Rosettes

My lithuanian grandmother would make these crisp, deep-fried pastries. She did not make them often but when she did, they did not last long.  Each one of my family members had certain favorites that my grandmother would make each birthday.  These cookies were one of my mom's favorite.

I decided to make these as a treat for my mom's birthday since my grandmother passed away.  All these years I had thought that rosettes were of polish descent.  However, researching their origins for this blog entry uncovered that they are originally from Scandinavia. 

The rosette cookies are made with an aluminum mold that can be round, star-shaped, cup-shaped, or flower-shaped.  The iron is heated in the oil, dipped in the batter and then back in the oil to deep-fry until a light golden brown.

While it looks like many steps, these are VERY easy to make.

Rosettes

2  eggs
1  cup milk
1  cup flour
2  teaspoons sugar
1/4  teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon extract

1.  Add sugar to slightly beaten eggs, then add milk.
2.  Sift flour before measuring, then together with salt.
3.  Stir into first mixture until batter is smooth and about the consistency of heavy cream.
4.  Add lemon extract.
5.  Heat fat or oil to 375°F in a deep kettle.
6.  If you do not have a thermometer, put a small piece of bread into fat and count to sixty. Bread should brown.
7.  Dip your iron into hot fat to heat it and drain excess fat on absorbent paper.
8.  Dip heated iron into batter to about 3/4 its height.
9.  If iron is properly heated and drained the batter will coat the iron.
10.  If batter does not adhere the iron is too cool or greasy.
11.  Plunge batter-coated iron quickly into the hot fat and cook from two to three minutes or until active bubbling ceases.
12.  Invert iron over fat to drain fat off, then remove rosette from iron onto absorbent paper, inverting rosette to drain completely.
13.  Your rosette should be crisp as soon as it is slightly cool. If it is not, your fat may be too cool.
14. If rosette does not drop off form easily, tap the form sharply with a knife handle to loosen it.
15.  Let sit until completely cool. Then sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.  I prefer letting them sit overnight in an air-tight container.  Then, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.


Crevices may also be filled with raspberry jam (or your favorite) prior to coating with the sugar.


ENJOY!!!