These Medovi Pryanyky–honey spice cookies — have been an integral part of Ukrainian holiday traditions for centuries. Also called medianyky, medivnychky and medovyky, these names stem from the Ukrainian word for honey, med, meaning “made from honey” and announce that the dough contains honey, which makes sweet, long-lasting, easy-to-shape cookies. The word pryanyky (plural, pryanyk – singular) comes from the root word meaning spicy.
Precursors to honey cookies originated in ancient Egypt. These first honey sweets were baked from leftover bread dough coated in honey about 350 B.C.E. Romans called them panus mellitus – honey bread. Greeks and Romans believed honey was a gift from the gods with magical, curative properties.
Medovi pryanyky are possibly one of the oldest cookies in Ukraine. Honey bread, made from rye flour and fruit juice, was used by Ukrainian ancestors in ceremonial rituals in the 9th century. Later, such breads were flavored with herbs. In the 12th -13th centuries, exotic spices and flavorings such as black pepper, orange peel, lemon, mint, vanilla, ginger, anise, caraway, muscat, and clove brought to Slavic countries by Silk Road traders from India and the Near East, were incorporated in honey bread.
Over subsequent centuries, the dough recipe changed. Wheat flour substituted rye flour which made the bread lighter in color; burned sugar, wort*, and dark molasses was used to darken the loaves. Eventually, smaller pieces of dough were formed into buns or cookies rather than loaves of honey bread. Later, cookies were pressed into molds carved from wood in the form of figures and still later, cookies were formed with metal cutters. Colorful decorations with glazes, gold leaf giving medovi pryanyky a fairytale effect were added later. Today, delicious honey cookies, plain or decorated, are found in numerous countries and German lebkuchen are most similar to Ukrainian medovi pryanyky.
Medovi pryanyky are baked in all regions of Ukraine from simple, natural ingredients: honey, sugar, wheat flour, molasses, water with a choice of spices and a small amount of baking soda. Fat and eggs are not usually included or are included sparingly. Pryanyky are baked in various shapes, designs and decorations as appropriate for holidays and family celebrations. For special celebrations such as weddings, christenings and birthdays, medovi pryanyky are prepared in the shapes of figures with appropriate symbolism and good wishes. Because medovi pryanyky are edible for months or even a year later, kozaks carried them in battles as talisman; travelers took them on long trips to ward off evil spirits. Many commemorative medovi pryanyky are kept as keepsakes.
Most medovi pryanyky are baked at the beginning of December for St. Nicholas Day, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Tables of colorful medovi pryanyky are sold at holiday fairs and are used as holiday decorations, exchanged as gifts and served to guests.
Recipes differ from region to region, village to village, household to household. The simplest recipes combine the wet and dry ingredients and are baked. However, in this recipe, a honey and sugar syrup is heated to boiling and poured hot over dry ingredients before kneading the dough. Such cooked syrup medovi pryanyky have a richer aroma and flavor and maintain freshness longer.
Tips on preparing medovi pryanyky : Good quality honey will make the best cookies. I used an aromatic, wildflower honey with a deep, rich flavor that holds it own against the spices.
There are many possible spice blends of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, orange peel, vanilla, ginger, anise, and clove. Most bakers prepare their own, as I did.
Medovi pranky can be baked a month before the holiday and will improve with age.
Baking medovi pryanyky is a several days process. Once the dough is mixed, it should firm up in the refrigerator overnight (or up to 4 days), minimizing stickiness and allowing easier forming. A well-prepared dough should be of playdough consistency and should just barely stick to the hands.
Rolling and cutting out medovi pryanyky on well-floured parchment or a silicon baking sheet will make it easier to transfer cookies to the baking sheet.
Royal icing made with powdered sugar and egg whites produces a smoother finish than powdered sugar and lemon juice alone. Royal icing can be used to pipe decorations or thinned with a few drops of egg white to coat the cookie, creating a sugary skin. The icing should be thin so the delicate flavor of honey can shine through.
But icing is not needed for tasty pryanyky. Painting the unbaked cookies with beaten egg yolk or a mixture of honey diluted with a few drops of water will make the cookies shiny. I painted a honey-water mixture on the cookies, which I decorated with chopped walnuts.
Medovi pryanyky are a canvas that can decorated as desired by the baker with white and colored royal icings, candies, chocolate chips, nuts, candied fruit, sesame seeds and poppy seeds.
Medovi pryanyky have a magical aroma and taste. In wintertime, especially during the Christmas holidays, nothing warms the heart better than a pryanyk with a cup of steaming tea or coffee!
Medovi Pryanyky
For spice blend:
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground clove
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground star anise
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
For dough:
10.6 ounces (300 g) honey
10.6 ounces (300 g) sugar
2 ¾ cups (650 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks, saving whites for icing
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared spice blend
1 teaspoon orange peel
Pinch of salt
For icing:
2 egg whites (saved from yolks)
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Assorted gel food colors
Preparing spice blend: Mix the spices. Transfer to jar with tight-fitting lid. (Leftover spices can be used for other baking.)
Sifting flour, baking soda and spices
Preparing dough: Sift flour, baking soda and spices into a large mixer bowl. Set aside. Fit a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
In a saucepan, combine honey and sugar and heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has melted and the mixture starts to boil.
Combining sugar with honey
Cooking honey-sugar syrup
Immediately remove the syrup from heat and cool for a few minutes. (The temperature of the honey syrup must be at least 150 °F (65°C) or above to “cook” the dry ingredients.) Turn the mixer on and slowly pour hot syrup on the flour-spice mixture until thoroughly combined.
Switch to a dough hook on the stand mixer and slowly knead in the vinegar. Then, whisk eggs and yolks together and add to the dough, continuing to knead for 30 minutes at low speed.
Mixing the dough
Form dough into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Remove dough from the refrigerator an hour before forming cookies. Cut off a small piece of dough. Knead for a few minutes to soften and then roll to a ¼ inch (1 cm) thickness on a floured surface.
Choosing the shapes
Cut out cookies and place them on a silicon or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between cookies.
Ready to bake
Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8-10 minutes until cookies start to color on edges. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool further.
Preparing icing: Whip the egg whites without sugar until foamy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add sugar and when sugar is incorporated, add lemon juice. Whip for a few more minutes at a slow speed until well combined. Cover prepared icing with damp kitchen towel to prevent drying.
Icing colors
Work quickly as icing hardens quickly. Divide the icing into separate bowls, each for a different color. Add a few drops of desired tint into each bowl and stir until uniform. Transfer colors to disposable icing bags. Clip tip and decorate.
Decorate cookies once cooled.
Makes 36 – 40 cookies, depending on size.
*Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process containing sugars while brewing beer or whisky.
Photo credits: All photos: Slava Johnson
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