Pinyonate (Sephardic Honey and Nut Pastry)
Pinyonate or pinonato is a pastry of crunchy honey-coated small biscuits and nuts from the historical Sephardic Jewish community of the Greek island Rhodes. It's quite tasty and unique, almost like a sweet and sticky pretzel. Enjoy pinyonate for a dessert or as a snack with tea or coffee.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 14 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- Dough
- 2 eggs
- 125-155 grams all purpose flour (1 - 1 1/4 cups)
- Honey Solution for Boiling
- 150 grams honey (1/2 cup)
- 100 grams sugar (1/2 cup)
- 100 grams water (scant 1/2 cup)
- * 1 tsp rose water (see notes for substitutions)
- Nut Additions
- 70 grams blanched toasted almonds or pine nuts (1/2 cup)
Instructions
- 1
For the boiling, you want a tall-ish pot to contain the frothing. My pot was 4.5 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter.
- 2
Beat the eggs in a large bowl with a fork. Add the flour slowly, continuing to beat the mixture, until it is too thick to use the fork. Switch to mixing by hand, adding only enough flour to be able to knead the dough without stickiness. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead it until it is silky smooth, about 10-15 minutes.
- 3
Cover and let the dough rest 10-15 minutes so it is easier to roll out.
- 4
Divide the dough into four parts and roll each piece into a 1/2-inch thick tube. If it resists stretching, let it rest and work another piece. Cover the dough you're not working with to keep it from drying.
- 5
Cut the tubes into small pieces, about 1/2-inch long. They will expand when boiling and if they're on the small size, you get more honeyed surface area.
- 6
Combine the honey, sugar, water, and rose water in a pot and bring it to a boil on your smallest burner.
- 7
Add the dough pieces in batches, mixing gently in between and making sure the liquid continues to boil and doesn't cool down from the addition of the dough.
- 8
Once all the dough is added and the liquid is simmering, lower the heat and cover the pot. Set a timer for 5 minutes but watch the pot for this stretch so you have a sense of how much heat you can use to not have the pot overboil. If you see the lid moving or steam coming out from under it, lower the heat. It's okay to open the lid to release some heat if needed.
- 9
When the timer goes off, remove the lid and stir the dough pieces. Put the lid back on and set the timer again for 5 minutes.
- 10
Repeat for a total of about 7 times or 35 minutes. The boiling is complete when the liquid and biscuits are medium caramel brown (see the photos/video). If the liquid has reduced to being thicker and darker than what you see in the video, you can mix in a splash of water.
- 11
Add the blanched toasted almonds if desired.
- 12
As the syrup cools, it will thicken. When it is lukewarm, scoop clusters of pinyonate, nuts, and syrup into cupcake tin liners -- or -- arrange the pinyonate in a wreath shape on a greased platter or transfer the pinyonate to square pan. Serve by cutting with a sharp knife.
- 13
Pinyonate can be covered in a tented fashion to avoid sticking. It will stay fresh for many days.