Mucenici — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Small figure-eight shaped pastries poached in a sweet walnut-and-cinnamon milk — Romania's traditional March 9th celebration treat.

Ingredients

500g all-purpose flour
200ml warm milk
50g butter, melted
50g sugar
7g instant yeast
1 egg
Pinch salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Poaching liquid: 1L milk, 150g sugar, 100g ground walnuts, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla

1 Dissolve yeast in warm milk with a pinch of sugar. Let foam 10 min.
2 Mix flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest. Add yeast mixture, egg, and melted butter. Knead 10 min until smooth.
3 Rest dough 45 min until doubled.
4 Divide into small pieces. Roll each into a thin rope and shape into a figure-eight (representing the infinity symbol of the 40 martyrs).
5 Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 12-15 min until lightly golden. OR boil in water for 3-4 min.
6 Warm milk with sugar, ground walnuts, cinnamon, and vanilla. Place baked mucenici in bowls and ladle sweet walnut milk over them. Serve warm.

Did You Know?

In Moldavia, mucenici are boiled; in Wallachia, they are baked — this regional divide sparks passionate debates every March.