These yeast-raised fried rounds of dough have been a part of Ukrainian celebrations for centuries. These are recipes for pampushky called stolitni (hundreds of years). This light and delightful food did not start out as a dessert, but as a dish to eat on its own. The dough was fried and tossed with mashed garlic and oil--a version is now used as an accompaniment to soups or as an appetizer. Pampushky for Sviata Vechera are sweet doughnuts dusted with sugar and filled with rose preserve. The dough is light and airy and the rose preserve perfumes bring back memories of summer.

Dough:

2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup water
2 envelopes dry yeast

3/4 cup milk
5-6 cups flour
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lemon zest

1 cup rose preserve or any dry fruit preserve
powdered sugar

Combine sugar and water, sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until soft. Heat milk to lukewarm, and add milk and 3/4 cup flour to yeast mixture. Beat well, cover, and allow to rise until light and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Cream butter and sugar. Beat eggs and egg yolks and combine with sugar/butter mixture, beating thoroughly until eggs are pale white.

Grate a lemon on a fine grater until all yellow is rubbed off and add lemon zest, vanilla, and yeast mixture to egg/butter mixture. Mix in 4 cups of flour. If dough seems too loose, add a little more flour: however, dough should be soft. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes. Cover with a damp towel, set in a warm place until double in bulk. Punch down, knead a few times, and allow to rise again until doubled.

Divide dough into 4 parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll one part into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Turn over once or twice. Dust with flour sparingly. Place 1 teaspoon of rose preserve at evenly spaced intervals on the dough, or with a 2 1/2 inch cutter gently form impressions and place filling in each. Roll out another portion of the dough to the same thickness and gently cover the first, overlapping a little. (Filling will show through). Cut circles with cutter. Place them on a lightly floured cookie sheet and allow to rise until double in size. Repeat until all the dough is used, rolling out scraps last.

Heat oil or shortening to 375 degrees F. in a deep fryer or wide skillet. Test temperature by frying a piece of bread; it should bubble and turn golden quickly. Fat should not be smoking.

Fry 5 to 6 pampushky at a time. Do not crowd, since this lowers the temperature and doughnuts absorb too much grease. When one side is golden, flip with a spoon to fry other side. Dough will puff up in the frying.

Perfect pampushky have a white ring around the middle and are light as air. Drain on paper towels. When slightly cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

ROSE PRESERVE:(Rozha z tsukrom)

2 cups rose petals
4 cups sugar
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons rum

Pick over petals, removing any debris, leaves, stamen, or insects. Coarsely chop 1 cup of petals in processor, add 1 cup of sugar, half the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon rum, and another cup of sugar. Mix for a minute, scraping sides. Repeat with the rest of the petals. Pack into small jars (about 1 cup) rapping lightly to release air bubbles. Cover and keep in a cool place. Last up to a year. It is used sparingly, so small jars are practical.