January 1996 I was enrolled in the village school in Kindergarten. Little did I know, that in September my life would change forever and I would be living in a different country far far away from my childhood friends. That January, the school had an assembly as they did every year for St. Sava Day. The moms of all the kids would prepare delicious pita, kolači, and other delicacies for everyone to enjoy. Our parents were already in America at the time so our grandparents were taking care of us. My grandmother always admits she isn’t one for desserts often saying (“nisam ti ja za kolače“) so she did the next best thing. She called up a relative, decided on a cookie, and sent me over to her house with a bag of ingredients. And that’s when I made my very first cookie ever.
This recipe was very popular during the 90s in the Balkans. There are countless recipes and variations for this cookie with some recipes calling for powdered milk and others just using Plazma Keks and ground walnuts. My recipe uses all of these because…why not? And let me tell you, the powdered milk gives this cookie such a milky and creamy flavor that it’s hard to eat just one watermelon slice. My husband says these taste like Rafaello but without the coconut.
Looking at this picture you’re probably thinking this recipe will take hours to make. While yes, it definitely does take some time it’s not nearly as long as you’re thinking. To make things easier, I like to make the different colored dough balls the day before and put them in the fridge overnight. The next day, I form the watermelons and chill them slightly before cutting them into slices, drawing on the “seeds” and serving them. No special cookie skills are required here. If you can roll a ball of dough you can make this cookie. And it’s no-bake!
This recipe holds a special place in my heart because it’s the very first dessert I helped make. I was so very proud when I took these cookies to school. I still remember all of my school friends eating the watermelon slices and taking off the chocolate “seeds” as they’ve always been instructed to do when eating watermelon! It’s my earliest cooking memory and very special to me. I hope you give this a try very soon, I’ll know you’ll love it as much as we do!
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Lubenice/Watermelon Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: Balkan, Serbian12
servings1
hour30
minutesA no-bake cookie recipe straight from the 90s.
Ingredients
- Red Layer
1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (100 g) instant dry/powdered milk
1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
1/4 cup (30g) ground walnuts
2 tablespoons (30 ml) milk
Red food coloring
- White Layer
1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (100 g) instant dry/powdered milk
1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) milk
- Green Layer
1 cup (120 g) ground walnuts
1.5 cups (150 g) ground Plazma Keks
3 tablespoons (45 ml) milk
Green food coloring
- Additionally
Powdered Sugar
Chocolate chips or 1/3 bar of chocolate.
Directions
- Using 3 separate mixing bowls make each colored layer by combining each set of ingredients. Because the butter is softened, you should be able to use a spatula to combine all of the ingredients together. Use as much food coloring as needed to achieve your desired shades of red and green. Use gloves and a cutting board to avoid coloring your hands and counter.
- After combining the ingredients of each layer, cover each bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool. I like to do this the night before I will be serving these cookies. If making the same day, chill for at least 1 hour.
- After chilling the different layer mixtures, you will notice the “dough” is firm to the touch. Working with the white color first, break apart 8 different pieces to make 8 balls. Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball and place on a flat surface/plate. As you work the dough, the heat from your hands will soften it. Work quickly.
- Clean your work surface and then proceed to do the same thing with the red color. Separate the dough into 8 pieces and form into 8 balls. Place these also on a flat surface and refrigerate.
- Clean your work surface. You do not want crumbs of one color to mix with another. Next, form 8 green balls of dough, place on a flat surface and refrigerate.
- Assemble
- Take the white dough out of the refrigerator first. On a clean dry surface, sprinkle some powdered sugar, place the dough on top and then sprinkle some powdered sugar on top. Using a rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a circle shape. Use the powdered sugar as you would when rolling out dough. Roll out all 8 pieces of dough.
- Next, take out the red dough balls out of the refrigerator and place each one in the center of the rolled-out white circles of dough.
- Fold the white dough over the red working with a bench scraper or knife if needed. Cover each red ball with the white dough completely. Place back on the plate that the white dough was on. Continue this with the rest of the dough balls.
- Once all the red balls are covered, place them back in the refrigerator while you work on the green layer. Just as you did with the white layer, use a rolling pin and powdered sugar to roll out each green dough ball. When all 8 have been rolled out, take out the plate from the refrigerator and place each dough ball in the middle of the green circle. Cover again, place back on the plate, and refrigerate one final time.
- Serving
- Before serving, melt a few tablespoons of chocolate chips or 1/3 of a chocolate bar.
- When ready to serve, take out the now-formed watermelons from the refrigerator and slice them as you would a watermelon. Next, take a toothpick, dip in the melted chocolate and form small “seeds” on each slice. Chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- These should be enjoyed cold, so they are not the best to keep out in a warm room. If they become too soft, place them back in the Refridgerator for a short time.
- When chilling already cut pieces in the refrigerator, always cover with plastic wrap so they do not try out.
- Make sure to use gloves to avoid dyeing your hands!
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