12 Eastern European Desserts That Taste Like a Visit to Grandma in the Old Country

Some desserts come with a story, and Eastern European desserts come with a whole family history. Think of a grandmother in Poland, Ukraine, Hungary or the Czech Republic, flour on her apron, rolling dough on the kitchen table while the tea kettle whistles. These sweets are not flashy. They are made with farmer cheese, poppy seeds, walnuts, honey and lots of love. Did your family have a dessert like this? Let us take a sweet trip to the old country..

Medovik, the Honey Cake of Eastern European Desserts

Medovik is the queen of Eastern European desserts. It is a tall cake made from eight or more thin honey cookie layers stacked with a tangy sour cream frosting. The magic happens overnight in the fridge, when the crisp layers soften into something tender and almost like tiramisu. The top is covered with crumbs made from the leftover dough. It takes patience, but every slice shows off those pretty stripes. Would you have the patience to roll out eight layers?

You will need: 1/2 cup honey, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 3 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda, 3 1/2 cups flour, frosting of 3 cups sour cream, 1 cup heavy cream and 3/4 cup powdered sugar.

How to make it: 1. Melt honey, sugar and butter, then whisk in eggs and baking soda. 2. Mix in flour to make a soft dough and divide into 8 balls. 3. Roll each thin and bake at 350F for 5 minutes. 4. Whip the frosting and stack the layers with it. 5. Cover with crumbs and chill at least 8 hours.

Polish Paczki

Paczki are the jelly donuts of Poland, but richer. The dough has egg yolks, butter and a splash of spirit or vinegar so they soak up less oil. They are filled with rose jam, plum butter or custard, then rolled in sugar or glazed. Poles line up at bakeries on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent, and some people eat a dozen. Pick your filling: A, rose jam, B, custard, C, plum, or D, raspberry?

You will need: 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 packet yeast, 1 cup warm milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 egg yolks, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tbsp vinegar, jam for filling, oil for frying, sugar.

How to make it: 1. Mix flour, yeast, milk, sugar, yolks, butter and vinegar into a soft dough. 2. Rise 1 hour. 3. Cut rounds and rise 30 minutes. 4. Fry at 340F for 2 minutes per side. 5. Pipe in jam and roll in sugar.

Polish Sernik Cheesecake

Sernik is the Polish answer to New York cheesecake, and many people say it is lighter and more tender. It is made with twarog, a dry farmer cheese, often with a little lemon zest and raisins. Some versions have a shortbread crust, others have no crust at all. You can use pressed farmer cheese or ricotta well drained. Looking for more creamy ideas? See our holiday cheesecake desserts.

You will need: 2 lb farmer cheese, 1 cup sugar, 5 eggs, 1/2 cup soft butter, 2 tbsp potato starch, 1 tsp vanilla, zest of 1 lemon, optional raisins, simple shortbread crust.

How to make it: 1. Press the crust into a springform pan. 2. Blend the cheese until smooth. 3. Beat in butter, sugar, eggs, starch, vanilla and zest. 4. Pour over the crust. 5. Bake at 325F for about 70 minutes, then cool in the oven with the door open.

Napoleon Cake

Napoleon cake, or Napoleonka, is loved in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. It is many layers of crisp puff pastry filled with a silky vanilla custard, then topped with crushed pastry crumbs. Like many Eastern European desserts, it tastes even better on day two, when the custard softens the layers. Store bought puff pastry makes it a weekend project instead of a three day one. Honest question: do you eat it layer by layer or in one big bite?

You will need: 2 sheets puff pastry, 4 cups milk, 1 cup sugar, 4 egg yolks, 1/3 cup flour, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup soft butter.

How to make it: 1. Cut the pastry into 4 rectangles, prick and bake until golden. 2. Cook milk, sugar, yolks and flour into a thick custard and cool. 3. Beat in the butter and vanilla. 4. Stack pastry and custard in layers. 5. Crush the trimmings on top and chill overnight.

Ukrainian Syrniki

Syrniki are little fried pancakes made mostly from farmer cheese, held together with an egg and a spoon of flour. They are crisp outside and soft and creamy inside, like a mini cheesecake you cook in a pan. In Ukraine people eat them for breakfast or as a sweet snack with sour cream, honey or berry jam. They are quick, high in protein and very kid friendly. Have you tried them yet?

You will need: 2 cups farmer cheese, 1 egg, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 4 tbsp flour plus more for coating, pinch of salt, butter or oil for frying.

How to make it: 1. Mash the cheese with egg, sugar, vanilla and salt. 2. Stir in the flour. 3. Shape into small thick patties and dust with flour. 4. Fry in butter over medium heat for 3 minutes per side. 5. Serve with sour cream, honey and fruit.

Czech Kolache, Eastern European Desserts for Sharing

Kolache are soft, round yeast pastries with a pool of filling in the middle. In the Czech Republic the classic fillings are sweet farmer cheese, poppy seed and plum butter, often with a buttery crumb on top. Czech immigrants brought them to Texas, where kolache shops are now everywhere. A tray of these Eastern European desserts is perfect for a holiday brunch or to bring to a neighbor.

