Grandma's secrets: Mastering the perfect homemade angel wings
These days, we are often surprised by the prices of angel wings in bakeries. They can be pretty high. However, we still buy them because they seem difficult to make. In the past, our grandmothers would fry them during carnival season and consider them a simple and easy dessert.
Angel wings are one of the favourite carnival desserts. Like other sweet treats characteristic of this period, they are fried to a golden colour in deep fat. The cookies should be crisp and delicate, like dried twigs. How can you achieve this effect?
Angel wings better than from the bakery
My grandmother used to fry angel wings several times during the carnival. She always followed her own rules, which made her cookies incredibly delicate and crispy. The dough was as thin as paper. Even today, I can't buy such cookies in the best bakery. Although the recipe for angel wings seems simple, making them requires precision and skill. It's worth frying them at least once a year because homemade ones always taste better than store-bought ones.
How to make crunchy angel wings? Here are grandma's rules
- Be cautious with the cream. It's one of the ingredients of the angel wings dough. When kneading it, please don't add the whole portion at once; do it in parts. The dough should be elastic but not wet.
- Alcohol is a must. My grandmother would add spirit or vodka, but you can also choose beer. Thanks to the spirits, the dough is fluffier and crispier, and characteristic bubbles form on the surface of the angel wings.
- Intense beating with a rolling pin. After kneading the dough, you must beat it intensely with a rolling pin. This trick is not used for other types of dough, but it is essential for angel wings. This way, the dough is well aerated, affecting the lightness and exceptional crunchiness.
- Careful rolling. Tear off pieces from the prepared dough and roll them out as thinly as possible. It is challenging, but the dough should be as thin as paper. Cut out the angel wings with a knife or unique pastry wheel.
- They must not dry out. Cover the prepared cookies with a cloth before you start frying them. The thin and delicate dough dries out quickly and is no longer crunchy.
- Lard or oil? My grandmother was always an advocate for lard. Culinary experts emphasize that angel wings prepared with this fat are crunchier. However, it's not enough to use lard. Its temperature must be high, approximately 180 degrees Celsius.
- No rush. Put only a few angel wings into the pot, not only because they expand. When there are fewer, they fry evenly, and the temperature of the fat does not drop. Angel wings fry very quickly; you only need to turn them over during the process.
- Powdering with aroma: It is best to place the cookies on a paper towel to drain the excess fat. While warm, generously sprinkle them with powdered sugar or mix it with fine vanilla sugar. This will enhance their aroma even more.
