I remember I tried these cookies over 25 years ago in Moscow, but they were shaped as little pillows, my college friend grandma was making them. Then I tried them in my friend’s house here, she called them rosettes.

The dough is very light because it’s based on farmer cheese. The result is – super airy pastry. Friendship brand works, but I usually make farmer cheese or tvorog (творог) of my own, and that’s the one on the picture.

Ingredients:

• Farmer cheese – 1/2 lbs
• 1.5-2 sticks of soften margarine or butter (I usually use 1 stick of butter and the 1/2+ margarine).
• Sour cream – 3-4 tbsp
• Eggs – 3 (room temperature)
• Sugar – 1/2 cup + 1 cup
• Flour – 3-31/2 cups

Directions:

• Separate egg whites from yolks
• In a bowl start mixing yolks and 1/2 sugar with a whisk
• Add softened butter/margarine, farmer cheese, sour cream and soda and mix it well (with the whisk or a spoon)
• Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time. Use a spoon till possible, then kneed with your hands. The dough should be soft, even a little sticky. But you will add some more flour when rolling.
• In a separate bowl beat egg whites + 1 cup of sugar
• Preheat your oven to 375 °F, cover baking sheet with the parchment paper
• Divide the dough into 3 pieces (just so it’s easier to roll)
• Dust you board with flour
• Roll the dough to the “rectangular” or oval shape (about 15″x 8″), 1/8″ (3mm) thick
• Spread the dough with 1/3 of a beaten whites leaving some borders (for the whites not to ooze out too much)
• Make a roll, make it even width with your hands, also trying to spread the whites inside evenly.
• Cut the roll into 1 inch thick pieces, pressing with the knife and lifting each piece so that the whites don’t come out, placing it to the baking sheet right away.
• Repeat with the rest of the dough and the whites
• Bake for about 20 minutes, but start checking after 15 minutes. The cookies (and the whites) should be just golden and remain a little soft.

They are so easy and so delicious! And flexible – you can use any nuts or seeds you like or have, any dry fruits or berries.

The carb content can probably be reduced even further by substituting part of the flour with the whole wheat flour, maybe use more oats, but I didn’t try that. I like them the way they are too much.

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter – 1 stick (113gr), room temperature!
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Egg – 1
• Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
• Flour – 2 cups
• Rolled oats – 1 cup
• Vanilla extract – 1tsp
• Walnuts or pecans – 1/2 cup
• Dried berries (raisins, cranberries, tart cherries) – 1/2 cup

Directions:

• Put all the ingredients except nuts and dried berries into a bowl and mix them with a spoon first.
• When it’s too hard to use a spoon, use your hands.
• Add nuts and berries, combine the batter using your hands into a ball.
• The dough will be a little sticky.
• Make a log, wrap with a plastic wrap and freeze it, just to make it easier to divide a dough into cookies.
• Preheat your oven to 350 °F
• Using sharp knife, slice frozen dough into 1/4 inch slices and put on a baking sheet covered with the parchment paper.
• Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown (depends on your oven).