• 1 package of Farmers Cheese (7.5 oz/213g)

• 1/4 pound butter, softened

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 1-2 cups flour

• Plums or apricots

Combine the ingredients by hand to form the dough.  The amount of flour will depend on the weather, you don't want the dough too sticky.  Let rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes. 

Make sure the fruit is at room temperature so the dough sticks (cold fruit will 'sweat' as it warms up and the dough won't stick).  I don't take the pit out of the fruit but prefer to put sugar on top after cooking if the fruit is too sour. 

Form the dough into a small ball, flatten into a circle and press around the fruit.  This will make about 12-14 dumplings.  Oma even showed me to take the remaining scraps of dough and puts semi-sweet chocolate chips in them to make a few tiny dumplings.

Cook in a pot of boiling water until they float to the top.  I always remove them with a slotted spoon rather than drain in a colander so they don't fall apart. 

Follow with a roll in buttered bread crumbs and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

• ¾ liter milk
• 240 grams rice (rundkornreis-milchreis)
• 90 grams butter
• 100 grams sugar (divided in recipe)
• 50 grams powdered (confectioners—caster sugar) sugar
• 8 egg yolks
• 8 egg whites
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• Zest of a lemon
• Butter and some breadcrumbs for the baking tin

Cook the rice as directed on the package.  Prepare a rice porridge of the milk, rice and 50 grams sugar; allow it to cool down.

Mix butter, 50 grams sugar, salt, vanilla sugar, lemon zest,  and egg yolks and make a nice soft kind of dough.  Fold the egg-butter mix into the rice porridge.  Whisk egg whites with powdered sugar until stiff; carefully fold into the rice porridge mixture.  Pour the mixture into your baking tin and bake at about 180°C for 40-45 minutes our until crispy brown.

Tsweschge is a fresh plum ( Pflaume), you can compare them to the Italian plums, they are a little smaller then the regular plums. I don't think the German Zwetschge exists in America, it is a fall fruit, it should have some frost before harvesting.

• About 3 potatoes

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 egg

• 2 cups flour

• Prune plums – halved and pitted (or cubed and peeled apples)

• Sugar cubes

• 1 cup cream of wheat

Boil potatoes with skins on. Peel them while they are still hot and press through a potato ricer. Add in salt, egg and flour and mix well. Roll out flat to about ¼ inch thickness and cut into 2 inch squares. Place a sugar cube in the hole from the pit in the plum, wrap with a square of dough and pinch seal in a rounded shape.

Drop all the balls into a big pot of boiling water and boil for about 20
minutes.

Meanwhile in a fry pan with hot Crisco or cooking oil, fry the cream of wheat, slowly add about ¼ cup of water, cover and steam. Don't allow the cream of wheat to over-brown. Remove dumplings one at a time with a slotted spoon and put directly into fry pan with browned cream of wheat.

Sprinkle with sugar while warm before serving.

Dough:

• 500g (abut 2 cups) Flour

• 250g (about 1 cup) Margarine, melted

• 2 Egg yolks

• 1 Egg white

• ¾ Pack cake Yeast, crumbled

• Some Warm Milk (for the Yeast)

• 4 teaspoons Sugar (for the Yeast)

Filling:

• 250g (about 1 cup) Ground walnuts

• 250g (about 1 cup) Sugar

• Jam, according to your taste (in this recipe, we used strawberry)

Click images to enlarge

Important Note:

It is necessary to find the right amount of jam! Every jam is different. If you use too much, the filling will be runny and will ooze out when you cut the Zuckerkichl into small squares.

If you use too little jam, the filling will be too dry and the sugar, jam and walnuts will not combine properly resulting in the sugar being grainy.  There are some jams that are especially good for this recipe: apricot, strawberry & mirabelle. (a kind of plum). The lighter jams are preferred over the dark ones such as blackberry. Raspberry can be used, but choose the seedless variety.

• 250g/9oz potatoes, peeled

• 75g/3oz/6 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 egg, beaten

• 130g/4 1/2 oz/generous 1 cup plain flour, sifted

• 16 plums

• 16 blanched whole almonds

• 45ml/3 tbsp granulated sugar

• 50g/2oz/scant 1 cup day-old breadcrumbs

• 40-50g/1 1/2- 2oz/1/3-1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

• 2.5ml/1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Boil the potatoes in a large pan until just cooked. Drain then mash them with 25g/1 oz/2 tbsp of the butter. Leave to cool before adding the egg. Mix well then stir in the flour.

2. Knead the dough until soft, on a lightly floured surface. cover with clear film and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Carefully ease the stone out of each plum by slitting the plums without cutting them in half. Once the stone is removed push an almond into each plum with about 2.5ml/1/2 tsp of the granulated sugar.

4. Divide the dough into 16 even balls. Roll out each dough ball on a very lightly floured surface to a thin round. Brush the edges of each dough circle with water and wrap around a plum. Seal the dough to enclose the fruit completely.

5. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the dumplings and simmer for 10-12 minutes. When cooked remove them with a slotted spoon and drain well, then rinse in cold water quickly. Drain well again.

6. Meanwhile, fry the breadcrumbs in the remaining butter in a pan until golden brown then quickly roll the dumplings in the breadcrumbs. Dredge the dumplings liberally with a mixture of icing sugar and cinnamon and serve hot.

Serves 4

click images to enlarge

• 2 cups flour

• ½ cup butter (oleo)

• 4 eggs (beaten)

• 1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp. Sour cream

• dash of salt

Roll out very thin. Cut with scalloped pizza cutter. Twist within itself.

Put into deep hot oil until lightly browned.

Remove and sprinkle w/powdered sugar while still hot.

• 400 grams (15 Oz) of flour = 3 cups

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of butter = 7 tablespoons

• 1 yeast - appx. 11/2" L X 1" W X 1/4" thick

• 200  ML Milliliters  (7 - 8 oz) of milk = 3/4 cup

• 200  Grams ( 7-8 Ounces ) of Krammel - Grieben = 14 tablespoons

• salt & pepper to taste

Mix the flour, yeast, milk & butter to prepare the dough & knead it very well. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes, then roll it out flat.

• the Krammel (Grieben) shall then be spread out evenly onto the rolled out dough

• now fold the dough in two & then roll it out flat again

• with a sharp round Cookie cutter (or similiar) appx. 3 " in diameter, cut out the individual Pogatschen

• on the top of each make a number of shallow cuts & then brush on ample egg white

• following allow the Pogatschen to stand & rise from 15 to 20 Minutes

• bake them at 180 degrees Celsius