The Pryaniki are spiced cookies or breads typical of Orthodox Christmas in Russia.

There are different types:
– simple ones covered with a glaze, also called Kovrizhki;
– filled with jam or dried fruits;
– those from Tula (a city south of Moscow famous for weapons) are particularly famous for their complex decorations, rich caramel or jam dough, and coated with sugar syrup.
These are certainly the most famous.

There is a museum: the Tuslky Pryanik, where the mold that the master pastry chefs of Tula prepared to gift to Catherine the Great is kept.

For this last printed version, a wooden mold (pryanichnye doski) is necessary, in which a certain pattern such as birds, fish, etc., is carved in mirror image.

In Tula, the rectangular version is called Pryanik, which means “spiced”, and it is a true gingerbread.

The main ingredient has always been honey, and in fact, they are known as honey cakes; from the 13th century, the first spices, such as cloves and cardamom, arrived, making them spicier.

They were featured on TravelingEating on air on December 16, video HERE.