Polish angel wings, also known as chrusciki, are a traditional treat enjoyed during special occasions and holidays in Poland. These light and delicate pastries are made from a simple dough that is rolled and cut into strips, then carefully twisted and fried until golden brown. The result is a crispy and flaky treat that can be sprinkled with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or drizzled with honey or chocolate sauce. Angel wings are often served alongside other Polish favorites such as pierogi, gołąbki, and bigos.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
POLISH ANGEL WINGS {CHRUSCIKI}
Polish Angel Wings or Chrusciki are delicate crispy little cookies. They are made from an egg yolk dough then rolled out super thin, cut into strips and deep fried. Chrusciki are traditionally made around Lent but we love to eat around Christmas as well.
Provided by Nicole Crocker
Categories Dessert
Time 51m
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Place oil in a large deep pot or deep fryer and heat over medium heat. Use a candy thermometer so you know what your oil temperature is for best results. Heat oil to about 350-360 Degrees F.
- In a medium bowl cream egg yolks,salt and sugar together with a hand mixer on high speed until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest and flour and mix on low speed until dough comes together. **You may need to add another tablespoon or two of flour if dough still seems too sticky.
- Place dough on a floured work surface and knead for about one minute.
- Cut dough in half and wrap one half in plastic wrap while you work with the other.
- Roll dough out with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Keep turning the dough as you roll it out and adding more flour to surface as needed. You don't want your dough to stick to the work surface.
- Roll dough out so that it is paper thin.
- Cut dough into strips about 1-1 1/2 inches wide.
- Cut a 2 inch long slit in the center of each strip.
- Push one end of the strip of dough through the slit.
- Pull the end through the other side and shake a bit to let it form a twist or bow tie.
- Continue to make bow ties with the remaining strips. Then work on your next ball of dough.
- Once you have all of your bow ties made check the oil temperature. Start by dropping one cooking in the oil to test it. You should cook cookie for about 10-15 seconds per side. If it's cooking faster than that reduce the temperature and wait for the oil to cool down a bit. Use two forks to turn your cookie over after 10-15 seconds then cook for and additional 10-15 seconds. You want them to be lightly browned.
- Remove cookies to a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.
- Let the cookies cool completely then coat with a generous coating of confectioner sugar.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 cookie, Calories 19 kcal, Carbohydrate 2 g, Cholesterol 14 mg, Sodium 1 mg
POLISH ANGEL WINGS-CHRUSCIKI
This is a classic Polish cookie that my mom and Bushia used to make at Christmas time. I've found that this is a really hard dough to work with, but it is from the original Polish recipe translated into English. These are not really sweet cookies, but they get most of their sweetness from the powdered sugar on the outside.
Provided by Bippie
Categories Dessert
Time 1h
Yield 50 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Beat eggs until thick.
- Add salt slowly while stirring.
- Add sugar and vanilla, beat well.
- Add cream and flour, alternating until blended. You may need more than the flour listed above depending on how humid it is that day.
- Turn onto a floured board.
- Cover with a cloth for 10 minutes.
- Knead until dough blisters.
- Roll very thin.
- Cut into 1 inch by 4 inch rectangles.
- Cut a gash in the middle of the rectangle and pull one end through so it looks like a twist.
- Fry in 375 degree oil until golden brown.
- Drain on a rack for 3 minutes then roll into powdered sugar.
CHRUSCIKI I
This is the Polish version of angel wings.
Provided by Sue Peters
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Eastern European Polish
Time 1h30m
Yield 40
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, salt, vanilla, and whiskey. Stir in 2 cups of the flour. If dough is sticky, add the rest of the flour. Knead dough for 5 minutes; divide into three parts. Keep dough pieces covered with plastic wrap until ready to use.
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Or, alternately, melt 2 pounds lard(see Editor's Note). Oil should be about 1 inch deep.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough until it's paper-thin. Cut into parallelogram (long diamond) shapes, and use a sharp paring knife to cut a slot in the centers. Pull one point of the diamond through the slot; set aside and repeat with remaining pieces.
