I thought I would translate yet another delicious Czech Christmas cookie recipe but after searching the internet for a bit I realized I don’t have to. I don’t have to translate anything or convert the European measurements because it has already been done! Barbara Rolek, who is apparently a well-known food editor, food writer and restaurant critic for daily newspapers and magazines, has done it all for us. Since her parents were Polish I bet the Czech food is close to her heart (as it is on the map) and that is why she searched for our bear paws. Or maybe the recipe has been with the Polish culture for quite some time? Either way, thank you Barbara for this recipe!
When I was a child, Christmas cookies were my grandma’s specialty. Unfortunately, bear paws were not on her cookie list! I am not sure why but it is a shame. They are very easy to make and very, very delicious! And of course, fat-free and sugar-free ;0)
CZ: U nas doma se nikdy medvedi tlapicky moc nepekly a to je pekna skoda. Vzdycky jsem se jimi mohla nacpat jedine u kamaradu – tedy pokud jejich maminka nebo babicka tlapicky pekly. Zacinam ale novou tradici, uz jsem si na ne koupila formicky (tedy na madeleine cookies) a hrnu se na peceni. Tentokrat se prezeru svych vlastnich tlapicek!!!!
Czech Bear Paws or Medvedi Tlapicky
(makes about 3 dozen)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
* 2 sticks + 3 tablespoons softened butter
* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 cup cocoa powder
* 3/4 cup ground filberts or almonds
* powdered sugar for decoration
* 1 baking pan for madeleine cookies (they have same shape as our bear paws)
Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly coat 3 bear paw molds or madeleine pans (or make them in batches) with cooking spray. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder, and nuts. Add to butter-sugar mixture, mixing thoroughly.
2. Press dough into prepared pans and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean and the edges are turning slightly brown. Cool completely.
3. Sprinkle cooled down cookies with powdered sugar
Source: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/bohemianczechdesserts/r/bear-paws.htm
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Moje babicka je vzdycky delavala na Vanoce, ted mam na ne chut, jak jste mi to pripomneli!
No tak, sup na peceni, Evi!
No to nevim, nejsem moc pekarka, ale moznaaaaaa 🙂
to zvladnes! Ja taky nejsem moc na to peceni ale vypada to fakt jednoduse! Jenom to vsechno smichas dohromady, natlacis to do formicek, upeces to a posypes to cukrem :))
These look like pracny, but darker.
Co je “pracny”?
To jsou snad ty tlapky v polstine…jeji rodice jsou Polaci
Tlapicky jsem upekla, v jinych formickach, ale to asi nevadi. Mam jeden dotaz – po upeceni maji byt tlapicky mekke nebo tvrde, neco jako susenky?
Ahoj Eleno,
ja jsem vzdycky jedla pacicky co jsou mekke, neco jako vanilkove rohlicky. Ale kdyz je nechas na vzduchu ‘okorat’ tak jsou z nich takove krupky :))….jelikoz je v nich tolik masla, tak si myslim, ze asi taky chutnaji vyborne….neco jako italske Biscotti!
Dekuji. Ony my ztvrdly hned po upeceni, jsou sice chutove dobre, ale nejsou mekke 🙂 Tak nevim, kde jsem udelala chybu 🙂
Tlapicky, nebo pracny kdyz upeces, jsou tvrde, jako skoro vsechno vanocni cukrovi. Proto se pecou o par tydnu dopredu, davaji se do krabic, aby zmekly (ja do kazde krabice davam jeste jednu pulku prekrojeneho jablka, aby cukrovi “chytilo” vlhkost) a pokazde kdyz je davam pred stedrovecerni veceri na stul, tak jsou mekkounke a vsechno cukrovi se rozplyva na jazyku.
Zdravim vsechny Cechoamericanky a nebo jeste lepe receno, vsechny z domoviny a vsem preji hezke a klidne vanocni svatky.
Ahoj Inko, to byla jedna z mych otazek. Jak skladovat cukrovi? Takze v krabici (muze byt plechova?)…a podstiras to ubrouskem? Nebo to cukrovi rovnou klades do krabice?
Dik!
Ahoj Tanja 🙂
Krabice muze byt jakakoliv, plechova je perfektni, ja obvykle pouzivam takove plastikove, prodavaji je pod oznacenim “fish container” ty maji totiz vyborne vika, ktere velice dobre prilehnou. Dno podestelu ubrouskem a nekam na kraj dam to rozpulene jablko. Pokud mas moznost cukrovi skladovat nekde v chladu, tak je to pro zmeknuti cukrovi dalsi plus. Ahoj 🙂
Ahoj!
I can’t wait to make the bear paws!
I am an American, married to a Czech, so I make him Czech food once in a while. I inherited my mother-in-law’s cookie molds, so I am always looking for recipes to use with them.
I just found your blog while looking for a good Vanocka recipe. The ones that I have tried in the past don’t turn out right — it could be my oven, too. But I’ll give yours a try. I like your blog!
Děkuji,
Melissa
Ahoj Melissa and welcome! I hope they turn out the way you want them to 🙂 Mine turned out a bit hard but I was told my friend that they soften up and they should be perfect in about 2 weeks. They never lasted that long at my house so I could not tell you if they had it in them 😉
Jezky Cookies: my dad made these every christmas. Use a clothing hanger with the slots on each end as a scale. Hook onto a cabinet knob. Use a plastic grocery bag for each ingredient. There are just 3 ingredients: eggs, hazelnuts, powdered sugar. You will use an equal weight of each. Start by shelling a batch of hazelnuts. Put these in a plastic bag at one end of the hanger. At the other end of the hanger, add powdered sugar to a bag until the hanger is level, then remove this bag from hanger. With hazelnuts still on one end of the hanger,put an empty bag on the other end and add whole eggs carefully until hanger is again level. You will use only the egg yolks after you have weighed them. Grind hazelnuts fine, add yolks and powdered sugar and mix together. This makes a very stiff dough. It will burn up a wimpy cookie press. My dad used one of those aluminum tube presses with the metal extrusion plates (a large star shape). He would press out strips 8-10 inches long and wind into spirals or spiral S shapes
part 2 of Jezky Cookie recipe. Place on cookie sheet ,allow about 3/4 inch between cookies. Bake in 350 degree oven until set and just barely beginning to brown. Store in layers on waxed paper. Better after a couple of days.
Part 3 Jezky Cookies: Sprinkle cooled cookies with sifted powdered sugar.
wow! That’s an unusual recipe! I have never heard of it myself. But then again, my family was kind of ‘stuck’ on the traditional three kinds of cookies :O). I love how inventive your dad was! I will totally post this recipe :))