Polish Faworki! Also known as Chrusciki or Angel Wings, these traditional Polish cookies are made by frying dough twists until crisp, then sprinkling with powdered sugar.
Yesterday I posted about the Italian Love Knot Cookies that I made as a part of my good friend's bridal shower gift. Alongside these yummy treats , I included a little nod to her fiance's Polish heritage as well: Faworki!
Faworki - also known as Angel Wings, Chrusciki, Chrust, or Polish Crullers - are basically strips of dough that are twisted into ribbons {the best way I can describe it is a "Topsy Tail". Ha!!}, deep fried, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Like Polish funnel cake! 🙂
Similar to the Love Knot cookies, faworki take a little bit of time and a lotta bit of patience, especially if you're not the type to spend time in the kitchen rolling out dough and such. {Truthfully, I'm a fan of non-fussy drop cookies myself.} They're not called Faworki for nothin'. 😉
Now, I've gotta let you in on a little secret. Ok, here it goes...
Before making these Faworki, I had never really deep fried anything. Ever.
I don't know about you, but I avoid being exposed to high volumes of scalding hot oil at all costs. It just sounds like a kitchen nightmare and trip to the ER in the making. Aside from the fear of burning down my apartment and 3rd degree burns accidents occurring, vats of oil don't usually make it into my favorite ways to prepare food. {Unless we're talking the occasional French fry, which I have a VERY hard time turning down. Mmm...}
So, anyway, I was a little apprehensive about approaching this fried confection because I did, after all, want to attend the bridal shower without needing to stop in at the nearest hospital for a skin graft or two beforehand.
I only had a small bottle of vegetable oil, so in the end I didn't actually "deep" fry because there were only a few inches of oil in the pot. The faworki turned out just fine anyway, even though they went for more of a shallow wade than a serious plunge. 😉
Some helpful suggestions for the frying impaired:
1. Be careful. It is still hot oil no matter how you look at it. Safety first! 🙂
2. Fry in small batches. Do not get in over your head and try to send them all in for a swim at the same time. Haste makes waste!
3.. Do not walk away from them even for a second. They fry up FAST. Fast enough to get too brown on you before you can realize it's too late.
4. Work as quickly as possible. The longer the oil was over the heat, the more time it had to brown any little bits that stayed behind from the previous cookies and make the oil "dirty". Nobody likes cookies that taste like burnt oil.
5. Try to make these the same day you plan on serving them. As with anything fried, they are best served fresh and don't do well being stored.
6. If you're more of a visual person, go to About.com's fabulous photo tutorial on making faworki.
Those are all the words of wisdom I can think of, but I trust that you'll be just fine if you decide to venture into the world of faworki.
As a side note, it was mentioned to me that these were received very happily by the groom-to-be and that they were gone almost as quickly as they arrived. What a compliment! 🙂
Polish Faworki
Ingredients
- 5 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1 large whole egg at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup confectioners' sugar plus extra for sprinkling
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon rum or brandy
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups canola or vegetable oil
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine egg yolks, whole egg and salt. Beat at high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes.
- Beat in sugar, cream, vanilla extract and rum. Add flour and beat until dough forms, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide it in half, then cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.
- Working with half of the dough at a time, roll out to ⅛-inch thickness. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 2-inch-wide strips.
- Cut the strips on the diagonal at 4-inch intervals. You'll have 2x4 inch rectangles.
- Make a slit in the center of each strip of dough. Pull one end through the slit to create the traditional twist shape. (Like a Topsy Tail, if you remember those!)
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a large, deep skillet to 350°F.
- Fry 4 to 6 faworki at a time for 1 minute or less per side or until golden brown. Keep an eye on them, they fry quickly! Drain the crisped faworki on paper towels.
- Dust with confectioners' sugar. See Notes.
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