Ukrainian Gingerbread Man?



amazon.com

Oh, little Gingerbread cookie, I can't hear your singing!  Please come closer! No, closer yet!  Oh, just jump here on this long tongue of mine so I can hear your sweet singing.....

The Ukrainian folk tale has its own little twists and its own folkloric charm.  Whether you call him Medivnyk, Prianyk, or  Kolobok, or Pampushok, or ......the Little Honey Bun Story is a fun story for this fall season.  Reading the story, considering all the beautiful ethnographic messages in the colorful illustrations, and then singing the melodies of the folksong to a loved little person - or maybe a loved grown up?  How much fun is that?

In the traditional Ukrainian folk tale, the little pyrih, or small honey bun, comes alive and escapes from Baba, then from Dido, then from the rabbit, and the bear, but the wolf loves to hear the singing!  Pryanik (or little Kolobok) sings, "I escaped from Baba, I escaped from Dido, and I will run away from you too!" to each of his captors, until the wolf asks him to come closer, closer and then.......

What a delightful way to enjoy time with the children!

wikipedia.com

Honey has been one of Ukraine's traditional riches for thousands of years.  So using honey to bind a variety of flours (rye), makes for crisp little honey and spice cookies that rise well in the oven and have an extended shelf life.  They have been a traditional part of the Ukrainian palate forever.  The word "pryanosti" refers to them being exotic and spiced! Local tastes like berries (for their color and flavour) and nuts have always played their part too!

Medivnychky gained international accalim early in the 9th century, during medieval times.  Kings and royalty of Kievan Rus' attracted a lot of affluent visitors, while Kiev itself was an early crossroads for international commerce of the day.  Exotic smells, flavours and techniques and imported spices like  cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and citrus fruits (candied peels), nutmeg and peppercorns made for a popular treat! 

Today, medivnychki, prianiki, and kolobok recipes involve cookie presses, they can be found in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, painted with icing, or dusted lightly with sugars!

 

For a great traditional Ukrainian Tistechko - Medivnyk - Pryanik- try this lovely recipe. Enjoy!!

(Baba used a variant of this lovely and easy recipe.  The last part, adding the last bits of flour to the dough is the best part, everyone can participate and use up the excess energy in the house!)

Mix together 3 eggs, and 1 cup sugar until thick, creamy and light yellow. 
Heat 1 cup honey over a low heat with spices until the honey bubbles at the sides of the pot. Spices to try - 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cardamom.  Next time through, choose different spices!
Combine the dry ingredients, 1 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp soda, 2 cups flour and use a standing mixer to make a stiff dough. 
Wrap the dough ball and chill it in a refrigerator for an hour. 
Prepare the pans with shortening and preheat the oven.
Remove the dough ball.  Gradually add up to 2 more cups flour to make a soft rolling dough, moldable and not sticky. The better the dough is mixed, the higher the cookies will rise.
Roll the dough 1 cm thick and cut out small 4 cm rounds, re-rolling to use up the excess.   
Leave plenty of room between the medivnychki-pryaniki.  You can brush them lightly with egg for a soft glaze at this point.
Bake 10-15 minutes, or until slightly brown at 350 degrees.
Medivnychki burn easily and they will come out of the oven soft, but will crisp up quickly.
Remove, cool on sheets, and dust with icing sugar, or glaze with icing. 
Simple, old fashioned, and delicious!  Enjoy!

Store these cookies in a sealed tin, the flavour will mature with time, but they probably won't last that long.

Pryaniky, pryaniky, ya tebe z'iim!

Perhaps it is time for tistechka z molokom???

http://ukrainiancalgary.blogspot.ca/2012/08/medivnyk-honey-cake-of-gods.html








Medivnyk - Honey Cake of the Gods

My Dido had an apiary on the farm.  For many years there was a place at the far end of the garden that was “out of bounds", at least when I was little.  I could freely pick peas, or pull out little carrots, but that was the extent of things for a child.  Then one day, one warm sunny fall day, it was “time”.  It was time to take the honey from the bees.

It was a delightful opportunity, and I was more than a bit terrified.  But when Baba and Dido ask for you to help, what can you do? 

First Baba insisted we had to be clean, no stinky perfumes. (too young for deodorant) But we had to wear long sleeves and long pants – it was hot.  Dido got on his overalls and pulled out the smoker.  He lit the stuff in the can, waved it over the bees and they fell asleep! Mostly they got lazy and slow, but it worked like a charm!

So now we could go to the bees, and pull out the boxes.  Moving the boxes was big people work, so we watched as they pulled out the frames, and with a knife, sliced the wax off the top of the honey, both sides of the frames!  Then they put the frames, dripping with honey already, into the spinner.  I remember standing over the spinner and loving the smell – actually the smell of bees wax, warm breeze, and sweet honey that came in little flecks over the top of the spinner onto your face. 

So we worked while the lazy bees slept. (actually they were just lethargic, but sleeping sounds better)  That is, until the wild bees from the bush got a whif of the business going on!

Dido’s bees were light in color, “tamed” he would say.  But the bees from the trees around the farm were dark in color, and they didn’t look sleepy at all! In fact they were rather aggressive and noisy, flying back into the woods to call their friends and family to join the party with us!

They got into the honey, sinking greedily until they drowned, while others buzzed menacingly around my face.  But I had to trust my elders and try to stay calm.  Why are you so concerned?  You aren’t a flower?  And when they get drunk on the honey, they will leave us alone to our work.  It will be fine.

Having dark bees crawl up my arms and onto my chest, this was not something I bargained for! So I ran off into the house. Think! What would capture the bees?!  I ran into the closet and grabbed the vacuum cleaner! Great idea!! It would suck up all the bees and leave me in peace.

Well, the aunties laughed themselves silly as I sucked up bee after bee, angry bee after angry bee.

Long story ....but the short story was that I was essentially fired from "taking the honey".

I still can hear the sound of "pop-pop", the buzzing in the vacuum canister bag and the aunties laughing.

So when my brother took over the farm, the farmer previously renting the land continued with his bee-keeping. Thanks to this, we still get a few pounds of honey each year, from the bees, which are still doing their pollinating on the family farm.   Yup!  The farm which has now been in the family for almost 110 years! 

Medivnyk- Honey Cake of the Gods

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1 cup dark honey
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg each and ground cloves
½ cup butter, softened
2 tsp baking soda
1cup dark brown sugar, packed
5 egg yolks
4 cups sifted flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup currants
1/3 cup chopped pitted dates
3 T. chopped candied orange peel
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or blanched almonds)
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten with 1 T. sugar
 
Mix the honey and the spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and cool.  Beat the butter, baking soda and sugar until frothy, add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.   Sift the flour, baking powder and salt mixture.  Add the flour mixture to the honey, to the butter  mixture and stir thoroughly.  Add the fruits and nuts, stirring well.  Then stir in the stiffly beaten egg whites.  Pour into two buttered, papered loaf pans and bake for 2 ½ hours.  Check with a toothpick to confirm.  Remove pans and cool gently, removing the paper.  Let the cakes mellow for two days before cutting.  Makes 2 loaves.