Baked Delights

Ne stoji kuca na zemlji, vec na zeni.

A home stands not on the ground, but on the wife.

Crackling biscuits

5 c sifted flour
2 T salt
1 c milk
2-1/2 c ground cracklings
2 eggs

Rub together until fine the flour, crackling and salt. Add beaten eggs and milk. Mix into soft dough. Shape biscuits, criss-cross tops with knife and bake at 450, then lower to 400 and bake until brown.

Baclava

Baklava

1 package "Filo" dough
1/2 lb. melted butter
1 lb. ground walnuts
1 lb. ground almonds
1 c sugar

Syrup:

1/2 c honey
1/2 c water 1/2 lemon cut in slices
1 c sugar

Butter a square baking pan which is 10x12. Put 4 sheets of dough to fit the pan and place them on the top of one another with a bit of melted butter sprinkled in between the layers. Then combine the ground nuts with the sugar and sprinkle about 4 T of it on the dough and place another sheet of dough over it and continue in this fashion, sprinkling nuts and small bit of the butter and placing a sheet of dough over it until dough and nuts are used. There should be about 15 layers or more. Then top with 3 more sheets of dough, (butter sprinklinled in between) and press dough firmly, but carefully down.

Then cut in diamond shaped pieces with a sharp knife. Dribble the last of the butter over it and bake in a 300 oven for about 45 min., or until golden brown. Prepare syrup, meanwhile: Boil together the honey, sugar, water and lemon until it thickens a bit-about 20 min. Remove the lemon and syrup over baclava as soon as it is removed from the oven. Let stand and when it is cool, it is ready to serve.

Lazy pita

Lenja pita

1 lb. unsalted butter
2 c sugar
1 lb. ground walnuts
2 eggs yolks
1 t vanilla
5 c flour
1/3 c sour cream
2 lbs. grated apples
grated peel of 1 lemon
1 whole egg
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 t cinnamon

Sift the flour and salt and add softened butter, then add one cup of sugar, 2 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, cream, vanilla and lemon peel. The dough will be rich. Then divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll out 1/2 of the dough over the bottom of a large pan. On top of this spread apples evenly. Take the remaining of sugar and sprinkle on top. Also sprinkle bread crumbs, cinnamon and walnuts. If the apples are too sweet, add a little lemon juice. Roll out the other half of the dough and olace it over the mixture, neatly tucking in the sides. Over the top spread some sour cream and sprinkle with walnuts. Before baking, cut into small squares. Bake in an oven at 320 degrees for 1 hr.

Cheese cake

Gibanica

500 gr kore (special pastry for gibanica, similar to "Filo" dough. Can be found in Greek, Armenian or Turkish shops)
5 eggs
750 gr quark
250 gr kajmak (or double cream)
some milk
salt

Mix four whole eggs and the white of the fifth.
Sprinkle in the quark and mix well.
Add kajmak or cream, salt and milk to obtain a yellow dough rather liquid.
In a baking pan, put two layers of kore an add some of the mix.
Then cover with a kora and again some mix.
Repeat until there are kore and mix available. Put a kora as a last layer and spread the remaining yolk on it.
Bake for 30 to 60 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 210 degrees Celsius until golden.

lpv@umiacs.umd.edu