Kurabiye: Middle Eastern flower cookies that became truly Soviet
It is slowly getting to be hot summer in the tropics and the airconditioner is almost in full use. I don’t bake because it is too hot, but I do check out lovely baked goods and plan for the cooler months.
To my surprise, I found these cookies from my favorite Russian recipe site, https://www.russiaislove.com/russian-kitchen/332305-kurabiye-east-flower-cookies-recipe-photo
The description is correct. Shortcrust pastry is expensive, but I remember that we baked these by the bucket full during my farm growing up years in Africa. So, tell me, how can a shortcrust pastry become popular in Russia, and we baked them in Africa? The recipe is almost by the gram similar and I remember it with no need to look it up. We used vanilla extract and not vanilla sugar as that was not a thing where we were. These can also be spiced up with a bit of nutmeg, tiny bit of ginger and cinnamon and clove, but make sure the jam that you choose fit the taste of the spices. Generally we made them as is and used apricot jam. They must not overbake and take them out of the oven the moment the edges are brown.
There are other Russian favorites that I remember from my youth, specifically the many meat pies. (In my next life I’ll most certainly trace these connections.)
How Russian confectioners changed an ancient Near East recipe to make the most affordable shortcrust pastry in the country.
A popular legend says that the recipe for kurabiye cookies was developed by a servant of a Persian sultan long ago in the ancient Near East – so the name “kurabiye” probably derives from either a Turkic or Arabic word meaning “exotic cookie”. There are many variations of kurabiye cookies as far as the shape, but the flower one must be the most iconic. Authentic eastern kurabiye was a kind of expensive treat – it was made from pastry that had lots of spices such as cinnamon, cloves, natural vanilla and saffron. To make the production cheaper, Soviet confectioners removed the costly ingredients and added cheap vanilla sugar to give a richer taste. The pastry became so popular that confectioners developed a state standard recipe – GOST – and gave the cookies the name “Baku kurabiye,” because the ingredients and the shape were the closest to the traditional Azerbaijan recipe.
Today, kurabiye is sold in many bakeries and literally every single grocery shop in Russia. Still, many love baking it at home, and it is actually one of the fastest-made cookies recipes: you only need a few basic ingredients to make your shortcrust pastry and some fruit or berry jam for the filling.
Ingredients:
- 140 g plain flour
- 40 g powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 90 g butter
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar / extract
- 1/3 tsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- + 3 tbsps any fruit or berry jam for filling
Cooking:
This all is easier and quicker with a mixer. In my growing up years, the kids had to mix with wooden spoons.
1. Using a hand or a stand mixer, in a large bowl whisk softened butter with powdered sugar, vanilla sugar or extract, and a pinch of salt until it gets soft and smooth.
2. Next, add an egg white and whisk on high speed for around 3-5 minutes – you should get a well-whipped airy mixture.
3. Then, add sifted flour with baking powder and knead a nice paste-like shortcrust pastry: it should be quite malleable and not too stiff so that you can put it with a piping bag. If you feel that the pastry is too thick for piping, add a tablespoon of milk and mix until smoother consistency.
(There is no need to pipe these. If you make a smaller quantity, roll them in balls between your palms, flatten them in the pan, and make the hole for the jam—it’s much quicker than piping. But if you have a few neighbors around, give them each a piping bag, a cup of tea, and cookies to take home.)
4. Transfer the pastry into a piping bag with a “star” or “flower” nozzle and start piping cookies on a baking tray covered with a sheet of parchment. Make a small hollow in the center of each cookie with a finger (or back of a wooden spoon handle).
5. For the filling, use any thick jam, caramel, or dulce de leche – for my durable cookies, I add apricot jam. Transfer the filling into a piping bag and fill the hollows to half full – the rest of the filling we’ll add after baking.
(We never added jam filling after baking as in step 7 here. Sometimes the jam bubbled over a bit and those were too delicious with the jelly like bubbled over jam – but do not eat one out of the pan! The jam gets very hot).
6. Bake at 220°C for 10-12 minutes. Make sure not to overdry the cookies, so take them out of the oven when you notice that the edges of the “flowers” become slightly golden-brown.
7. While kurabiye is still hot, fill the hollows with the rest of jam and let the cookies cool down completely before eating. Priyatnogo appetita!