Orehovky cookie from Bulgaria
This nutty orehovku cookie in Bulgaria is made with yogurt. How could it not be? The Bulgarians like to claim the invention of this tangy dairy product. They may be right, yogurt has been eaten in Bulgaria for thousands of years. At the beginning of last century, it was discovered that Bulgarians lived relatively long and this fact was linked to the large quantities of yogurt they ate. In 1905 a Bulgarian scientist discovered the lactic acid bacteria that turned milk into yogurt. It was also proved that yogurt – and especially the Bulgarian strands of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus – had a beneficial effect on digestion. After that discovery yoghurt became increasingly popular in the West and now fills entire sections of supermarket refrigerators. Healthy or not: the tangy yoghurt flavor makes this slightly soft cookie with crunchy nuts taste delicious.
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the ingredients
Orehovky cookie from Bulgaria
For ± 15 cookies
60 grams (½ stick) unsalted butter
90 grams (½ cup) sugar
1 egg
50 grams (¼ cup) Bulgarian yogurt
¼ tsp baking powder
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
salt
± 200 grams (1⅔ cups) flour
95 grams (⅔ cup) toasted walnuts, coarsely ground
melt butter
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Melt the butter and let cool down slightly.
butter and sugar
Beat with the sugar until frothy.
add yoghurt and egg
Add the yogurt, the egg yolk and half of the egg white and mix well.
mix in flour, walnuts and vanilla
Mix in the baking powder, vanilla, a pinch of salt and 1 cup flour. Keep ± 15 g / ¼ cup nuts separate and mix the rest into the dough. Add enough flour to make a soft dough.
roll balls
Form balls of ± 25 grams / 1 heaped tablespoon of the dough. Dip them in the rest of the egg white and roll in the reserved nuts.
bake in the middle of the oven
Arrange them on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper and bake in the middle of the oven for ± 20 min. until light brown and done.
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