Spirit of Prespa

Pivarki (beer cookies)

The Macedonian name of these cookies is pivarki (пиварки) which means beer cookies, but our guests started calling them walnut cookies. Below is our favourite recipe..

Ingredients for the dough:
– 1 kg all purpose flour
– 1 cup vegetable oil
– 0.5 litter lager beer (we use Skopsko)
– 1 baking powder
– 300 gr. crushed walnuts

Mix the flour, oil, beer and baking powder until you get soft and smooth dough. If need be, add a bit more beer or oil. Make small balls using the hands and add 1 tea spoon of walnuts in the middle and close them. You should get about 30 balls. Press them a bit so they would get cookie form.
Bake them for 20 min on previously heated oven on 220 C degrees. Bake until they get red-ish color. When ready remove them for over and let them cool out on room temperature.

For the sorbet:
– 1 kg sugar
– 1 squeezed lemon
– water

In a pan put the sugar and lemon and add water about 1 finger above the sugar. Boil this for 10 min. After that let it cool on room temperature.

Once the cookies and the sorbet will be on room temperature, drip them one by one on both sides. Make sure they are completely soaked and soft.
At the end put crushed walnuts on each of them. For this you will need another 200 gr walnuts.

You can eat them while still a bit warm or cold.

Enjoy,
Elena from
Spirit of Prespa

Sour Cherry Crumb Cake

We picked our sour cherries 🍒 from the orchard and decided to try this recipe by Martha Steward 🥧

Ingredients

For the topping:

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for dish

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dish
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups (1 pound) fresh sour cherries, pitted, or frozen dark sweet cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish, and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
Make the topping: Stir together butter, flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon.
Make the cakes: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. With a mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar in another bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Working in alternating batches, add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Dot top with cherries, and sprinkle with crumb topping.
Bake until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool before cutting.

We loved it and we are sharing this recipe so you could enjoy too.

Yours,
Ana from
Spirit of Prespa