Schliefferlies are a delicious, deep-fried Swiss pastry. My Great-Grandma Buhrley brought this recipe with her when she emigrated from Switzerland to the United States. My Grandma White would make them every year at Christmastime and when my parents got married, they continued the tradition. When Sam and I were engaged, I told him about the recipe and we decided to make them to surprise my grandpa. We've made them every year since and it's been fun to carry on the tradition.
We decided to make them after Christmas this year since my parents would be hear and they are my dad's favorite.
Schliefferlies
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
4-5 cups flour (that's what my grandma's recipe says but I usually add quite a bit more)
Crisco
powdered sugar
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar until lemon colored. Add butter, evaporated milk, vanilla, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and add to the other mixture.
Add flour until you have a soft, not-sticky dough. (It may seem like you are adding an obscene amount of flour, but trust me, you don't want your dough to be too sticky.)
Cover with plastic wrap and keep in fridge for several hours. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!
Take a ball of dough, about the size of a softball out of your bowl and return the remaining dough to the fridge. It's much easier to handle if it's cold. Roll dough to 1/8" thickness. Feel free to flour the heck out of it. If the dough is too sticky it may make you angry and traditions should be happy, not angry.
Cut into 2"x4" strips. I've found the pizza cutter to be quite helpful for this.
Cut 1" slits in the center of each rectangle.
Take one end of the dough and pull it through the center, like so:
It should look like this.
Heat the Crisco in a deep pan. 355-360 degrees F is ideal, though it may fluctuate five degrees or so.
Add a few Schliefferlies to your pan. Turn over when the bottom side is lightly browned. It only takes about a minute. (I recommend having a fryer and a roller, if you can find a partner in crime.)
When both sides are browned, remove them to a paper towel-lined strainer.
Spread the pastries out on the table. We usually put down a brown paper grocery bag to absorb more grease and prevent mess. Sift powdered sugar over the top.
Repeat with remaining dough.
One recipe makes quite a bit, so plan to share some with your friends or neighbors, or don't. I won't judge.
We like them for breakfast or dessert or a midnight snack.
Store in an air-tight container. You can reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds. They taste the best when they are warm.
