you're making mealtime meaningful.
There are so many different ways to use cookies to celebrate the holidays, and our favorite Polish cookies are one of them. Grandma’s cookies always seemed to taste better than anyone else’s, and we continue to make her recipe year after year. These cookies are often described as looking like angel’s wings, and we can see why. These beautiful twists of sweetened dough, fried and dusted with powdered sugar, do have a wing-like appearance. And it’s a fun way to put a sweet twist (literally!) on a holiday cookie.
Who can resist dough that’s deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar? The answer is no one! These cookies aren’t much more than that, dough and sugar but there’s something so special about this humble little treat. We’ve prepared a dough, cut it into slices, then twist them into a bow-like shape that many describe as looking like wings, and given how quickly these disappear, it’s like they’re flying right off the plate! Making these cookies is always a process filled with wonderful memories and a few stories shared about family get-togethers and good times. As good as these cookies are, the memories and stories are almost better.
Certain sweet treats are often associated with holidays or celebrations, and these cookies definitely fall into this category. They’re not quite a “cookie” in the traditional sense, but they are made with dough and sweetened with sugar, and so we don’t mind that the category seems to loosely fit this delightful dessert. Grandma’s Polish cookies are one of those beloved family recipes that we look forward to making year after year, for both the sweet memories and the sweet treats.
Grandma's Polish Cookies
Yield(s): Serves 3 dozen
40 minutes
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 8 oz evaporated milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Oil for frying
- Powdered sugar
Preparation
- Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in cubed butter until mixture is crumbly.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until foamy. Add milk and vanilla extract, then egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir until dough forms.
- Transfer dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for about 30 seconds then divide into four even sections.
- Roll each section into a rectangle shape, about ¼-inch thick. Cut into four 1 ½ inch strips.
- Cut a 2-inch slit lengthwise down the middle of each strip. Draw one of the ends through the slit to create a bow shape.
- Heat 1-2 inches of oil into an electric skillet or deep frying pan. Fry strips of dough in small batches until golden brown.
- Transfer fried strips to a plate lined with a paper towel. Dust with powdered sugar. Repeat until all of the dough has been fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
