PERNIK: Czech-style Christmas gingerbread but better! / PERNIK: lepsi nez gingerbread!

PERNIK

Pernik (Czech-style gingerbread) has been considered a fancy pastry ever since its beginnings and used to be prepared only for special occasions. Where did pernik come from? No one really knows…some sources point to the ancient Greece and Egypt where it was used as a sacrificial food for various gods. The first pernik was more of a honey-sweetened bread than how it is  known today. In the Czech Republic the word “pernik” was first documented in 1335 in the town of Trutnov. The Mid devil pernik recipe called sometimes for more than 90 different types of spices! The most expensive pernik was made with honey – hence the name – the “white” pernik. In the 18th century the bakers  were making 4 types of pernik:

1. Marcipan
2. Pernik
3. Cerne sisky (black clumps) – used as a sweetener
4. Druberka - was not meant for eating; used as a cheap substitute for children toys

The most famous Czech pernik comes from the Czech town Pardubice – the pernik “headquarters”:)

Ingredience:

• 1 cup sugar
• 41/2 – 5 cups of flour (to make a FIRM dough)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup black coffee
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup light molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Combine all ingredients, adding enough flour to make a dough firm enough to roll out.

2. Turn out on a floured board and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with various cutters–a heart, animals, gingerbread men.

3. Place on cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven until firm to the touch, about 15-20 minutes.

4. When cooled, you may decorate pernik using the cake decorator with a butter frosting in various colors.

Source:

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/3/10550

http://yerno.webgarden.cz/historie-perniku