My mother's Easter cookies

My mother used to make these cookies for the Easter and a wonderful smell spread all over the house.

Of course they are not the traditional cookies but they are soft cookies with a tsoureki taste.

Her recipes are special and when I cook them I feel a sweet nostalgia! They smell like mom!

The dough is very easy and does not need a mixer. And the preparation is not difficult, I prepare the dough at noon and in an hour and a half it has risen and I start to shape and bake.

It is very important to close them in a an airtight container because they  will dry.

Dough ingredients:

1 kg flour for brioche or hard (1-2 more pinches may be needed)

1 cup sugar (240ml)

60gr fresh yeast or two sachets dry (16-18g)

1/2 liter of milk

125gr butter

1 1/2 teaspoon mahleb

A pinch of salt

Ingredients for almond paste:

300gr blanched and ground almonds

1 cup icing sugar

2 egg whites

(We blend them all together)

125gr butter at room temperature (it is very important to have it at room temperature so that we can easily spread it. If it is not at room temperature, beat it a little to soften it)

Sugar mixture:

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 yolks mixed with some water

Melt a tablespoon of sugar and the yeast in half a cup of luckerworm milk. Add a tablespoon of flour and mix. Allow the yeast to activate for 10 minutes.

Slightly heat the remaining milk mixed with the rest of the sugar (we want the sugar to melt at this stage). Remove the pot from the heat and add the butter to low the temperature (we need the liquid ingredients luckerworm so that the yeast does not burn). Add the salt.

Mix the flour with the mahleb, make a puddle in the center and pour the remaining ingredients (lukewarm). Knead for 5' until you get a smooth and soft dough. If necessary, add 1-2 pinches of flour.

Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You can preheat the oven to 40°C and as soon as it reaches the temperature turn it off and put the dough covered with film.

Divide the dough and the rest of the ingredients into four.

Roll each piece of  the dough into a rectangular thick sheet. Spread with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup) and finally rub the almond paste on the entire surface of the sheet, leaving 2cm at the top for the dough to stick.

Wrap in a roll and press it with the rolling pin to make it wide. Cut into 22 pieces.

Twist each piece with your hands,  create a circular bun. Join and turn the ends below the bun.

Place them in a baking tray with parchment paper, leaving a distance between them and let them rise for 20'. Spread some egg yolk on top and bake them at 175°C for about 15'. Don't over bake them because they harden.

Let them cool on a rack and then put them in an airtight container.