Lucky Cookies

"In the mornings, red-cheeked peasants would stop by the house offering bucketsful of homemade kozuli, laying them out on a white sheet. These tasty and aromatic pryaniki were in the shapes of people and animals of the North: Nenets, polar bears, reindeer, all of them decorated with red and white sugar."

Eugenie Fraser, The House by the Dvina

Arkhangelsk kozuli – cookies made from dark, aromatic dough and decorated with colorful glazed frostings – have been a central part of Christmas traditions in the North since the middle of the nineteenth century. Giving someone kozuli was thought to bring them good luck; if a young woman baked one for a man, they were sure to be married the following year. Hanging kozuli on fences where livestock were kept was believed to make them more fecund and keep them from getting lost in the forest.

Kozuli are a peculiar synthesis of the baker's art from various times and peoples. They take their yuletide shapes from western European Christmas cookies, prepared by bakers in Arkhangelsk's foreign settlements; they borrowed their name from a ritual cookie long baked by the Pomor people in the Kholmogory and Mezensky regions (a kozulya, in the singular, was a cookie made from a coil of rye dough and thus resembled a coiled snake, whence the Pomor name is derived); and their taste and color come from the famous "honey-cakes" and pryaniki so beloved by Russians.

Widespread production of kozuli took off when markets saw a glut in molasses – a by-product of the sugar production that began in Arkhangelsk in the mid-nineteenth century (today, however, bakers simply caramelize sugar to obtain the desired color and flavor). Bakers began producing kozuli in early October and by the middle of December the cookies could be purchased in any bread or pastry store. They ranged in size from 6 to 50 centimeters (2-20 inches). Just before Christmas, the city market was full of them, but by the time the holiday rolled around, they would all be bought up; huge packages full of kozuli were sent throughout Russia and even abroad.

At first, kozuli were hand-cut (usually by laying a template on top of rolled dough) in the shape of domestic animals (goats, sheep and cows), symbolizing the "celestial herd" vital to sustaining life. As time went on, additional archetypal images were added: Christmas stars, angels, pine trees, baskets, sailing ships, Nenets (an indigenous nomad people in the North who raise reindeer) in national attire, reindeer pulling a sleigh...

In the early twentieth century, bakers began to supplement the traditional shapes with modern ones: cabbies, a hound and doghouse, ships, trains, airplanes, bicyclists, etc. The First World War introduced its own shapes, including the two-headed eagle and an injured soldier.

The kozuli traders reacted quickly to the arrival of Soviet power in the North (1920). Kozuli cookies appeared in the shape a hammer and sickle, and of course a worker with the slogan, "Workers of the World Unite!"

In 1925, a strange sort of kozuli appeared. They were the same two-headed eagles as before, but the eagle's breast was adorned with a hammer and sickle, the cross on the crown was removed, and to it was added the inscription: RSFSR. The kozuli were decorated with white and red frosting.

In 1929, Orthodox Christmas (moved to January 7 after 1918) was essentially outlawed in Soviet Russia.* Yet no one ever forbade kozuli in Arkhangelsk, and for nearly 200 years, up to the present day, they have been a vital aspect of Christmas and/or New Year's in the North. In fact, there may yet come a day when kozuli become a calling card of Arkhangelsk, or perhaps even its coat of arms.

* Officially replaced by the more acceptable worker's holiday of New Year's in 1935.

Arkhangelsk Kozuli ~ Kозули

Sometimes you have to earn your luck! These cookies take time and care. But the payoff is well worth it. Even if your luck doesn't improve, they taste wonderful!

Dough

3/4 cup honey

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

10 tbsp cold butter, cut into ½-inch thick pieces

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp each ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves

7-8 cups all-purpose flour

Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

a few drops lemon juice

desired food colorings (You can also make natural colorings to add to your powdered sugar frosting: yellow – mix lemon peel with carrot juice and butter, cook for 3-5 minutes then strain through cheescloth; green – juice from cooked spinach; red – juice from jam of berries or cherries, or beet juice; orange – orange juice; brown – cocoa powder.)

Mix together the honey, sugar and water in a heavy saucepan. Heat over a low flame, stirring gently, until the liquid turns a dark, "bear-colored" brown.

Remove from heat and slowly stir in the butter until completely melted. Place in a large electric mixer bowl. Slowly mix in the eggs, soda, baking powder and spices until smooth. Still on low speed, add in the flour until the dough reaches a smooth, pliable texture that does not stick to your hands.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or wax paper and place in refrigerator overnight.

Roll out the dough to roughly ¼-inch thickness and cut into shapes, using a sharp knife (Arkhangelskians often cut templates out of cardboard) or cookie cutters.

Bake in a 350º oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.

Prepare the frosting and divide into a few small glasses, adding different food coloring to each.

Gather friends and family around to decorate the cooled cookies with frosting and enjoy (being sure to share the luck)!

Makes 6-8 dozen cookies, depending on size.