Fastnacht Kuecheles

This year, I overcame my fear of yeast and tackled the family tradition of fastnacht kuechele (fostnokt keekle) making. I finally figured out why my breads weren't rising- water not warm enough, milk too hot- so this year the fastnacht dough actually rose! The kids cheered.

Here is a little history behind fastnachts.

On Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (which is the day on which the 40 days of Lent begin), it is tradition to use up all the sugar, eggs, and fat in the house. Then, for the next 40 days those items will not be consumed as a way of fasting. When I was a kid it was a big deal to make fastnachts. I have vivid memories of walking home from the bus stop and devouring them for snack.

Now for a quick how to...

The dough is rolled out and then cut into biscuit sized rounds to be stretched. My grandpa used to say that you should stretch them over your knee and the key to a good stretch was a dirty knee. I can still see the twinkle in his eye when he would tell us that.
The dough is wonderfully elastic and easy for the kids to work with. Leah got quite good at getting them thin in the middle and keeping them a little thick on the edges. The next step is deep frying them. That is what makes them sooooo yummy.

Or perhaps it is the powdered sugar that you shake them in.
Yum!