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The Story Behind My Recipe: Latvia

"This recipe was published in one of my grandmother's cookbooks, published in 1910 in Riga, Latvia, which included centuries-old traditional recipes and modern recipes of the time. The book had received 4 medals for containing almost 2000 recipes used by professional cooks of that time, like my grandmother. I grew up with her for the first few years of my life, but she died when I was young enough, so I have some fond, but not too many memories of her to cherish. Lately, my sisters and I have been reconnecting with her life in some ways, exploring and cooking some of her many recipes, and it's always a special time for us and an exploration of our traditional cuisine."

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Pepper cakes

Ingredients

  • Yeast 25g

  • Soda 40g

  • Sugar - 1 glass

  • Wholemeal flour - about 1kg

  • Molasses - 1 glass

  • Cream (high fat) - 270g

  • Butter - ¼ glass

  • Strong alcohol - about ½ glass

  • Jam (blueberry, apple, or plum) - ½ - 1 glass

  • Coriander - 1 teaspoon

  • Cloves- 1.5 tablespoons

  • Cinnamon - 1 tablespoon (optional)

  • Black pepper - 1 teaspoon (optional)

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Procedure

  1. Boil the sugar and molasses and add the butter.

  2. To 3-4 cups of flour add the baking soda, spices and mix in the alcohol and cream, Then melt the yeast in lukewarm water,and stir it into the dough. Work the dough until it becomes smooth. If necessary, add more flour until the dough texture is smooth and thick.

  3. Leave in a covered, warm place to allow the yeast to activate (about 2-3 hours). When ready, flour the work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 0.5-1 cm with a rolling pin. Cut circles out of the dough using a wide glass.

  4. Place a baking paper on the baking tray and place the cut circular shapes on the baking paper.

  5. Add about 1 teaspoon of jam in the middle of each circle. Using a pastry brush, brush a very thin layer of water around the cookie circle (around the jam) and place another circle of dough on top, very gently pressing the corners of the dough circle to create a good bond between the two pieces of dough.

  6. Bake the cookies at 200 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes or until they are done - depending on your oven.

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