- Fry 2 to 4 pieces at a time, depending on the size of your pan, about 5 to 10 seconds on each side. The cookies should not be browned. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels; dust with confectioners' sugar when cool. Store any remaining cookies in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 255.8 calories, Carbohydrate 9.8 g, Cholesterol 66.1 mg, Fat 23.5 g, Fiber 0.2 g, Protein 1.8 g, SaturatedFat 3.4 g, Sodium 62.5 mg, Sugar 3.6 g
CHRUSCIKI WITH MRS. KOSTYRA
These crisp, sugar-dusted Polish cookies made with twists of dough quickly fried in hot oil are also known as angels' wings or bow ties. Martha likes to stack a tower of chrusciki on a pressed-glass cake stand, largest chrusciki first, to make a Christmas-tree formation.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes
Yield Makes about 6 dozen cookies
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Put melted butter, eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, sour cream, salt, extracts, vinegar, and rum in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until mixture is pale, about 3 minutes. With mixer running, add zests. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add up to 3 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a fairly stiff dough forms.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead, dusting with flour if it seems sticky, until dough becomes smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Halve dough, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Let dough rest at room temperature, 30 minutes.
- Working with 1 piece at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until very thin (about 1/16 inch thick). Using a straightedge as a guide, cut the dough into 5-by-1 1/4-inch strips. Trim ends on the diagonal.
- Lay dough strips vertically in front of you, and cut a 1 1/4-inch-long opening through the middle of each strip. Working with one strip at a time, push one end through the cut, then pull through to make a bow-tie shape. Transfer formed chrusciki to a large parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover with a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel. Repeat process with remaining dough.
- Heat shortening in a large (6-quart) pot over medium-high heat until it registers 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer.
- Working in small batches of about 7, fry chrusciki, turning once with a slotted spoon, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Transfer fried chrusciki with slotted spoon to two paper-towel-lined baking sheets to drain. (Adjust heat between batches as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature.)
- Just before serving, dust chrusciki with confectioners' sugar.
CHRUśCIKI, CHRUSTY FAWORKI, ANGEL WINGS
Crisp and lightly sweet
Provided by Polish HOusewife
Categories Dessert
Time 35m
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Combine flour, sugar, and salt
- In a seperate bowl, combine the egg yolks, 3 tablespoons cream, spirits, vanilla, and zest if you're using it
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the dough comes together, use a little more cream if necessary
- Roll out as thin as possible
- Cut into 1 x4 inch strips, cutting a slit in the middle of each strip
- Pul one end through the slit, to create a twisted appearance
- Heat lard to 350 F
- Fry in batches, turning to cook both sides, until golden brown
- Drain on paper towels
- Roll in powdered sugar
CHRUśCIKI, CHRUSTY, FAWORKI: POLISH-STYLE ANGEL WINGS
Steps:
- Sift flour, caster sugar and salt into a bowl. Add egg yolks, vodka and sour cream.
- Knead together by hand (grease your hands first!), or use a stand mixer with a dough hook. Form a smooth dough ball.Pro tip: Some recipes suggest placing a dough ball into a bowl, covering it with a cloth (or cling film) and resting it for 45-60 minutes in the refrigerator. By some accounts, the resting time improves dough plasticity. That said, this recipe was tested without resting, and it worked out just fine.
- Move the dough onto the worktop. Begin folding the dough over itself, giving a quarter-turn of the dough between each fold.
- "Beat up" the dough on each side with a rolling pin, the more violent you are - the better. As you do this, you will feel the dough become pliable and and easier to work with. Traditional recipes call for at least 20 minutes of such treatment, but let's be realistic here - try to do as much as you can.Pro tip: Do you own a meat grinder? Push the dough through 3 times, using the largest holes. Anecdotally, this process allows to skip the whole "dough beating" described above.
- Lightly dust the worktop with flour. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal parts, and roll one of them out - as thinly as possible. If you own a pasta maker, it will provide very useful here. Cover the remaining dough parts with a cloth, to prevent it from drying out.
