Balkan Bakes You Must Try!
(Balkanske Peciva Što Morate Probati!)
Caitlin Ruža McFarlane
Pogača
Prep Time
Cook Time
20 minutes 50 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Serving Size
6 servings
Ingredients
1 cup milk
5 cups all-purpose flour (plus additional for shaping)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg (lightly beaten)
1 active dry yeast
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
Directions
1. Gather all ingredients together.
2. Scald the milk, add the butter, and cool the mix down to 95 F (36 degrees Celsius)
3. Add butter, sugar, and yeast. Stir until all of these dissolve.
4. Leave the mixture to rise at a warm place for 15 minutes.
5. Add the flour into a bowl and dig a hole in the middle using a spoon or your fingers.
6. Then, proceed to adding the milk mixture, some oil, one lightly beaten egg, and sour cream or tiny pieces of cheese in the hole.
7. Knead at medium speed for 3-4 minutes, add some salt, and keep kneading for another 5 minutes until it’s nice and elastic. When done, cover the dough and let it rise for one hour in a warm place. Make sure this place does not have any exposure to wind of any kind.
8. Prepare a lightly floured surface, place the dough there, and divide it into two pieces.
9. Place both pieces of dough in a greased bowl and flip them to grease both sides equally. Using a sharp knife, draw a cross (along the two pieces of dough.
10. Let the dough rise for another 15 minutes and pre-heat your oven to 350 F (177 C).
11. Bake the pogacha for 50-60 minutes.
12. Serve it with some ajvar, pindjur, or kajmak, and enjoy.
Filled Cookies
Vanila Krazle
Prep Time Cook Time
1 hour 30 min
Total Time
1 hour 30 min
Ingredients: (for 75)
4 2/3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 lb unsalted butter (room temp)
Ingredients: (for 150)
9 1/3 cups flour
4 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 lbs unsalted butter (room temp)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix dry ingredients (flour and sugar) then add your wet ingredients (eggs and butter) mix until smooth. Once you’re done, rest in refrigerator for 30 min.
3. Roll out dough approximately 1/8 ‘‘ thick.
4. Using a shot glass or cookie cutter, cut cookies and place on cookie sheet.
5. Make sure you have an equal amount of both sets of cookies.
6. Bake at 350 until golden (8-10 mins). Place rack to cool completely.
7. Once cooled, place a small amount of jam/preserves on solid bottom cookie and add the top cookie so that jam/preserves pops through the opening.
8. You can now enjoy your freshly baked vanilla krazle, or you can put them in storage containers to save for later.
*For both: cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or greased with butter.
Shortbread Cookies
Starinske Šapice
(Balkan Shortbread Cookies)
Prep Time Cook Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Serving Size
36 cookies
Ingredients
4 sticks unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar (1 tsp vanilla extract,
1 tsp vanilla paste, and 1 tsp of vanilla powder)
1 1/2 cup granualted sugar
2 cups ground walnuts
5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
* additionally powdered sugar
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar, then when nice and fluffy add in the eggs one at a time.
2. When the eggs have been incorporated add in the vanilla extract, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest. Whisk biefly then switvh to a spatula or wooden spoon.
3. Add in the baking powder, ground walnuts, and lastly flour. stir everything together until a nice soft dough is formed. it should not be sticky, and ig it does stick to your hands add a little more flour ( a little at a time) until it no longer sticks. Nexxt, you want to set the dough aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350. While oven preheats prepare your cookie molds. Spray each cookie mold with oil and then using a brush or napkin, spread in all of the crevices of the mold.
5. Fill each mold with the cookie dough, using a knife to scrape off any excess and making sure the surface is level. These will rise while baking so you want a flat bottom once they’re flipped over. Place each filled mold on a baking sheet. Continue filling each mold until all the dough is used up or until you run out of molds.
6. Transfer the baking sheet with the filled cookie molds into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until just starting to turn brown and until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool 2-3 minutes. Being very careful, flip each mold over gently to remove the cookies.
7. Once removed, place the cookies on a cooling rack or paper towel to cool. Once cooled, rool each cookie in powered sugar and place on your serving tray or in a special cookie tin.
* The molds will be very hot. Use a pair of tongs to flip cookies out of molds. If the cookie is not removed while the mold is hot, the cookies may not come out smooth because they have cooled.
Wafer Cookies
Čoko Oblanda
Chocolate & Citrus Wafer Cookie
Prep Time Cook Time
20 minutes 3 hours
Total Time
3 hours 20 minutes
Servings
10 servings
Ingredients
1 smaller pack of Oblanda wafers (150 g package)
1/2 cup (150 ml) milk (use milk substitute for vegan version)
2 1/2 sticks (250 g) butter or margarine
1 dark chocolate bar (100 g) (I like Dorina for baking)
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (2 kesice)
1/2 cup (150 ml) orange juice
1/2 cup (100 g) ground walnuts
1 1/3 cup (300 g) ground Plazma biscuits
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lime
Directions
1. In a large pot add the butter or margarine, milk, sugar, vanilla sugar, and chocolate. Cook over medium heat until a liquid state
then remove from the heat.
2. To the pot add the remaining ingredients (except the Oblanda wafers). Mix very well to combine and allow to cool and thicken for 15-20 minutes. Do not use right away as the mixture will be too thin.
3. Once the mixture has cooled, take your first wafer sheet and place on a flat surface/ serving tray. Spread an even layer of the filling all over and then place a 2nd later on top. Repeat this process until you’ve used up all of the wafer sheets.
Do not spread any filling on top of the last wafer sheet, this will be the top and should be clean.
4. Press firmly across the top of your Oblanda to ensure everything has stuck together then wrap the whole thing using foil or plastic wrap, whichever is easiest!
5. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, slice into your desired thickness and shape and enjoy!
