rectangle about 8 inches by 22 inches. Spread with softened butter, leaving a margin all around of about an inch. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, 1/4C of the brown sugar, and one fourth of the marzipan. Roll up from the long side of the rectangle, so you have a long cylinder. Cut the cylinder in half down the length of it and twist together each half, keeping the cut sides facing up. This is important so that all the filling doesn’t leak out while baking. Form into a pretzel shape. Replace any marzipan bits that half fallen out and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let raise 30 minutes.

Brush the tops gently with beaten egg, sprinkle on sliced almonds and pearl sugar to your liking.

Place in the preheated 350F oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until an internal temperature (not touching the marzipan) of at least 190F.

Brush all over tops with Amaretto while hot. Let cool on a wire rack.

#kringel #maisonmarshall #christmas baking

Ukrainian Cherry Bars (Chereshnyanyk)

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I’ve written a bit about my Mum’s side of the family (the mostly English-Scottish-Danish tradition), but I’ve also been exploring another part of my heritage. My Dad’s Mom (Baba Christine) was born in Canada to Ukrainian immigrants. They owned a wheat farm in Manitoba. My Baba Christine wasn’t someone I grew to know in the same everyday family way of my other Gran. I don’t really know why. When she came to the U.S. she met my Grandfather Karlyle while he was shearing sheep and she was working as a cook on a sheep ranch in Colorado. I’ve heard that my Grandfather’s sisters made fun of her accent and language so she changed her name and never passed the language or customs on to her children- I think that is a shame. I would have loved to have at least some part of that colorful heritage from her.

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Karlyle and Christine my paternal grandparents

My Dad talks about the Canadian-Ukrainian relatives now and then and I’ve met my Grandma’s brother Alec, who is an inventor. I think most of her family live in Alberta now and the wheat farm must be long gone. When she married my Grandfather they settled in Southern Utah (where his family came from) and raised four boys. They owned a sandwich shop for a while. He was a control officer for U.S. Fish and Wildlife and tracked Mountain Lions. He seems a rough and tumble kind of guy. I never knew him- he died when my Dad was still a boy. My Grandma Christine raised her boys by herself and then (at least to me) seemed to retreat into the background. I know she loved us though, and she was sort of around but not very involved.

My Grandfather’s Father- Joseph was a frontier doctor and town Marshal in the 1890’s- one day I’ll pass on some stories about him and my Great-Grandmother Sarah who worked by his side in the surgery and also gave birth to 9 children. They died when my Grandfather was just a tiny boy and he was then raised by various siblings.

Any way since I’m interested in knowing some of the Ukrainian cooking and customs that I missed out on- I’ve been gathering some recipes over the years. I’m sorry I can’t remember where I got this one, or I’d give credit- it’s been stuffed into my recipe file for a while and since I recently bought some luscious pie cherries I decided to make these. I think they’re a keeper. I cut them down the middle before I thought to take a picture.

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Ukrainian Cherry Bars -Chereshnyanyk

  • 2 cups sifted AP flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 cup light cream
  • Sugared pie cherries or a can of cherry pie filling
  • a bit more flour to thicken fresh cherries if needed

Sift the flour with the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. Combine the lemon juice, zest and cream. Add to the flour mixture and mix lightly. The dough should be soft. Spoon it into a buttered 9 x 13 cake pan and pat gently, elevating the sides to hold the filling. Fill with the sugared cherries (well drained and a little flour -1-2 Tb- added to thicken if juicy) or a can of cherry pie filling and bake at 375F for 35 minutes or until done. Cool and cut into squares.

I hope you enjoy!

Diakuiu! (Thank you in Ukrainian)

Glazed Orange-Cinnamon Rolls

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Right around the time my Gran passed away, my mom put together a book of family recipes from her recipe file and also those new recipes collected and contributed by my sisters, aunts and cousins.

It is one of my most cherished possessions and the one I use most out of the thousand-ish cookbooks I own. Here is one of my Gran’s recipes I have adapted- the original orange rolls were yummy too:

Orange-Cinnamon Sweet Rolls

  • 2 cups whole milk, scalded
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, soft
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 packages dry yeast (4-1/2 teaspoons)
  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 8 cups all purpose flour (can be more or less depending on your environment)

Filling

  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon
  • 3 teaspoons orange zest

Glaze

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon Gran Marnier liqueur (optional)
  • enough orange juice to make a glaze (I used juice from approx 1-1-/2 cara cara oranges)

Scald the milk by placing it in a small heavy saucepan and bring almost up to the boil, then remove from heat, place in the bowl of your standmixer and let cool to lukewarm. Add the butter, sugar, salt, and yeast and let stand 3 minutes. Add the eggs and part of the flour and mix with the dough hook until combined. Add the rest of the flour in a cup at a time mixing until you get a moderately stiff dough, it should pull away from the sides of the bowl but still be a bit sticky and soft. Knead until smooth and satiny. Place in a buttered bowl or storage container. I like to use a translucent 4 qt food storage bucket with a lid so I can cover it and see when it’s doubled in size. let raise in a warmish place until doubled – this may take two hours. Divide the dough in half on a lightly floured surface and roll each half separately into an approximately 32″ by 8 inch rectangle, spread with half the filling. I find an offset spatula works great for this. Roll up and cut with a serrated knife or un-waxed dental floss into 16 equal pieces. Place onto a half sheet pan that has either been greased or lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the other half of the dough. Cover and let raise to double. Bake for about 15 minutes in a preheated 375F oven, rotating the pans halfway through. Put the glaze on the rolls while they are hot. Makes 32 rolls.

I made these yesterday for our Mom’s day brunch. I hope you enjoy them if you try them.

xoxo

Gabi

Manuka Honey Graham Crackers

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These grahams crackers are so delicious with a whole grain element and a bit of spiciness.

It’s super easy to make up a batch and keep for a week or so in your freezer or bake them off and they will disappear mysteriously- at least they do around here.

Manuka Honey Graham Crackers

(makes approximately 36 honey comb shaped crackers)

  • 2 sticks, (1 cup, 8oz, 225g) salted butter
  • 9 Tablespoons, (115g) sugar (granulated)
  • 10 Tablespoons, (115g) dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon Manuka Honey
  • 2-1/4 cups, (315g) AP flour
  • 1/2 cup (75g) organic whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom seed

Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract and honey until well combined and fluffy. In a separate bowl combine the flours, soda, salt, and spices. Whisk to combine. Add to the creamed mixture and mix until fully combined.

Scrape out onto cling film and knead a few times, until it holds together. Wrap in the cling film and chill for at least a half hour or up to 10 days. Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before rolling to an eighth inch thick. Cut with cutters or into rectangles as desired. (I use an Ateco Honey Comb Shaped cutter -see below) Dock with the tines of a fork. Place on parchment lined baking trays. Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 10-12 minutes, rotating front to back and top to bottom in the oven half way through. They should be just a bit darker around the edges and slightly puffed in the centers when done. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool, they will crisp up as they cool. 

Hope you enjoy!
FYI: I received no compensation from any product mentioned in this post, these are just items I use voluntarily and I’m providing you with information on them.

Tools: Bespoke Boxwood Rolling Pin and Maple Bench Knife by Rick Marshall @marshallartsandcraft on Instagram

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