In Poland, chrusciki are popular at Carnival time. You’ll also find them served at Christmas or some Polish weddings. Prepare the dough with flour, sour cream, egg yolks, salt, sugar, and alcohol/vinegar. Add air into the dough by forming it into a ball and throwing it on a flat surface for some time. See the video below for more info.
Chrusciki are traditional Polish cookies that are light and crispy. Made since Medieval times, these angel wing cookies were made for Tłusty Czwartek or Fat Thursday. Catholics fasted during the season of Lent and only ate veg and fish. Tradition required the people to finish all the food ingredients that couldn’t be eaten during the Lenten period.
The word chruscik may or may not (depending on who you ask) be related to an old Polish word for twigs or brushwood, which the simply twisted version of the pastry does resemble. In any case, chrusciki seem to be yet another variation on the pre-Lenten fried pastries of many other central European cuisines.
* Common alternate names/spellings: Faworki, Chrusty, Chrusti, Krusczyki, Kruschiki, Bow Tie Cookies, Bow Knots. ** This recipe was given to me as a Polish cookie under the name of “Krusczyki”. They are also known by MANY other names throughout the world.