Chak-Chak is a delightful Russian dessert made from an unleavened dough and after it is fried, it is coated with a sticky, honey glaze. You will find many variations of the spelling of this dessert depending on at area of Russia it comes from. Also, the individual pieces of the dessert can be small, round balls or noodle shaped. No matter how you choose to slice it, this Chak-Chak recipe is fun to make and delicious to eat!

Ingredients for Chak-Chak Recipe

Noodles

• 3 1/2 – 4 cups flour
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• vegetable oil for deep frying

Glaze

• 12 ounces honey
• 1/2 cup sugar

Serving

• powder sugar (optional)

Equipment

• mixer
• container for dough
• pizza cutter or sharp knife
• rolling pin with 1/8 inch thickness rings (optional)
• candy thermometer (optional but highly recommended)
• wire skimmer
• paper towel

Directions for Chak-Chak Recipe Noodles

Beat eggs just until well blended. Add 2 teaspoons sugar, salt and milk. Mix thoroughly.

Add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Turn out on a floored board. Knead just enough to form a ball.

Place in a lightly oiled container that has a lid and allow to rest for 1 hour.

After an hour, remove dough and knead slightly. Divide into 2 sections form into round disks for rolling. Place one back in the contain and return the lid until ready to use.

Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch. Try to roll into a rectangle instead of a circle.

When the dough is the right thickness, liberally flour the front and back of the dough. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut long strips 1 – 1 1/2 inches wide.

Flour the front and back of the strips and stack 4 on top of one another.

Going crosswise, cut through all 4 layers, creating narrow noodles about 1/8 inch wide. Note: Ours wound up wider, but they still tasted great! When finished, do the same with the dough from the container. Note: If you want your chak-chak to be balls, turn the noodles sideways and cut again turning them into little pieces.

When you are done cutting, dust with more flour if necessary to keep the noodles from sticking.

Pour enough oil into a pot to make deep frying possible. Bring the oil temperature to about 375 degrees F.

Shake off excess flour and deep fry in batches, being careful not to overload the pan. Mix slightly to insure all noodles cook evenly. Fry until golden. Think of the perfect french fry.

Remove from the oil with a sieve, and place on paper towel to absorb any extra oil. Finish deep frying all the noodles.

Directions for Chak-Chak recipe Glaze

Place honey in a saucepan, and over medium heat, bring to just a boil, mixing constantly.

Add sugar and heat until the mixture comes to a boil and all the sugar crystals have melted.

Glazing and Shaping the Chak-Chak

Prepare a large bowl of cold water and a cake dish on the table, so it is ready when you have mixed the noodles and honey. The cold water is to dip your hands in so they do not stick to the noodles when shaping.

Place a third of the fried noodles in a large bowl. Pour 1/3 of the honey mixture over the noodles, tossing with a spoon to coat them all. Place another third of the noodles in a bowl, and mix with 1/3 of the honey mixture, then finally the rest of the noodles and honey.

Pour the mixture on your cake dish. Dip your hands in the cold water. Pressing on the noodles firm enough to remove spaces, but not so hard that you start breaking the noodles. Form into a hill shape.

Allow to cool completely. Some people like to refrigerate. For serving, the pieces can be cut into pie pieces or bar shapes. Because our noodles were slightly larger, we pulled off clumps of the noodles. This is not traditional, but we also sprinkled sifted powder sugar over the top!