Updating...

My break between jobs has come to an end, and I will have less time to explore, as well as less time to blog. However, my staycation was absolutely wonderful. So, a bit about what I have been up to:

Spending...time with friends. Lunches, dinners, a fun Hanukkah party -- I always love having the opportunity to spend quality time with people who are near an dear to me.

Watching...During AFI's European Union Film Showcase I saw two films: "Summer of Sangaile" from Lithuania, which did a good job of showing how difficult being a teenager is, though it was so very European that it was challenging to truly enjoy, and "A Royal Night Out" from Great Britain. This one was somewhat fluffy, but certainly enjoyable, particularly because it was based on the true story of then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret leaving Buckingham Palace on VE Day to celebrate the occasion out in the crowded streets of London.

Cleaning...I did some major cleaning and even a bit of purging at home.

Exploring...I have made a concerted effort to visit museums that I had not been to in the past. In addition to two museums, I also visited a botanical garden and took a special tour in a government agency. For more details, you will need to keep reading over the next several weeks!

Surviving winter...Due to the holidays, what with the preparations and parties, December is certainly easier to survive than January and February, when I will need to consult my Winter Wish & Plan List. However, I have already used my great Latvian cookie cutters.

Piparkūkas - Latvian Christmas Cookies

My mom's piparkūkas have always been the best - thin, crispy, flavorful, and a lovely shade of brown. A number of years ago when a friend and I decided to finally dive into this important tradition, I requested mom's recipe. It turned out to be one used in the Milwaukee Latvian community, and had been passed down by Puķītes kundze (Mrs. Puķīte). The original recipe is what I call "church-sized," as it requires three pounds each of butter and brown sugar, three bottles of corn syrup, and an enormous amount of flour. I have modified it for a more reasonable one pound each of butter and sugar and one bottle of syrup. Originally the recipe called for seven spices plus grated lemon and orange rinds. After my first experience grating rinds, I made an executive chef decision to cut them from the recipe.

Several years ago another friend asked that I teach her how to make "my" dough. She had never made piparkūkas from scratch, and thought my cookies were always delicious. Thus the annual dough-making party was born. After skipping the last two years, I once again joined several friends in their home where we worked to prepare two batches of "regular" dough and one batch of gluten-free. If one is accustomed to making something such as chocolate chip cookie batter, for which one can rather quickly throw together all the ingredients and soon after have freshly baked cookies, one might not understand why a work bee is necessary to make piparkūkas.

Ilga and I (with spice bag in hand) work at the stovetop. Thanks to Ilga for the pic!

Seeing as all good things take time, the piparkūkas process takes a couple of hours; if doing it on your own, it can get a bit tiresome and boring. The very first step is sifting all the flour for the recipe. The next step is slowly melting the butter, sugar and syrup together while also incorporating the spices. Next, while this caramelly gooey and fantastically scented mixture is still hot, one slowly incorporates approximately 2/3 of the flour. 

Then remove the pot from the stove, cover it with a clean dishcloth and place it in a cool spot -- outside, for example. In our case we used this time to eat dinner - a lovely Latvian-style meal with ham and potatoes. (The leftover ham was later cut up for use in pīrāgi.)

Once the dough has cooled, one has to incorporate the remaining flour with a couple of other ingredients, and this involves the old-fashioned roll-up-your-sleeves method of kneading the dough. So, as you can see, the process is relatively time-consuming and certainly best done with at least one friend.

Guntis & Cameron take on the work of kneading.

Below is the full recipe in Latvian. If you desperate for an English-language version, let me know!

Milvoku Annas Puķītes piparkūkas (t.i. „ļoti garšīgas peperkūkas”) –
Dainas/Vašingtonas versija

