Grandma Demski was a good baker.


Lillian Demski was a baking legend in my book. She wasn't the type who baked every single day, but for special occasions she went all out. She cooked+baked with a level of meticulousness that would drive any normal person crazy. But damn, her sweets were good.


I remember these kolaczkis on Easter - there would be dozens upon dozens of them, with a variety of flavors. If you haven't had a Polish kolaczki, I recommend you give this recipe a try! These flaky little pastries are filled with different kinds of jam and are the perfect springtime sweet to pop in your mouth!

My grandma's original recipe :)

the recipe

Ingredients


  1. 1 cup white sugar
  2. 1 pound butter
  3. 4 egg yolks
  4. 4 cups sifted flour
  5. Jams of your choice (we use strawberry, raspberry and apricot)

Directions


  1. Cream sugar and butter together until fluffy.
  2. Add yolks and mix.
  3. Add flour and mix.
  4. Roll into balls and put on un-greased cookie sheet about 1+1/2" apart.
  5. Gently press your thumb in the center of each ball to create a little crater; in each center place a small spoonful of jam (do NOT overfill).
  6. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown (watch closely).
  7. Cool on rack, sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool. Enjoy!

More than anything, Grandma Demski was such a sweet and kind woman.


She didn't yell or scream and she always seemed to have something to laugh about. She and my grandpa grew cucumbers behind their house near the alleyway (it's a Chicago neighborhood thing) and she would let me play out there as long as I wanted to. She kept a dresser top full of different perfumes and I would spend hours looking at and smelling each one while she was in the kitchen cooking. One of my last memories of her was visiting her and my grandpa in their assisted living apartment, right after I had gotten engaged, and looking at a wedding magazine with her; her telling me "I think you'd look good in just about all of these dresses." She passed away before I got married. I think of her often, especially when I make one of the sweets she used to bake for me. Nora Lily is named after her.

Grandma Demski with her three granddaughters; my sister in back, my cousin Jessica on the right, and me [looking like my mom may have given me Benadryl to go to sleep] on the left!