My mom's side of the family is Polish and while we don't do a lot of traditional things, making kielbasa is definitely one of them. I just recently hosted our third annual sausage making party.

For our second party, we also make these wonderful little cookies called chrusciki. There are probably about a hundred different ways to spell and pronounce that, but I go with croose - (rhyming with goose) chick - ey.

I've had this delicious recipe saved for over a year now before finally sharing it with you. I kept saying I was going to remake them and do a better video that shows the entire process, but it's a big recipe for one person to make and I kept putting it off. Then a few months ago I realized that it fits in with October's Improv Cooking Challenge and decided I was finally going to share it!

The theme for October is Sugar and Spice. The Improv Cooking Challenge is a monthly event I host where bloggers are assigned two ingredients and can make any recipe they'd like using them. To really allow for creativity, the ingredients are pretty loosely interpreted. If you're interested in joining us, find out more by going here.

Speaking of loosely interpreting ingredients, I did so in this recipe as I'm considering the spiced rum as my spice portion. If you've never had one of these cookies before and are too intimidated to make them, you can sometimes find them in the bakery section of grocery stores.

Recipe

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Improv Cooking Challenge: Chrusciki {Polish Angel Wing Cookies}

Chrusciki, sometimes referred to as Polish Angel Wings, are fried dough cookies coated in powdered sugar.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1

Total Time1 25

Course: Cookies

Keyword: chrusciki, cookies, fried dough cookies, polish angel wings

Servings: dozen

Calories:

Author: NicholeL

Ingredients

1 whole egg
3 egg yolks
¼ cup spiced rum
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
canola or vegetable oil for frying
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl beat together the egg, egg yolks, rum, vanilla extract and salt until blended.
2. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, whisking until smooth and incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached.
3. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase to medium speed until dough pulls away from the bowl and is elastic and smooth.
4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll out each into a rectangle, about 12 in x 5 in.
6. Cut each rectangle of dough into strips, 1 ½ inches wide. Cut a ¾ inch slit in the center of each piece and pull one of the ends through it, forming a bow-like shape.
7. Heat oil in a dutch oven or deep skillet over medium high heat until hot. Fry dough in small batches for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
8. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still hot.

Notes

Source: All Recipes

Chrusciki tastes similar to a small piece of fried dough, mainly I think because of the powdered sugar. The taste of the rum doesn't come through at all, but alcohol rarely does in most prepared foods. Crisp, crunchy and perfectly sweet...now I'm really wishing that we had made these cookies because I could really go for some right now.