8,5 – 9 krūzes milti izsijāti (loti svarīgi, ka visi milti tiek īsi pirms mīklas gatavošanas sijāti)
1 lb sviests
1 lb tumšais sīrups „Karo” (dark corn syrup). Var arī mēğināt izmantot medus/”molasses” kombinācīju.
1 lb tumši brūns cukurs (tas dod tumšāku krāsu nekā gaišais)
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes krustnagliņu pulveris (clove)
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes muskatriekstu pulveris (nutmeg)
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes ingvērs (ginger)
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes kanēlis (cinnamon)
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes “coriander”
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes “cardamon”
2 vai vairāk tējkarotes pipari
___________________________________________________
Visus produktus – atskaitot miltus – uzvāra kopā ar garšvielām lielā katlā, vāra uz zemas uguns un iznāk karameles sīrups (t.i. līdz cukurs izkusis un visas garšvielas kārtīgi iemaisītas).
Kad viss savārīts, tad vārošā iekuļ 2/3 miltus. Atdzesē apmēram stundu vai ilgāk ja vēl par karstu (vislabāk katlam pārklāt tīru trauku dvieli, un katlu ielikt garažā vai izlikt ārā). Pieliek 1 sakultu olu, 1 tējkaroti cepjamo pulveri un apmēram ½ paciņu raugu, (vislabāk ir olu sakult bļodiņā, tur klāt iemasīt pulveri un raugu) un to iemaisa un tad ar roku iemīca atlikušos miltus.
Mīklu izveido 4-6 bumbās vai kukulīšos. Satin vaska papīrā katru atsevišķi (netīt alumīnija papīrā – tas pielīp), ieliek plastikas maisiņos un glabā ledusskapī. Kad grib cept, tad izņem un tur istabas temperatūrā pāris stundas. Mīkla lieliski rullējas un neplīst vai nedrūp. Cep uz viegli smērētām pannām, 350 grādu krāsnī (tikai kādas 6-7 minūtes, atkarībā no cepumu biezuma un lieluma). Ļoti ārti cepas un sadeg. Jāuzmana!
Vēl piezīmes:
• Mīklu var ledusskapī droši vairākas nedēļas uzglabāt. Vislabāk ir ja mīkla vismaz vairākas dienas ledusskapī stāvējusi pirms cepšanas – kaut kā tad garšvielas visas kopā labāk savijas un izceļas.
• Izceptas piparkūkas uzglabā “Tupperware” vai līdzīgā kaste/bļodā ar ciešu vāku.
• Oriğinalā recepta pieprasa 2 tējkarotes no katras garšvielas, bet īstenibā garšīgak ir ja pievieno 3 tājkarotes no katras. Ja lieto novecojušas garšvielas, tad droši pievieno vismaz 3 tejkarotes. (Jaunākām/svaigākām garšvielām ir izteikti stiprāka garša.)

Christmas Cookies: Baking, Exchanging, Eating

My aunt used to start her Christmas baking in November because she baked so many. My mom spends oodles of time making the dough for piparkūkas, then rolling them nice and thin so they'd be very crispy when baked. Now that I avoid gluten, I have not tried making piparkūkas without it, so when I do any baking, I often stick to true-and-tried classics like gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, which people gobble up - lack of gluten not-with-standing! Another item I have gifted and brought to several events this season is a pumpkin spice bread made with Namaste spice cake mix, which is particularly great for multiple food allergies/sensitivities, yet tasty enough that those without such issues will also savor it.

A friend showed me how to make his mother's version of molasses spice cookies. I loved the flavor (and smell!), as they reminded me tremendously of piparkūkas. However, I used a new gluten-free flour and the cookies turned out too dry for my liking. Other people seemed to enjoy them, though.

Another friend held a cookie exchange party. Each guest was asked to bring two or three dozen baked goodies. All of the treats were available for tasting during the party, and upon leaving we were each given an empty box to fill.

Easily the most adorable brownies ever!

There must have been at least twenty different cookies and treats, everything from lemon to peppermint-flavored cookies, from chocolate chip to oatmeal cranberry, from brownies to peanut butter buckeyes and coconut macaroons. The hostess had also set up a sugar cookie decorating station, which all of the kids in attendance loved!

One young guest was quite patient and talented!

Freshly made spiked eggnog along with other seasonal drinks were served, and luckily a few savory snacks were also available. The house was beautifully decorated....

...and fun was had by all, including the five-month old twins!

Too young for cookies, but loving the attention!

Now I'm looking forward to seasonal festivities this coming weekend - a friend's Hanukkah party (potato latkes!), and a Latvian winter solstice (pulling and burning a log, eating pork and sauerkraut!) celebration.

Honey Cookies (with a Latvian connection, of course!)

Most of my weekends contain some Latvian aspect to them, and the last one was no exception. On Sunday I had some unexpected free time, and therefore decided to finally bake honey cookies. I say "finally" because back in the fall a Latvian friend had given me a large container of honey from her godmother's country property in Latvia. The honey tastes fantastic in my green tea, but I wanted to experiment and try something new.

This is the recipe I used. Because I don't eat gluten, I used two different kinds of gluten-free flour mixes I happened to have on hand. Also, instead of plain old white sugar, I used coconut sugar. Additionally, I decided not to roll the dough in sugar, and I'm glad I made the choice, as it seems like overkill. Even so in my opinion the end result was a tad too sweet, but the texture and taste were absolutely phenomenal. The edges were slightly crispy, the middle was chewy, notes of both butter and honey were appreciated while eating.

I sent some to a friend (via her husband whom I met while at a Latvian event on Sunday; how these would travel in the mail I don't know), and her email the next day said: "Oh my goodness!!! I usually don't care for cookies without anything chocolate in them, but these are amazing! Can you send me the recipe?"

These delicious and simple cookies are certainly entering my regular baking repertoire. Next time I will adjust the amount of sugar and/or honey in an attempt to dial down the sweetness a bit.