Austinite Sally Ward passes along this month’s recipe for a tasty Czech cookie that’s been a people-pleaser in her family for generations:
Serves: 12.
Ingredients
· 2 cups flour
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· ¼ cup salt
· ½ cup butter
· ½ pkg. of dry yeast (1½ tsp)
· 2 tablespoons warm water
· 2 eggs, separated
· ¼ cup sour Smetana cream
· ½ teaspoon Watkins vanilla
For filling
· ½ cup granulated sugar
· ½ cup ground walnuts or pecans
· ½ cup Watkins almond extract
· Regular or powdered sugar
Directions
Measure flour and sift. Add baking powder and salt in bowl. Cut in butter. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in the egg yolks, sour cream and vanilla. Blend into flour, mix well. Will be a hard dough. Refrigerate one hour.
Preheat oven to 400. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add granulated sugar a little at a time. Beat until stiff. Fold in nuts and almond extract.
Divide dough in four parts. Roll each in 9-inch circle. On board sprinkled with sugar, cut each circle in 12 wedges. Aunt Mary pinched dough in size of a walnut and rolled in circle. Put one heaping teaspoon of filling in center and spread. Roll up. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cool on wax paper and serve.