Lepeshki (say Lep-yosh-key)
Why I Love This Recipe
All I can tell you about these is that they are kind of a cookie, kind of a biscuit, are Russian/Polish in origin and are absolutely delicious with tea since they are not overly sweet. Don't worry about making them tough by kneading; the Rye flour cuts down the gluten significantly so they will not get tough.
Ingredients You'll Need
2 cups (8 oz) (235g) Dark Rye Flour
1 1/2 cups (6.7 oz) (190g) AP Flour; plus a little more for rolling
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 TB Baking Powder
1/4 cup (.8 oz) (25g) Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 (4 oz) (112g) cup Honey
3/4 cup (3 oz) (90g) Sour Cream
1 1/2 TB Whole Milk
3/4 tsp Almond Extract
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 large Eggs; 1 TB of the white removed
1 oz sliced Almond
Directions
Oven at 400°.
Sift Rye Flour, 2 cups of AP Flour, Salt, Baking Powder and Sugar.
Make a well in the center;
Combine Sour Cream, Milk and Extracts.
Crack eggs into a small bowl, separating 1 TB of white from 1 of the eggs into a separate bowl.
Add eggs and sour cream mixture to the well you have made in the flour
Mix together with a fork or your finger, in a circular motion slowly incorporating more of the liquid as you mix (This is how Pasta is made too) until you have formed a soft dough.
This dough will be extremely sticky at first, knead another 1/4 - 1/2 cup flour into the dough while it is still in the bowl; (You may not need a full ½ cup more).
Use the remaining ¼ cup for rolling out the dough to about 1/3 inch thick.
Using a round cutter, make 2 ½ inch to 3 inch rounds and place on sheet pan.
With a dry pastry brush, remove any excess flour from the tops of the lepeshki.
Whisk the egg white slightly to break it up a little.
Brush with reserved egg white onto the top of each round, then lay sliced almond across the top. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes; they will still be very light in color, but you do not want to over toast the almonds on top.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.
