Russian Cookie Rings ~ Pesochnie Kolechki

RUSSIAN COOKIE RINGS WITH EINKORN {PESOCHNIE KOLECHKI}

These Russian cookie rings were a fundamental part of my childhood, and were sold at every cafeteria and bread shop through my kid and school years in the old country. It’s fun to think back how much I loved to pick off the nuts, then nibble on a cookie while sipping tea. When I moved to the States, I did buy a version of them at a couple of European stores around Chicago but the chemical aftertaste and a mile-long list of ingredients I’ve never heard of had left me unimpressed.

Since the early Soviet time to these days Russia has a government structure called ГОСТ (GOST), a nationwide system of manufacturing regulations, which also covers the food industry. A recipe by GOST is a standard and accepted version of any prepared foodstuff. All negatives aside, there is one neat thing about it – most, if not all, recipes are very simple and include only whole ingredients. Rumor has it, producers in the Soviet times used to closely follow those standards, but current manufacturers not so much. Either way, this recipe system is a wealth of information for abundant home cooks who prefer to feed their families real food, made with real ingredients.

What I did with these cookies is I took a GOST recipe for pesochnie kolechki and tweaked it just a little to my liking – using my favorite einkorn flour (whole ground or all-purpose), and a bit less sugar. The result was exact same taste and texture that I remember – buttery, nutty, melt-in-your-mouth – that doesn’t get boring.

TO MAKE RUSSIAN COOKIE RINGS WITH EINKORN FLOUR

Ingredients
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks, or 170g) butter, softened
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2.5 cups (320g) einkorn flour (whole ground, all-purpose or a combination of both) plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
For topping:
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts (or any other nuts you like)

Instructions
Combine butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl, and mix on high for 5 minutes (you can use a hand or a stand up mixer).
Add sifted einkorn flour, baking powder and salt (I use a mesh strainer like this one and sift straight into the mixing bowl).
Start by mixing wet and dry ingredients with a stiff spatula, then knead with your hand until a dough bowl forms adding more flour to prevent sticking.

Place dough ball into refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
Remove dough from refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/4″ (or a little less) thick.
Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter (I used this one) and a icing tip to make a hole in the center of each cookie. Reshape the remaining dough into a ball and repeat rolling/cutting until all the dough is gone.

Brush each cookie with egg yolk and sprinkle with peanuts, pressing them down gently.

Bake for 12 minutes – don’t let the cookies brown. They will be soft out of the oven but will harden as they cool down.
Store in an air-tight container.

Print Recipe

Russian Cookie Rings ~ Pesochnie Kolechki

Russian Cookie Rings (Pesochnie Kolechki) made with einkorn flour that taste just like the popular treat of my childhood.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: RUSSIAN

Author: Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks, or 170g) butter softened
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2.5 cups (320g) einkorn flour (whole ground, all-purpose or a combination of both) plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

FOR TOPPING

• 1 egg yolk
• 2/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts or any other nuts you like

Instructions

• Combine butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl, and mix on high for 5 minutes (you can use a hand or a stand up mixer).
• Add sifted einkorn flour, baking powder and salt (I use a mesh strainer like this one and sift straight into the mixing bowl).
• Start by mixing wet and dry ingredients with a stiff spatula, then knead with your hand until a dough bowl forms adding more flour to prevent sticking.
• Place dough ball into refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/4" (or a little less) thick.
• Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter (I used this one) and a icing tip to make a hole in the center of each cookie. Reshape the remaining dough into a ball and repeat rolling/cutting until all the dough is gone.
• Brush each cookie with egg yolk and sprinkle with peanuts, pressing them down gently.
• Bake for 12 minutes - don't let the cookies brown. They will be soft out of the oven but will harden as they cool down.
• Store in an air-tight container.