Kichels

Kichels are an old Jewish specialty and my mother's recipe is memorable. Many years ago, when I first went away to college I remember desperately wanting some. I went to a local bakery and was totally surprised when they started to bag some rock hard, thick, over-baked, bow-tie looking things. Those were not my mother's kichels! Hers were the lightest, crispiest, so-thin-they’re-almost-see-through cookies that she fried to a puff and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. They are absolutely impossible to resist. Her recipe is amazingly simple and only calls for one cup of flour, but makes enough for 4-6 people. Or maybe just one homesick, famished college kid.