Advent is the time of baking cookies. This tradition dates back to a time when baking ingredients like sugar, spices, almonds, dates, and other dried fruit and nuts were unaffordable and such a luxury that the little biscuits were only made and consumed in the wintertime to sweeten the anticipation for Christmas. Most of the…
Category: Poland
Polish Christmas Liqueur
A variety of dried fruit, walnuts and almonds, combined in alcohol with orange zest, fresh ginger and spices give this liqueur its intense flavor and rich aroma. Make it at home and enjoy this unique drink at Christmas and in the winter season.
Polish Apple Cake (Jabłecznik)
Spiced apple filling in delicate pastry, served with a dusting of icing sugar. Smacznego!
Advocaat Cake with Poppy Seed
Impress your guests with this simple yet amazing cake. Advocaat is a smooth and creamy Polish egg liqueur with delicate cognac and vanilla accents. However, if you cannot find it, any egg liqueur will do.
Polish Spiced Plum Butter (Powidła)
The natural sweetness of ripe Italian plums (in Poland known as węgierki, literally Hungarians) blends perfectly with the earthy, pungent aroma and spicy flavor of fresh ginger and the sweet, woody fragrance of cinnamon. Since ginger has a very strong flavor, I suggest that you add it gradually, spoon by spoon, to match your taste….
Polish Farmer’s Bread
An express version of the classic farmer’s bread, packed with a generous portion of flax and sunflower seeds. Simply combine all ingredients, set aside to rest, knead, proof and bake. Stored in an air-tight container, bread box or a plastic bag farmer’s bread stays fresh for up to a week.
Polish Crêpes (Naleśniki)
As thin and delicious as their French cousins. Polish naleśniki (nah-lesh-NEE-kee) are crepe-like pancakes that can be served with either sweet or savory fillings. Filled and rolled they can also be baked or coated with breadcrumbs and fried. Enjoy these crepes for breakfast or brunch. Serve them warm with your favorite jam, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar, drizzled…
Homemade Carnival Jelly Doughnuts
The Poles call them Pączki, a diminutive plural of the polish word pąk “bud”. In German-speaking countries, they are known either as Berliner or Krapfen. North Americans call them Bismarks or Jelly Doughnuts. No matter what you call them these fluffy, somewhat collapsed pastries are a Carnival staple and taste best homemade and still warm….
How to make your own vanilla sugar
Alongside saffron, vanilla is probably the world’s most expensive spice. This is mostly due to the elaborate cultivation and maturing process of vanilla and also to its undisputed popularity. The fragrant aroma of fresh vanilla enhances and refines many desserts and sweet dishes. But what to do with the scraped pod? It’s too good to throw…
Gingerbread Cookies
I didn’t plan to bake any Christmas cookies this year since we are spending Christmas abroad, but my kids just wouldn’t stop talking about baking gingerbread and kids can be VERY persistent.
