Lithuanian Choux Cookies (Plikyti Sausainiai)
There are some recipes that instantly bring back the feeling of childhood kitchens — warm ovens, the smell of butter and sugar, and a tray of tiny pastries waiting to cool on wire racks. These Lithuanian cookies, known as Plikyti Sausainiai, may technically be choux pastry rather than traditional cookies, but in Lithuania, they have always been treated like a beloved sweet snack. Light, airy, and slightly crisp, they are one of those simple Lithuanian desserts that disappear from the table faster than you expect. They are humble, nostalgic, and surprisingly satisfying for such small cookies.
Equipment
- Wooden Spoon
- Electric Handheld Mixer, optional
- Baking Sheets
- Piping Bag With A Nozzle Attachment
Ingredients
- 225 ml (1 cup) milk
- 65 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 50 g (3½ tbsp) unsalted butter cubed
- 120 g (1 cup) strong bread flour about 12% protein
- 3 large eggs about 165 g, lightly beaten, you may not need all of it
Instructions
- Place the milk, sugar and cubed butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir until the butter melt and the mixture starts bubbling around the edges.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add all the flour to the still-hot mixture at once. Stir quickly and vigorously with a wooden spoon. At first the dough will form lumps, but as you continue mixing it will become smooth and come together into a single ball.
- Transfer the dough to another bowl and let it cool for a few minutes so that the eggs added later do not cook in the hot dough.
- Once the dough has cooled slightly, add the eggs (about ⅓ at a time), mixing well after each addition with a wooden spoon or beating with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Pay attention to the consistency of the dough. It should not be too thick (otherwise the cookies will not rise well) or too runny (otherwise they will lose their shape, collapse and bake like flat pancakes). When you scoop the dough with a spoon and turn it over, the dough should slowly fall from it — not run off and not cling stubbornly to the spoon. Depending on the dough consistency and the size of the eggs, adjust the number of eggs used — you may need four if the eggs are very small, or only two if the eggs are very large.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Transfer the prepared dough into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle attachment.
- Pipe small round cookies (2.5-3cm) onto the baking paper, leaving 3–4 cm gaps between them, as they will rise and expand during baking.
- Place the sheets in the preheated oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Do not open the oven door during baking, otherwise the cookies may collapse.
- Let them cool in the oven with the door slightly open, then remove and allow them to cool completely at room temperature.