Chyrstles (Chrusciki)
On the third day of cookies I slaved and baked for thee, a bunch of Polish Chrusciki.
The third cookie of the twelve days is a very traditional and delicious fried Polish Christmas cookie. They are traditionally called Chrusciki but my family, for some reason, call them Chrystles, honestly it’s probably due to a loss in translation. These morsels are fried strips of dough, knotted and covered in powdered sugar, made to represent angel wings. A very precious sentiment especially during the Christmas holiday season.
Chyrstles (Chrusciki)
6 eggs
½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ TBSP granulated sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar for coating
In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Add baking powder, sugar and salt. Add flour a little bit at time until a smooth dough forms.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until it is very thin about ⅛” thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut rolled dough into two inch strips and twist into desired shapes and pinch the ends to hold the shape. My mother usually shapes them to look like pretzels but I twisted mine and tied them into a knot. You can make it as elaborate or simple as you like. There's no wrong or right way.
Heat oil to 350°F to deep fry the cookies. Fry until the cookies are light brown. Drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet or tray. Once cooled, sprinkle or toss cookies in powdered sugar. Serve right away with a hot cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.
*Notes:
These cookies are best served fresh but if you need to make them ahead of time, you can store them in an airtight container. However I don’t recommend making them more than one day ahead, they do tend to get stale quickly.
These are really plain cookies and if you would like to spice them up you could. I recommend incorporating ground cinnamon and nutmeg into the powdered sugar to add a little flair.
While cutting the strips I used a ravioli cutter to add little fringes to the edges of the dough. It added a very pretty decorative edge.