- Using a knife or a pizza/pasta cutter wheel, cut out long strips, approx. 1.2-1.5'' (3-4 cm) wide. Then, cut them into shorter pieces - around 3.5-4'' (9-10 cm) long - cut straight or diagonally at the ends.
- Make a 0.8'' (2 cm) incision in the middle of each strip. Then pull one end through that hole to form a bow. Grab the ends, shake and pull them gently and set aside. Continue until you're out of strips.
- In a wide cooking pot or a large, deep skillet, heat up lard or neutral cooking oil. If you own a kitchen thermometer, aim for 350-355°F (180°C). If you don't, throw in a small piece of dough - if it rises and flows, that means it's hot enough.
- Fry only a few chruściki at a time, until they turn lightly golden - around 30-60 seconds per side. Watch them like a hawk, they're fried very quickly.
- Retrieve faworki with a slotted spoon and onto a paper towel. Dust them generously with icing sugar, as soon as possible. Don't wait for them to cool completely, sugar tends to stick better to warm pastries.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 85 calories, Carbohydrate 15 grams carbohydrates, Cholesterol 20 milligrams cholesterol, Fat 2 grams fat, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 3 grams protein, SaturatedFat 1 grams saturated fat, ServingSize 3, Sodium 22 milligrams sodium, Sugar 1 grams sugar, TransFat 0 grams trans fat, UnsaturatedFat 1 grams unsaturated fat
CHRUSCIKI - POLISH ANGEL WING COOKIES
This delightful pastry was made by my Polish Grandmother every year for Christmas. Traditionally they were made for the last Thursday before Lent. They take a while to make but the time you put in to making these is well worth the reward!
Provided by Chef Shilale
Categories Dessert
Time 2h30m
Yield 72 cookies, 36 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Using a stand mixer, whisk whole eggs, egg yolks, butter and salt until thick and lemon colored.
- Slowly beat in the confectioner's sugar and brandy.
- Change to the dough hook and slowly mix in the flour a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough forms and pulls away from the bowl.
- Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. It should be thick like bread dough.
- Keep the dough in the bowl covered with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.
- Snip off a baseball sized piece of dough. On a floured surface, roll to 1/8 inch thick at the most!
- Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch wide strips. Then cut the other way in a diagonal to make pieces of dough that are about 1 1/2 X 4 inches.
- Next use your knife to cut a slit in the center of each piece.
- To form the wing shape, take one pointy end and poke it through the slit. Very gently pull the end through the slit to form a bow shaped cookie.
- In a heavy pot or deep skillet, heat the fat of choice (I like lard) to 350°F Use a thermometer!
- Drop the cookies, 3 cookies at a time, into the fat. Drop 3 cookies at once not 1 at a time. The cookies will sink to the bottom at first then they will puff up and float a couple of seconds later. As soon as this happens use a couple of forks to turn them.
- Immediately after you turn them use a deep fry strainer to remove them from the fat to drain on brown paper bags.
- Dust the still hot cookies with confectioner's sugar and repeat, cooking 3 cookies at a time until finished.
- Store in tightly covered, wax paper-lined tins.
Tips:
- Use cold butter: Cold butter will help to keep the dough flaky and prevent it from becoming too greasy.
- Work the dough quickly: Overworking the dough will make it tough. Work it just until it comes together.
- Chill the dough before rolling: Chilling the dough will make it easier to roll and will help to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the dough: A sharp knife will help to create clean, even cuts.
- Fry the angel wings in hot oil: Frying the angel wings in hot oil will help them to cook quickly and evenly.
- Drain the angel wings on paper towels: Draining the angel wings on paper towels will help to remove excess oil.
- Dust the angel wings with powdered sugar: Dusting the angel wings with powdered sugar will add a sweet, delicate flavor.
Conclusion:
Angel wings are a delicious and festive treat that are perfect for any occasion. They are easy to make and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Whether you are making them for a special occasion or just because, angel wings are sure to be a hit.
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