Easter Sweets

DEEP-FRIED PASTRY STRIPS
Žagarėliai

“Žagarėliai” are delicate pastry dough cookies, deep-fried in oil. The main ingredients are flour, eggs and sour cream. All ingredients should be kneaded together, then the dough should be beaten with the rolling pin, folding the dough toward the center, until blisters start to form on the dough. Then cool the dough to set.
Roll it out 1 / 8 inch think, and, using a pastry cutting wheel, cut into 4 to 5 inch long and 1 inch wide strips. Make a slit, lengthwise, in the center of each strip and slip one end of the strip through this slit. Bring oil to a boil in a shallow, wide pot. Remove from hear, and add one tablespoon of whiskey or a couple of slices of raw potato (this will prevent the pastry strips from burning.) The oil will bubble up with this addition. Wait until bubbling action stops, then put back on the heat and bring to a boil. The žagarėliai must be put into boiling oil. A pastry strip put into the oil must immediately rise to the surface and sizzle. If this happens, then the oil is just right for deep-frying. When one side of the pastry strip is golden, turn it over, using a fork, and finish frying. When done, place the žagarėliai on paper towels so that the excess oil is absorbed. Then sprinkle each with powdered sugar, flavored with vanilla.

Recipe 1
2 cups flour
2 Tbsps. butter
½ cup sour cream
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. rum (optional)
1 tsp. salt
Recipe 2
2 cups flour
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsps. butter
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. alcohol spirits
Recipe 3
2 cups flour
2 Tbsps. sour cream
4 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. alcohol spirits
½ tsp. salt
All three recipes are prepared and cooked following the method described above.

HONEY MUSHROOMS
Meduoliai grybukai

1 lb. flour
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
3 Tbsps. butter
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsps. sour cream
2 tsps. seasonings
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg white
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp. cocoa powder
Heat sugar in skillet until dark brown. Make dough using all ingredients. Dough should be quite hard. Let dough rest in cool spot. Divide dough in half. From one half make mush- room caps, walnut-size rounds with an indentation on one side, place hole down on baking sheet. Make stems from other half of dough. Roll finger- thick pieces, about 2 inches long. Place next to caps and bake in preheat- ed oven at 325 ° for about 25–30 minutes. To make icing beat egg white with powdered sugar and lemon juice. When caps and stems are done, glue stems into caps with white icing, and ice stems with white icing. Add cocoa powder to remaining icing, mix well and ice mushroom caps. Place iced mushrooms in warm oven to dry icing.

LITTLE STICKS – COOKIES
Lazdelės – sausainėliai

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
½ lb. butter
Peel of one lemon
To sprinkle on top:
2 Tbsps. sugar
½ cup chopped nuts
Knead all dough ingredients to mix well. Let the dough stand in a cool place to set. Force dough through cookie press to shape into little sticks, sprinkle each with nut and sugar mixture. Bake in medium oven.

SAND COOKIES
Smėliniai sausainiai

2 cups flour
4 oz. butter or margarine
1 egg white
2 Tbsps. powdered sugar
To sprinkle on top:
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
Put all dough ingredients into a bowl and knead them together. Then chill to set the dough. Roll out to a thickness of 1/8 inch and cut out various shapes of cookies. Brush top of each cookie with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake until golden. Remove from baking sheet when slightly cooled, they will then be less brittle.