Several months ago I saw a new baked good in my local Shop-Rite: chrusciki. Since it was unfamiliar to me, I of course picked up a box and brought it home. My chrusciki was made by White Eagle Bakery, out of Wyandanch, NY, and distributed by Sweet Sofia's Bakery, which as far as I can tell is also based out of New York.
So what, you may be asking, is chrusciki? It's essentially a ubiquitous cookie (or biscuit) throughout Europe. And because of this, each separate country, or culture, seemingly has its own name for it. Chrusciki happens to be the Polish name for it. It's also the name of a tiny village (currently population of 30) in the Greater Poland province, Skupca County. Although I don't think the cookie is named after this hamlet--it just appears to be a coincidence. "Chrust" means "brushwood" or "branches broken off of trees" in Polish, and this is evidently a reference to the cookie's twisted, crunchy form and texture. Anyway, chrusciki, and its kin, is made from dough twisted into ribbon shapes, which are then deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar. So the basic ingredients are typically flour, water, egg, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Probably the most common title, worldwide, for this food is "angel wings." The "wing" part presumably refers to the rough shape of the cookie. And the "angel" part probably comes from the food's association with a religious holiday--Fat Thursday, before Lent. (I'd heard of "Fat Tuesday," but didn't know about this additional one. Are there other, more obscure holy days of the week? Like a "Thin Monday," or "Regular Healthy Weight Saturday," or something?) Angel wings are also sometimes served at celebrations like graduations, weddings, and other holidays. One of the more rare, yet interesting events is the tradition of husbands giving their wives this dessert treat on Friday the 13th, for good luck. (Which makes me wonder, if characters in the popular slasher horror movies of the same name gave each other chrusciki, would they then survive Jason Voorhee's attacks? Given how many sequels that series had, and how stupid many of them were, this question may be answered sometime in the future.) In the U.S. these traditional times for chrusciki/angel wings have apparently been relaxed a little, as it's sometimes served at other holidays, too, such as Easter and Christmas. For example, I got mine in August or September, which is nowhere near Lent.
White Eagle Bakery, chrusciki: These cookies were yellowish-brown in color, with visible bubbles and cracks, in twisted, random-ish shapes, with sugar evident on the outside. Despite the obvious presence of the sugar, these weren't especially sweet. They were crunchy, and alright, but I wasn't blown away or anything. I would rate them as being a solid cookie, but nothing more.
So, my opinion of these traditional European cookies was similar to my opinion of many traditional European cookies--okay, but not dazzling. My American upbringing, and/or my personal sweet tooth, cause me to usually crave more dramatically sweet cookies. But those who prefer more measured and subtle cookie tastes may well love these.
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