GRIMSTICH, Jewish Bear Claw

GRIMSTICH Jewish Bear Claw recipe comes from my NANA Miriam Habranka a strong Russian Jewish Woman. She would make this when visiting us. My family traveled and worked all over the world. Nana- is Greek for other than mother, for she was my grandmother. A Russian Jewish woman was born in 1897 in Moscow Russia. Her family made clothing for Czar Nicholas II. She was a seamstress like her mother.  Whos madden name Vladislav ( Vlad the Impaler) was married to  Habranka.  Miriam was 19 during the fall of the Czar and the start of WWI. The family left, for now, Czechoslovakia where they lived until WWII. Where my Grandmother and her family came to the United States separately. Meeting up 5 years later in NYC Hells Kitchen. My grandmother was so petrified of the Nazis. That she lived among the Irish where she fell in love married a Scotch-Irish man changing her name, to Murray.  My grandmother went from mopping floors at Shusters Printing in NYC at night to VP of Public Relations Simon & Shousters Publishers NYC. Taking care of her baby brother who had been in a wheelchair since birth. They lived on the 6 the floor on 1st ave 72nd street. She would carry uncle Johnny on her back and bring him back up on good days. She spoke and wrote in 5 languages and worked until she was 90 when she passed.  My grandmother always told me like my father you can do anything. She always said she would outlive her children. When my mother passed my grandmother passed 1 week later. Gotta love the stubborn girl.

This recipe was copied from a piece of paper from her cookbook

Make into a stiff paste one pint of biscuit powder, a little brown sugar, grated lemon peel, six eggs, and three-quarters of a pound of warmed fresh butter; then prepare four apples chopped finely, a  quarter of a pound of sweet almonds blanched and chopped, half a pound of stoned raisins, a little nutmeg grated, half a pound of coarse brown sugar, and a glass of white wine, or a little brandy; mix the above ingredients together, and put them on a slow fire to simmer for half an hour, and place in a dish to cool; make the paste into the form of a small dumplings, fill them with the fruit, and bake them 400 F 20 minutes; when put in the oven, pour over a syrup of brown sugar and water, flavored with lemon juice.

Now the translation

Make into a stiff paste one pint of biscuit powder, (Note a Pint is 2 cups)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar

1 grated lemon peel

6 eggs

3 sticks of butter

4 Apples Chopped fine

1/4 pound of sweet almonds blanched (leave a handful out to garnish)

( Allow water to come to a rolling boil place the almonds in for 1 minute)

1/2 pound of  Raisins no pits

Make the paste into the form of small dumplings, fill them with the fruit, and bake them at 400 F 20 minutes. , pour over the  syrup of brown sugar after 15 min when in the oven

Sauce

1 teaspoon Nutmeg or Nut grated

2 cups of Brown Sugar

4 shots of brandy 3 for the recipe and 1 for you

Add the Lemon strain the pulp and seed then add into the sauce.

Note: I sometimes need to add a little water

My mother added the powdered sugar and then butter icing drizzle over the top of them

Butter Icing in a blender

• • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or egg white powder
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar 10x
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Hope you enjoy it

Murph