The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.
So Jason said we could make the nazook and/or the nutmeg cake for this challenge, and when given the choice of yeasty vs. cakey, I will always go with yeast. The nazook also had a fun name, though it kept making me think of the Nazgûl from Lord of the Rings. These are the Ringwraiths, or the nine semi-dead/alive king servants of Sauron, also known as Dementors in Harry Potter. (For all of the hardcore LotR and HP fans, that was a joke.)
Making the nazook was much like making cinnamon rolls, only they’re baked on their sides aren’t topped with icing in the end. Mine also did not have cinnamon, but some of the other bakers included it in the filling.
The finished product is not at all like cinnamon rolls, particularly texture-wise. Mine were almost cookie-like, in that they were on the dry side and almost crisp. Shortbread was the closest thing that came to mind with the flavor, but the nazook were much lighter and flaky. I was expecting something a little more doughy with the yeast, but the outcome was definitely addictive in a different way. They are fantastic with tea or coffee (I’ve tried both…for science!) and since they last for a couple weeks in an airtight container, I think they would make perfect additions to one’s holiday gift baking repertoire!
If you would like to make a batch of nazook, rather than reinventing the wheel, I’m going to refer you to Jason’s write-up. His directions are very clear and easy to follow along with his step-by-step photos. He even included a video of his aunt making the recipe!
The only change I made was to the filling: I started by rubbing the zest of a lemon into the sugar, then mixed in the flour and butter and added only 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Reason? My vanilla is life-threateningly low and I had a lemon. Voila! It’s very subtly lemony, so if you want a more pronounced flavor, then zest two lemons and maybe nix the vanilla. Some ground ginger might be a nice addition!
Thanks to Jason for one of my favorite Daring Baker challenges so far! I hadn’t experienced any sort of Armenian food until now and would like to try the nutmeg cake along with all sorts of other dishes, too.
these look incredible !!
these do look like the best possible choice for holiday baking–if only it weren’t eight months until then! Oh well–I guess I get to eat a batch or two my self in the meantime. :)
Barutiful nazook :) looking great and veary delicious! Can I pop in for a coffee :]
Pozdrawiam, Anula.
How dare you make an HP joke. Kidding. But Dr. Who really should be off limits. Anyway, these look awesome!
MyBeautifulAir – Thanks, they taste that way too, I think!
Eileen – There are lots of holidays throughout the year, right? ;) You could always spend months perfecting your perfect nazook variations…requiring lots of taste-testing, of course.
Anula – Thank you! Sure, I’m actually having both at this moment.
Greg – Well, you know that if I ever make a joke about the Doctor, it will be coming from a fellow fan, which goes for HP (and LotR), too!
What an interesting little cookie! I’ve never made nor tasted a cookie that had yeast in the batter. They do look great and can only imagine how delicious they are with tea or coffee.
What a great challenge. And it looks like you really hit it out of the park. Well done!
When I saw ‘Nazgûl,’ a creepy bird call sounded out in my mind. Cah-cawwwwwww! What a frightening portent.
These nazook look fabulous, though. I’ve never seen anything quite like it!
Adding lemon to the Nazook sounds delicious! All of your photos are gorgeous, but I think the second one is my favorite. Your filling looks so fluffy there. Great work on the challenge.
Paula – At first I thought they seemed like cookies, but they’re definitely more pastry-like!
Chung-Ah – It was fun and thanks!
Emma – Eek! I hadn’t seen them before either, but have seen and eaten many now, that’s for sure…
Sarah – Oh, thanks! Once I got halfway through the dough, I realized I had more than half the filling left, so that photo was taken when I really started piling it on.
Jessica, these are beautiful! The pictures are lovely; it looks like you got some fab natural light on those. I too have opted to make nazook based predominantly on its name (seriously, how do you not LOVE the way that sounds?). Now it calms me to know that I’ve made the right decision. :D
Ah, those look great!
Mary – Thank ya! I almost assembled/baked them in the evening, but decided to let the dough sit in the fridge overnight so I could use and abuse the natural light in the morning which paid off! Nazoooka!
Jill – They are winners!
As a roommate who has eaten at least 6…they were delicious! One of my favorites so far ;) Keep it up Jess!
Thanks, Minda! I’m glad I made these after Lent so you could have some!
man, those look good! I think if you use nutmeg you should omit the cinnamon. Maybe I will make these for Soph’s teacher breakfast….
I really want to try making these! They sound totally different from any cookies I’ve ever made and look like they’d go great with tea. Beautiful shots
Fascinating name, maybe I will venture here one day
Ginny – Hmm…I didn’t use nutmeg or cinnamon? If I were a teacher, I’d be psyched if a student brought these in!
Stephanie – I think you’d have fun with these…they involve yeast!
Wayne – You should!
The picture are top is so pretty! I was looking for your ginger ale recipe and got distracted.