Vanilkové Rohlíčky

Vanila crescents is another item that is on every Czech Christmas table. If you don’t make them you just buy them, just like potato salad and open sandwiches (Obložené Chlebíčky) being other “must have“ for Christmas. It is a little bit tedious because of the time it takes to roll all these small crescents but it is well worth it. When you eat them they just melt in your mouth. Hmmm...No wonder, with all that butter!

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 cups sifted pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts

Confectioners' sugar

Cream butter and add sugar then add egg, salt and vanilla extract.

Beat in the flour half the cup at the time, then add almonds and continue mixing until mixture becomes slightly stiff dough.

Shape dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two 12 x 15-inch baking sheets with parchment paper.

Pinch off walnut-size pieces of dough, roll them into ½” thick round strips and shape into crescent shape.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown on the bottom.

While still warm, roll in confectioners' sugar or vanilla sugar. Let them cool and store in an airtight container.

These will keep several weeks. Dust with more vanilla sugar before serving.

All shaped and ready for the oven...

They are so brittle that you just can’t dump whole baking sheet into the sugar, they have to be coated one by one.

With Weetabix and Muesli (Multigrain flakes)

My regular readers know that I don’t eat sweet stuff but my sweetie does so I make it on fairly regular basis. This time there were no cookies left and since we never buy this sort of thing it was time to make some. Well, I had most of the ingredients on hand except one that makes up most of the volume, Weetabix. No problem, I found a bag of Muesli with a statement in huge font saying “Good for you”. I was sold. New recipe was born and after my better half tasted it and pronounced it a winner I modified my original recipe.

In measuring cup you can see the Weetabix on bottom topped with muesli.

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanillas extract

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup Weetabix Whole Grain Cereal (4 Biscuits, crushed fine)

2-1/2 cup Muesli

1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F
Cream together the butter and brown sugar in electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and stir to mix
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not over mix.
Mix in crushed Weetabix, chocolate chips and nuts until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Scoop the dough with ¼ cup ice cream scoop or by the heaping tablespoon and drop onto prepared baking sheet covered with baking paper and about 3 inches apart.
Bake about 20 minutes, until the cookies are light brown. Start checking without opening oven after about 17 minutes.