You will need: 1 batch sweet yeast dough, 1 cup farmer cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp lemon zest, poppy seed or plum filling, egg wash, crumb topping.

How to make it: 1. Divide the risen dough into balls and flatten. 2. Rise 30 minutes. 3. Press a deep well in each center. 4. Fill with cheese, poppy or plum filling and add crumbs. 5. Brush with egg and bake at 375F for 15 to 18 minutes.

Hungarian Chimney Cake

Chimney cake, or kurtoskalacs, is a strip of sweet yeast dough wrapped around a wooden spit, rolled in sugar and roasted over coals until the sugar turns to crunchy caramel. When you pull it apart, it uncoils in a long spiral with steam coming out. It is a famous street food at Christmas markets in Hungary and Prague. At home you can wrap the dough around foil covered rolling pins and bake it. Would you try that hack?

You will need: 3 cups flour, 1 packet yeast, 3/4 cup warm milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 egg yolks, 1/4 cup melted butter, extra butter, sugar and cinnamon for coating.

How to make it: 1. Make a soft yeast dough and rise 1 hour. 2. Roll into a long rope. 3. Wrap tightly around a greased foil covered pin. 4. Brush with butter and roll in sugar. 5. Bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes, turning, and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Polish Nalesniki Crepes

Nalesniki are thin Polish crepes, and almost every Polish kid grew up eating them after school. They are filled with sweet farmer cheese, jam or fresh fruit, then folded into triangles or rolled up. Some families brown them again in butter for a crispy edge. You only need a few pantry basics and one good pan. Poll time: A, sweet cheese filling, B, strawberry jam, C, apple and cinnamon, or D, chocolate spread?

You will need: 1 cup flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup sparkling water, pinch of salt, 2 tbsp melted butter, filling of your choice.

How to make it: 1. Whisk everything into a smooth thin batter. 2. Rest 15 minutes. 3. Pour a thin layer into a hot buttered pan. 4. Cook 1 minute per side. 5. Fill, fold and serve with powdered sugar or fruit.

Sweet Pierogi, Eastern European Desserts Grandma Made

Most people think of pierogi with potato and cheese, but sweet pierogi are a summer tradition in Poland. They are filled with blueberries, cherries, strawberries or sweet farmer cheese, then boiled and topped with sour cream and sugar. Some cooks also pan fry them in butter until golden. Pinching the edges is a great job for little helpers. These sweet Eastern European desserts are worth every fold.

You will need: 2 cups flour, 1 egg, 1/2 cup warm water, 2 tbsp sour cream, pinch of salt, 2 cups blueberries or sweet cheese filling, sugar, sour cream to serve.

How to make it: 1. Knead flour, egg, water, sour cream and salt into a smooth dough. 2. Rest 20 minutes, then roll thin and cut circles. 3. Add a spoon of filling and a pinch of sugar. 4. Fold and pinch tightly. 5. Boil until they float, then serve or brown in butter.

Polish Plum Cake

In fall, Polish and Czech kitchens bake trays of plum cake called placek ze sliwkami. Halved Italian prune plums are pressed into a soft yeast or butter cake and covered with a buttery crumb topping. As it bakes, the plums melt into jammy little pools. It is simple, not too sweet, and perfect with tea. If you see small purple plums at the market this week, grab them.

You will need: 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/3 cup milk, 2 lb small plums halved, crumb topping of flour, butter and sugar.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar, then add eggs. 2. Mix in flour, baking powder and milk. 3. Spread in a greased pan. 4. Press plums cut side up into the batter and add crumbs. 5. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Vanilla Crescent Cookies

These tender little crescents are baked for Christmas across Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. They are made with ground walnuts or almonds and lots of butter, so they melt the second they touch your tongue. While still warm, they get rolled in vanilla sugar. Bakers in the region often make five or six kinds of cookies before Christmas, and these are always on the plate. Which holiday cookie does your family bake every year?

You will need: 1 cup soft butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup ground walnuts or almonds, 2 cups flour, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt, vanilla powdered sugar for rolling.

How to make it: 1. Mix butter, sugar, nuts, flour, vanilla and salt into a dough. 2. Chill 30 minutes. 3. Roll small logs and bend into crescents. 4. Bake at 350F for 12 to 14 minutes. 5. Roll in vanilla sugar while warm.

Walnut Roll, a Holiday Star Among Eastern European Desserts

No Christmas table in Slovakia, Hungary or Poland is complete without a walnut roll. A sweet yeast dough is rolled thin, spread with a rich walnut and honey filling, then rolled up tight and baked until golden. Every slice shows a beautiful swirl. Some families make a poppy seed version too and set them side by side. Of all the Eastern European desserts here, this one is the most holiday ready.

You will need: 1 batch sweet yeast dough, 3 cups ground walnuts, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup honey, 1/2 cup warm milk, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 egg for brushing.

How to make it: 1. Cook walnuts, sugar, honey, milk, butter and cinnamon into a thick paste and cool. 2. Roll the dough into a large rectangle. 3. Spread the filling and roll up tightly. 4. Rise 30 minutes and brush with egg. 5. Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes.