Hedgehog Cookies Recipe - Ezhiki

Need a beautiful dessert for this coming Easter? How about these egg-like treats to color your dessert spread? I usually make them once a year for Easter or weddings because they are a bit time consuming, but at the same time very fun to make and totally worth it.

For the filling, I like to use frozen cherries except I didn't have any this year due to the 5-day power outage we had over the winter. All my freezer stockpiles were ruined. You may use any filling you like for these. A sour cherry filling, covered with chocolate and coated with flavored crushed wafers is the perfect combination.

These treats may be made up to 5 days before an event or holiday if you have a long food prep list. The delicious result is sure to delight your adult guests as well as the little ones. Have fun making and enjoy eating them!

Dough Ingredients:
5 large – egg yolks
½ cup – sour cream
3 sticks - margarine
1 tsp. - baking soda
2 tsp. – vinegar
3 cups – all-purpose flour

Filling:
I like to use Home Frozen Cherries. You may use anything you like; chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, blueberries, frozen or dried fruit, etc.

Chocolate Dipping:
I use the  Chocolate Ganache Recipe
Wafer Coating:
1 pack – plain circular wafers (available at any European Store)
⅓ pack – strawberry flavored wafers
¾ pack – vanilla flavored wafers (I use a ¼ pack of each vanilla pack)
¾ pack – lemon or orange flavored wafers
4-gallon size – Ziploc bags

Instructions:
1. Cook 5 large eggs. While the eggs are cooking, prepare the wafers for coating.
Place the following flavors and colors on separate large plates:
1 ½ white round wafers, 1 pink round wafer, and ⅓ pack strawberry flavored wafers.
1 ½ white round wafers, 1 orange round wafer, and ⅓ pack vanilla flavored wafers.
1 ½ white round wafers, 1 green round wafer, and ⅓ pack lemon or orange flavored wafers.
1 ½ white round wafers, 1 blue round wafers, and ⅓ pack lemon or orange flavored wafers.

2. Place white and pink/strawberry wafers into a gallon size Ziploc bag. Using a dough roller, finely crush and mix the wafers well. Transfer crushed wafers back onto the plate. Repeat the same process with each color using a new Ziploc bag to avoid mixing colors. Set aside until ready for use.

Dough Instructions:
1. Place 5 cooked egg yolks in a mixer bowl. Beat yolks with the paddle attachment. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and mash some more with a spoon to break down yolk crumbs as much as possible. (I found it impossible to completely break down the crumbs to a perfectly smooth texture. There will be tiny crumbs left, and that is fine.)

2. Add sour cream and keep mixing and mashing the yolks with sour cream until smooth. (This is where you'll be able to break down most of the yolk crumbs best. I first use a spoon, then a hard rubber spatula.)

3. Place the bowl back on the stand and attach the paddle. Add margarine. (Butter causes easy crumbling after baking.) Mix well on high for a minute. Scrape down the dough off the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and mix again for a minute. Add baking soda activated with vinegar. Mix for 30 more seconds or so until combined.

4. Add flour gradually (½ cup at a time), until the dough is formed smooth and soft.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Transfer the dough onto a working surface and knead it into a large ball to limit drying. Form bite-size balls, ½ inch in diameter and flatten them down. Place the filling in the center, seal them and shape back into balls.

6. Place the balls onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat these steps until all the dough is used. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until light golden brown. (Frozen filling will leak a little, which is ok.) Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before coating.

Coating:

While they are baking, prepare the chocolate coating. I use this Chocolate Ganache Recipe for the coating. (A melted chocolate bar coats and hold hedgehogs better than a glaze made with powdered cocoa. They're easier to shape, and the aroma of dark chocolate is much tastier.)
Cool chocolate ganache (it should be pretty warm but not hot). Dip one ball in the chocolate ganache at a time. Place it on a plate of wafer crumbs. Coat carefully and thoroughly so the chocolate does not stay behind on the crumbs (crumbs should stay clean from chocolate the entire coating process). Spread out all coated and crumbed hedgehogs on a large platter to dry and set completely. Repeat the same steps with all balls and wafer crumbs. There will be some crumbs left over; I save these to use later for coating cakes.

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Hedgehog Cookies Recipe - Ezhiki

Prep Time

3 hrs 15 mins

Total Time

3 hrs 15 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Servings: 115 hedgehogs

Author: Valya at Valya's Taste of Home

Ingredients

• Dough Ingredients:
• 5 large – egg yolks
• ½ cup – sour cream
• 3 sticks - margarine
• 1 tsp. - baking soda
• 2 tsp. – vinegar
• 3 cups – all-purpose flour
• Filling:
• I like to use Home Frozen Cherries. You may use anything you like; chocolate chips raisins, cranberries, blueberries, frozen or dried fruit, etc.
• Chocolate Dipping:
• I use the Chocolate Ganache Recipe
• Wafer Coating:
• 1 pack – plain circular wafers available at any European Store
• ⅓ pack – strawberry flavored wafers
• ¾ pack – vanilla flavored wafers I use a ¼ pack of each vanilla pack
• ¾ pack – lemon or orange flavored wafers
• 4- gallon size – Ziploc bags

Instructions

1. Cook 5 large eggs. While the eggs are cooking, prepare the wafers for coating.
2. Place the following flavors and colors on separate large plates:
3. ½ white round wafers, 1 pink round wafer, and ⅓ pack strawberry flavored wafers.
4. ½ white round wafers, 1 orange round wafer, and ⅓ pack vanilla flavored wafers.
5. ½ white round wafers, 1 green round wafer, and ⅓ pack lemon or orange flavored wafers.
6. ½ white round wafers, 1 blue round wafers, and ⅓ pack lemon or orange flavored wafers.
7. Place white and pink/strawberry wafers into a gallon size Ziploc bag. Using a dough roller, finely crush and mix the wafers well. Transfer crushed wafers back onto the plate. Repeat the same process with each color using a new Ziploc bag to avoid mixing colors. Set aside until ready for use.
8. Dough Instructions:
9. Place 5 cooked egg yolks in a mixer bowl. Beat yolks with the paddle attachment. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and mash some more with a spoon to break down yolk crumbs as much as possible. (I found it impossible to completely break down the crumbs to a perfectly smooth texture. There will be tiny crumbs left, and that is fine.)
10. Add sour cream and keep mixing and mashing the yolks with sour cream until smooth. (This is where you'll be able to break down most of the yolk crumbs best. I first use a spoon, then a hard rubber spatula.)
11. Place the bowl back on the stand and attach the paddle. Add margarine. (Butter causes easy crumbling after baking.) Mix well on high for a minute. Scrape down the dough off the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and mix again for a minute. Add baking soda activated with vinegar. Mix for 30 more seconds or so until combined.
12. Add flour gradually (½ cup at a time), until the dough is formed smooth and soft.
13. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Transfer the dough onto a working surface and knead it into a large ball to limit drying. Form bite-size balls, ½ inch in diameter and flatten them down. Place the filling in the center, seal them and shape back into balls.
14. Place the balls onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat these steps until all the dough is used. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until light golden brown. (Frozen filling will leak a little, which is ok.) Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before coating.
15. Coating:
16. While they are baking, prepare the chocolate coating. I use this Chocolate Ganache Recipe for the coating. (A melted chocolate bar coats and hold hedgehogs better than a glaze made with powdered cocoa. They're easier to shape, and the aroma of dark chocolate is much tastier.)
17. Cool chocolate ganache (it should be pretty warm but not hot). Dip one ball in the chocolate ganache at a time. Place it on a plate of wafer crumbs. Coat carefully and thoroughly so the chocolate does not stay behind on the crumbs (crumbs should stay clean from chocolate the entire coating process). Spread out all coated and crumbed hedgehogs on a large platter to dry and set completely. Repeat the same steps with all balls and wafer crumbs. There will be some crumbs left over; I save these to use later for coating cakes.

If you make this Hedgehog Cookies Recipe - Ezhiki please share a picture with me on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Tag with #valyastasteofhome. I'd love to see your creations! 🙂

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