Pracny Christmas Cookies
User Reviews
5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
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Prep Time
30 mins
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Additional Time
2 hrs
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Total Time
2 hrs 40 mins
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Servings
30 cookies
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Calories
97 kcal
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Course
Baked Goods
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Cuisine
Czech
Pracny Christmas Cookies
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Pracny cookies, also known as medvedi tlapky (bear paws), are a traditional Czech Christmas treat. They have a delightful aroma of spices like crushed cloves, dark cocoa, cinnamon, and freshly grated lemon zest. Join me in baking pracny using my grandmother's old handwritten recipe!
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Ingredients
- 1 tick unsalted butter
- 1 cup walnuts (or blanched almonds, or haselnuts)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon dark cocoa powder unsweetened
- 3 cloves spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
Miscellaneous:
- fat and flour to grease pracny molds
- ½ cup powdered sugar to coate pracny cookies
Instructions
- Before you start: First, grind 1 cup walnuts, finely crush 3 cloves, and grate 1 teaspoon lemon zest of a carefully washed or organic lemon.
- Put the ground nuts, 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon dark cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, the rest of prepared spices, 1 Stick unsalted butter cut into small pieces, and 1 egg yolk into a bowl. Work the ingredients into a smooth dough. Be patient; this may take a little time. I prefer to do this by hand, as I trust my hands the most and believe they yield the best dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least two hours to rest. If you have time, it is even better to leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight.
- Prepare the Pracny molds: grease each with a bit of butter and dust with flour. Gently tap the greased mold on the table to remove any excess flour.
- Take the rested dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the kitchen counter for about ten minutes. Scoop equally sized pieces of dough and press them into the prepared molds.
- Transfer the filled molds to a baking sheet and bake them in a preheated oven at 350 °F for 10 minutes.
- Let the baked pracny cookies cool almost completely before unmolding. Hold the mold by the edge, turn it upside down, and gently tap it on the surface of the kitchen counter.
- Immediately coat the cookies in ½ cup powdered sugar.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes about 30-35 pracny cookies, depending on the mold size.
- Pracny cookies are crispy right after baking. Czech home bakers leave them to rest for several days or even few weeks to soften. If the Pracny are to be served at Christmas, bake them about three weeks in advance.
- You need to let the dough rest for the Pracny. If you skip this step, you won't be able to unmold the cookies properly, and they will crumble.
- Grease the pracny molds the first time you bake them. For subsequent batches, simply wipe off any residue from the previous baking with a paper towel before pressing in the new dough.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
97kcal
(5%)
Carbohydrates
11g
(4%)
Protein
1g
(2%)
Fat
6g
(9%)
Saturated Fat
2g
(10%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
2g
Monounsaturated Fat
1g
Trans Fat
0.1g
Cholesterol
15mg
(5%)
Sodium
1mg
(0%)
Potassium
26mg
(1%)
Fiber
0.5g
(2%)
Sugar
6g
(12%)
Vitamin A
104IU
(2%)
Vitamin C
0.1mg
(0%)
Calcium
7mg
(1%)
Iron
0.4mg
(2%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 30cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 97 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 97kcal | 5% |
| Carbohydrates | 11g | 4% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 6g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Trans Fat | 0.1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 15mg | 5% |
| Sodium | 1mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 26mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 0.5g | 2% |
| Sugar | 6g | 12% |
| Vitamin A | 104IU | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 0.1mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 7mg | 1% |
| Iron | 0.4mg | 2% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
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