Paprenjok (Spiced Cookie) from Stari Grad

Paprenjok from Stari Grad, Hvar. Photo by Janko Belaj

Dating back to the Renaissance, these spiced biscuits are the most traditional Croatian biscuit. In recent times, they have become a popular souvenir due to the Croatian designs stamped on them. 

Ingredients

This recipe makes 10 pieces.

  • 0,5 kg honey
  • 2 dcl prošek (Croatian sweet wine)
  • 2 dcl olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon saffron
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 kg flour
  • 1 spoon bicarbonate soda
  • 1 egg white
  • 25 dag icing sugar 

Preparation

Boil about 0,5 kg of honey and remove foam from the surface. Let it cool and then add 2 dcl of prošek with saffron and equal quantity of olive oil.

Add little spoon of grated nutmeg, crashed cloves and powdered cinnamon and spoonful of soda bicarbonate.

Add 1 kg of flour, knead the dough ready and let it rise for about 15 minutes.

Older recipes suggest that you leave the dough through the night.

Make forms using your fingers or special mould (in shape of heart, horse, butterfly, lizard, hen, basket, shamrock…).

Bake at 250°C for about 15 minutes.

When they are baked and cooled, make mixture of 1 egg white and 25 dag of icing sugar for decoration. Use thin wooden stick with a needle pinned to it to draw lines and dots on the paprenjok.

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