Chocolate Kolbasa (Russian No-Bake Fudge Cookies) Recipe (2024)

In Italy this is called: “salame di cioccolato” and it’s flavored with a dash of rum.

How about adding a bit of espresso coffee to the mix?

My father used to add chopped dates, then a splash of bourbon, and wrapped the log in a slightly moistened tea towel covered in wax paper and foil. After two weeks in the refrigerator, it would have firmed up. He’d roll the entire log in powdered sugar, then slice. I’m sorry he did not leave his recipe, but my childhood memories are rich with this Christmas treat.

An Eastern European staple, I'm sure that there were many variations. Good memories from long ago. Rum- or cognac-soaked raisins were always in the mix. They were plump, soft and aromatic, and obviated the need for condensed milk or cream. My mom used to make this delectable sweet all the time, much to my and my family's and friends' delight. She would grind at least part of the biscuits quite finely, mix in the crumbled ones.

Made it last night with my kids. Added orange zest to the mix. Used Walker shortbread cookies, roasted walnuts and roasted hazelnuts. Unbelievable.

Made this to take to a Christmas dinner. Doubled the recipe but halved the butter. Added a healthy dose of cinnamon. It was a huge hit. For those of us unlucky enough not to have enjoyed this as a traditional treat, I can think of lots of variations - splashes of liqueurs, cayenne for a spice, chopped dried fruits, etc. This will be my holiday gift next year for my office mates.

I made this dish for the first time nearly 20 years, a recipe I found in an old Italian cookbook. It makes we wonder at the recipe's provinance: Is it Italian? Russian? Or ...?

I used graham crackers, toasted pecan pieces and Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips. Because I didn't have any plain sweetened-condensed milk, I used dulce leche, which is pretty much the same thing except it's been cooked to the point of caramelization and is a lovely dark color. Yum.

These are very rich and flavorful cookies. After following the recipe I was happy I didn’t make any changes.

In my family we've used to add some halva (helva) instead of sugar and no nuts and butter

A friend who grew up in Croatia and Germany always adds Kirschwasser to a nearly identical recipe.

I served these yesterday to race reviews. Used Amaretto cookies as that was what I had on hand. This combination is a transformation into some sort of fudge cookies with nuts.

I added 1 tblspn instant expresso with enough water to dilute and added to mixture. Added a depth of flavor to it. Also added 2 eggs. They made no difference though.

Does anyone know if I can store these for a few days, in the refrigerator?

I was born in Romania. My mom used to make this with the addition of raisins soaked in liquour then drained. However, not with condensed milk which would not have been available. Perhaps heavy cream?

When I made these I used oreo cookies with the filling scraped off, and hazlenuts. The texture, when they were freshly made, was fabulous: soft chewy cooky with crisp bits of oreo cookie and nuts. Not intensely sweet, and fairly salty. Delicious! After a few days in the fridge the oreo cookies absorbed some moisture, so the texture wasn't quite as varied, but even so they disappeared really fast.

I used a mix of Rice Krispies and graham crackers from my pantry, which worked out fine. If you’re dairy free like I am, most supermarkets will sell condensed coconut milk in the international foods section and it does work for this kielbasa roll.

Nice, and I think best when straight out of the fridge/freezer. Made with tea cookies, a dark chocolate bar, and pecans. Used 100 gr of butter. The weight measurements for the sweetened condensed milk did not align (I compromised with 2/3 cup / 7 oz). It was more than sweet enough (maybe 6 oz or 1/2 cup of the sweetened condensed milk would be better).

Also a long-standing Greek treat that my mother remembers from the 1940s!

I used graham crackers, 1/2 can of condensed milk, 6 tablespoons of butter and the rest according to the recipe. Skipped the sugar at the end. It came out very well, next time I will use 5 tablespoons of butter.

I guess I need to read this again. I don't get the part about removing them from the freezer. Do you thaw them and then unroll them? You have to get the paper out somehow but what's the point in rolling them in paper in the first place?

I added candied cherries and hazelnuts, but any add-ins would be good. Mine didn't firm up enough to slice, so I rolled them into balls and they were rich and delicious.

I love this recipe. Can you tell me any way to make this without milk? And I have seen recipes that say put it in the freezer. Does it make a difference?

For those who don't like bittersweet, does milk chocolate work?

I had a hard time getting the slices to hold together. Any advice on this? Delicious nonetheless and would make again. I'd love to get the presentation right next time.

Unlike the previous commenter, I didn’t have any issues peeling the parchment off. Could have been because I’d frozen the logs for a few weeks. These were much easier to make than I expected and enjoyed by my family. The shortbread stayed crisp and it all tasted a lot like toasted hazelnuts.

I was surprised at how difficult this was to peel off of the parchment but, otherwise, this is an amazing new recipe to be revisited in our household.

I was lazy so I blitzed the cookies and walnuts in a food processor instead of crushing and chopping by hand. The result was them being in much smaller pieces which I think is worse. It didn't look as pretty in the end and doesn't have as much texture. That being said, it's a pretty easy recipe and makes a very rich, sweet little treat.

Delicious. Easiest To cut after a decent amount of refrigeration. I’d go for fewer cookies so you can have more of that fudgy taste. Toasted walnuts are ideal but any toasted nut would work

Made it last night with my kids. Added orange zest to the mix. Used Walker shortbread cookies, roasted walnuts and roasted hazelnuts. Unbelievable.