MAFIZHES (IVA'S RIBBON COOKIES)

This recipe is very old, Macedonian, from the south-eastern part of my country. It was shared by one wonderful lady named Vesna, who I asked if I can share it and promote it here on Macedonian Cuisine. You can also read it in Macedonian here It is translated as it was originally written - with lots of love.

Mifizhes or mafizhes (мифиже, мафиже) are ribbon cookies that marked our childhood. It was a great joy when my mother prepared them. Somehow with time, she stopped making them so the recipe was not recorded in the notebooks. My mother says, they are easy and fast to prepare and therefore they were not written down, but 50 years have passed since then. These cookies were popular in the sixties and seventies and probably before. The recipe is updated, but still with original taste as in the paste.


Ingredients:

• 500 g flour (or as needed)
• 1 dry yeast
• 250 ml milk
• 80 g butter or lard
• 80 g sour cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 vanilla (10 g)
• a pinch of salt
• oil as needed
• 2-3 tbs powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. Put yeast into lukewarm milk to reach.
2. Sieve flour in a bowl, add all the ingredients except the oil and sugar and knead dough which shouldn't be sticky, add more flour if needed.
3. The dough should rest for 20 minutes.Then roll out a thin crust, cut squares or rectangles and make a ribbon form as in pics (press the middle with your fingers).
   
4. Fry at medium heat in more oil and rollover several times.When ready, sprinkle with powdered sugar. I recommend to combine ribbons with  your favorite jam. These delicious cookies are a great joy for children and guests.
   

Enjoy!