By Eva Brejlová

What would the holiday season be without cookies and other tasty treats?

As a child, I remember we used to have as many as 12 types of Christmas sweets around the house — from our traditional Božíhodová husa with baked apples to Moroccan cookies mixed with almonds and orange peel.

I've selected a few of my very favorite easy-to-bake goodies for you to taste-test. And because a Czech Christmas is never truly complete without fried carp on the menu, I've also thrown in a simple recipe for you to try.

So, mix and match and have some fun!

BoŽí milosti (beignets)

Ingredients

200 grams (7 ounces) softened butter

1 egg

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon light cream

2.5 cups sifted flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 lemon — grated rind

3 tablespoons juice (grape, for example)

1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation

In a big bowl, mix softened butter, sugar, an egg, cream, juice and lemon. Gradually stir in flour. When the dough is ready, refrigerate for two hours. On a floured rolling board, divide dough into four parts. Roll each part into thin strips, the thinner the better. Take a knife and cut into 1-inch (2.54-centimeter) squares. Place the parts onto a well-greased baking sheet (you can also use baking paper). Preheat oven to 150 C (300 Fahrenheit) and bake for 15 minutes. Cool and sprinkle with sugar.

Moroccan cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons butter

2 teaspoons flour

1 tablespoon sliced, blanched almonds

1 tablespoon candied orange peel

1 package dark chocolate frosting

Preparation

In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar,

butter and flour. Under low heat, stir occasionally for one to two minutes. Add almonds and orange peel. Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with flour. Using a teaspoon, divide the dough into small balls and space them out on the baking sheet. Preheat oven to 180 C and bake for eight minutes. When cookies are cooled, spread each one with frosting.

Pracny (cat's paws)

Ingredients

360 grams flour

250 grams vegetable shortening,

softened

200 grams ground walnuts

200 grams sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons rum

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon baking cocoa

Vanilla sugar for dusting

Preparation

In a bowl, mix shortening, ground

walnuts, sugar, egg and rum. Gradually add in minced clove, cinnamon, and cocoa. Shape dough into "cat's paws" and place in a greased pastry-form pan. Preheat oven to 150 C and bake for about 15 minutes. Tip the warm

cookies into vanilla sugar or granulated sugar.

Almond triangles

Ingredients

140 grams sugar

140 grams grated almonds

40 grams lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla

For glaze:

100 grams sugar

1 egg white

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation

In a medium bowl, mix grated almonds, sugar, lemon peel, vanilla and egg yolks into a dough. Work out dough on a floured rolling board. The dough should be around 1-centimeter (0.4-inch) thick. Cut the dough into triangles (or any other shape). For glaze, mix sugar, egg and lemon juice and cover triangles with glaze. Place triangles on a greased baking sheet. Preheat oven to 100 C and bake for about 20

minutes.

Linecká koleČka (linzer cookies)

Ingredients

210 grams flour

1-2 egg yolks

140 grams shortening or butter

70 grams sugar

Grated lemon peel

Vanilla

Marmalade (strawberry, raspberry, orange)

Preparation

In a medium bowl, combine shortening with flour. Gradually stir in sugar and egg yolks. Mix well. Knead and let cool for one to two hours. Take a rolling board, spread it with flour and roll the dough. Cut into circles or stars. Half should have a round opening in the middle. Preheat oven to 180 C and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden. When cookies are ready, put them on a plate and allow to cool. Cover them with marmalade and stick them together.

Traditional vÁnoČka

Ingredients

500 grams flour

70 grams sugar

200-300 milliliters (6-9 fluid ounces) milk

20 grams yeast

1 egg yolk

50 grams vegetable shortening

Lemon peel

Vanilla

1 teaspoon of salt

Egg for spreading

Preparation

In a large bowl, sift flour with salt. Melt sugar in about 100 milliliters of milk and add yeast. When yeast begins to grow, whip egg yolk with milk and pour into bowl with flour. Add in melted shortening, lemon peel and vanilla and mix into a stiff dough. Adjust the dough's consistency by adding more milk. Work out dough onto a floured rolling board. Shape into a round loaf, sprinkle with flour and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to rise for two or three hours in a warm place.

When the dough is ready, knead again and divide into seven pieces, with three slightly larger than the others. Braid together the three bigger pieces and place onto greased baking sheet. Make a second braid from the three smaller parts and put on top of the first one. With the last piece of dough, make a long roll and place it on top, down the center. The Vánočka should resemble an elongated pyramid. Hold together with toothpicks and let rise. Spread the cake with egg. Preheat oven to 150 C and bake for about an hour. To ensure the cake doesn't fall, don't open the oven during the first 30 minutes.

Carp with anchovies (sardelles)

Ingredients

4 pieces carp fillet

1 lemon (slices)

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

500 grams butter

400 grams onion

200 grams mild breadcrumbs

100 grams flour

1 cup sour cream

1 cup fish broth (can substitute with a vegetable broth)

Preparation