Another classic holiday or special occasion cookie are these ezhiki. They literally translate to "little hedgehogs", because of their prickly outer appearance. They would be great cookies to make with a bunch of friends. It's always more fun to chat while rolling these yummies in a chocolate glaze and then in the wafer crumbs. Have any of you had cookie baking parties? They sound like so much fun! The cookie itself holds a surprise in the center. I used raisins this time, but you can use any kind of nuts, dried fruit or even chocolate candy. The tender and sandy texture of the cookie just melts in your mouth. You can coat the cookies in different wafers, cookie crumbs or chopped nuts.
Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
5 hard boiled egg yolks
⅓ cup sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
½-3/4 cup raisins
Chocolate glaze:
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
½ cup milk
6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 (8oz) pkg chocolate wafers
Instructions:
For the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Hard boil 5 eggs. Peel the eggs and eat the egg whites as a snack:). You will need only the yolks for this recipe.
Using egg YOLKS in cookie batter? Say what? I know it sounds strange, but it really works! Eggs give moisture and fat to a recipe. Both are really important. Sometimes, too much moisture is not what you want. Egg whites contain a lot of moisture, so by using only egg yolks, we get rid of a good amount. When the yolk is hard boiled, moisture is trapped within the protein structure, and the moisture in the eggs is gone. The result? Tender, crumbly and a beautifully tender textured cookie that melts in your mouth.
Mash the egg yolks well with a fork or push it through a sieve, in other words, you need to break it up really well, almost into a powder. 
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the egg yolks and continue mixing until well combined.
Add the sour cream and vanilla and also mix.
Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl. Add to the batter and mix just until incorporated. The batter will be really soft but won't stick to your hands.
Roll the batter into ½ Tablespoon round balls. Place about 3 raisins in the center of each cookie. 
Place the cookies on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. 
For the glaze:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Bring to a boil. Pour the chocolate glaze into a bowl or pie plate. 
To assemble:
Grate the wafers on a boxed grater or pulse in a food processor to make crumbs. Place the crumbs into a pie plate or other rimmed plate. 
Dip each cookie into the glaze and then dredge in the crumbs. 
Let the crumbs set and dry by keeping the cookies in a single layer. Once they are dry, you can store then on top of one another.
Ezhiki - Porcupine Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Yield: 80-85 cookies
- Category: Sweets
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 5 hard boiled egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½-¾ cup raisins
Chocolate glaze:
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter
- ½ cup milk
- 6 Tablespoons cocoa
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 (8oz) pkg wafers
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Hard boil 5 eggs. Peel and eat a snack of the egg whites:). Mash the egg yolks well with a fork or push it through a sieve, in other words, you need to break it up really well, almost into a powder.
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the egg yolks and continue mixing until well combined.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla and also mix.
- Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl. Add to the batter and mix just until incorporated.
- Roll the batter into ½ Tablespoon round balls.
- Place about 3 raisins in the center of each cookie.
- Place the cookies on prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 12 minutes.
For the glaze:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Pour the chocolate glaze into a bowl or pie plate.
To assemble:
- Grate the wafers on a boxed grater or pulse in a food processor to make crumbs. Place the crumbs into a pie plate or other rimmed plate.
- Dip each cookie into the glaze and then dredge in the crumbs.
- Let the crumbs set and dry by keeping the cookies in a single layer. Once they are dry, you can store then on top of one another.
Hi Olga, do you recommend roasting the nuts before putting them in the dough? I would use walnuts.
I don't think it will make a significant difference in the final product, but you can certainly do that.
Are the cookies supposed to still be soft when done baking? Mine feel like they're still dough and not baked...went for the full 15 minutes of baking
They are soft, but they should be baked through. It shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes unless they are bigger or your oven bakes slower or the temperature isn't accurate. If you can't tell if cookies are baked by looking at them and you want to be 100% sure, just break one open and see if they are baked through all the way.
Do you think canned cherry will work for the inside or it would be too wet?
I haven't tried it with cherries. They might be a little bit too big and too wet, but you can experiment and see how it turns out. I'd love to hear if you try it, Lena.
I’ve tried it with cherries and it worked good. I made sure they were drained well. The cookies did turn out a bit bigger but that’s ok.
That's great, Lena! Happy to hear that cherries work too.
Hi Olga, I was thinking of making the dough and freezing. Then thawing and continuing with recipe.
What are your thoughts.
Could you please advise if the wafers you use for the coating have thin layers of cream ?
Yes, they do, Christine.
I Love, Love, Love these Cookies. Easy to make and so yummy! I put dried cherry and walnut inside, then roll in crushed walnuts. Thank you for the recipe Olga!
Yum! Dry cherries and walnuts? Sounds like a great combination. Thanks for taking the time to write, Tanya.
Thank you Olga for a wonderful recipe! I now make them all the time and everybody tells me how wonderful they taste and I refer them to your site for the recipe 🙂 thank you for a great site!
How awesome! Love to hear feedback like this. Thanks, Irina.