Version from Ukraine
Mandrykas — Ukraine
A Ukrainian pastry of sweetened dough filled with cottage cheese, shaped into small rounds and baked until golden.
- 30 min
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 6
- Servings
- Easy
- Difficulty
Mandryky, singular mandryka, are small Ukrainian pastries built around a filling of cottage cheese or quark. Each one is a flattened round or half-moon of dough enclosing a sweet curd centre, sized to be eaten by hand.
The pastry is reported across Ukraine, where it appears at village and family gatherings, historically tied to periods when fresh curd cheese needed to be used up before the start of a fast.
To prepare mandryky, cottage cheese is mixed with egg, sugar and a little flour to bind it into a soft filling, sometimes flavoured with vanilla or raisins. A simple dough of flour, egg, sugar and a little butter is rolled out and cut into rounds; a portion of the curd filling is placed on each, and the dough is folded over or pressed flat around it before the pastries are baked on a tray until the surface turns a light golden colour.
What distinguishes this version from other curd-filled pastries found across the region is the flattened, rustic shape mandryky are given, and the plain baking method without an enriched glaze, which leaves the pastry close in texture to the cheese it encloses.
Preparation
Mix the cottage cheese with one egg, half the sugar and the raisins to make the filling.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, remaining sugar, salt and softened butter.
Add the second egg and enough water to bring the mixture into a soft, pliable dough.
Roll the dough out and cut it into small rounds.
Place a spoonful of the curd filling on each round and fold or press the dough around it.
Flatten each pastry gently with your palm into a round or half-moon shape.
Arrange the pastries on a lined baking tray.
Bake in a moderate oven until the surface turns lightly golden.
