December 12, 2011

Holiday Cheer: Czechoslovakian Christmas Cookies

From today's guest comes a recipe for Holiday Cheer.  Jannine offers am old family recipe:

These cookies are a tribute to my husband’s father, James Petska, a man of honor and integrity. A proud marine and husband and father. He was the best father-in-law any woman could hope for. He passed away in October, just weeks shy of his 90th birthday. He will never, ever be forgotten.

Czechoslovakian Christmas Cookies

½ pound butter                                   2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar                                          1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 egg yolks beaten                              ¾ cup apricot preserves

(My father-in-law was diabetic. I substituted the sugar and preserves above for Splenda sugar blend and sugar-free preserves.)

  1. Cream butter, add sugar and mix until fluffy
  2. Add beaten egg yolks; blend in flour and nuts
  3. Spook half the mixture into a greased or foil-lined nine-inch square pan,
spreading evenly.
  1. Spread preserves evenly on top of the nut mixture and smooth all over.
  2. Spread remaining mixture over apricot preserves*
  3. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until top is golden brown.
  4. Cool well before cutting into bars.
 (double recipe for a 9x13 pan)

*The first time I made these, spreading the top layer on the preserves was a horrendous task. It kept sliding over the preserves. I figured out the best way to do this. Take small batches of nut mixture in your hand and flatten. Lay it on the preserve topping. Do this until you have the preserves covered. Pinch the pieces together. It won’t be smooth, but that’s okay. It’s delicious.

Enjoy! 

Jannine Corti Petska
Bringing History and Passion to Life
CHARLOTTE AND THE GYPSY, book 2, The Sisters of Destiny trilogy, Out Now! 
LOVE'S SWEET WAGER, love along the California Trail, Out Now!
THE LILY AND THE FALCON, book 1, Italian Medieval series, Out Now!
SURRENDER TO HONOR, book 2, Italian Medieval series, Out Now!
DANTE'S FLAME, book 3, Italian Medieval series, 2012
MINE TO KEEP, Love Letters anthology, 2012
www.jcortipetska.com

13 comments:

Cathie Dunn said...

Your recipe sounds lovely, Janine. I might just try it. :-)

A week ago we returned from a long weekend in Prague. We loved the traditional sweets they sold at the Christmas markets. A stunning city!

Roseanne Dowell said...

Sounds delicious. I just might have to try this.

Unknown said...

Yummy sounding, but sadly I"ll never know unless someone else makes them. I burn water, even after all these years. How wonderful that your late father-in-law lived such a long and loving life. Memories are wonderful when they're good ones.

Jannine said...

Cathie, how lucky to have gone to Prague. Two of my daughters went years ago. They realized that Petska (although spelled a bit different) is a common name there.

The cookies (actually bars) are very sweet and way too good, lol.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jannine said...

Roseanne, you won't be sorry if you try the recipe. Before I got my sugar under control this year, I could eat half the pan myself!

Thank you for commenting.

Jannine said...

LOL, Ginger. That's pretty rough when you can't even boil water. I'll bet you're not that bad in the kitchen.

Good memories must certainly be held onto.

Thanks for commenting.

Paisley Kirkpatrick said...

The recipe looks wonderfully delicious. My grandparents came this country when they got married. Grandma made the most mouth-watering cookies that to this day I can close my eyes and taste them. Nobody, including my aunt and me, has ever been able to duplicate them.

Thanks for sharing.

Jannine said...

Hi Paisley:
The recipes (most not written down) from our grandparents and even our parents can never be duplicated. I think each cook/baker adds her own style to a dish. But they did something back then that made their dishes goooo good.

Thanks for stopping by.

Anna Kathryn Lanier said...

Jannine, thanks for being my guest today and for sharing such a yummy recipe.

Jannine said...

You know I always love coming to your blog. Thanks for hosting me.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Mary Preston said...

I love the idea of the apricot preserves in the cookies.

Jannine said...

Marybelle:
Yes, the apricot preserves really give it a great taste.

Thanks for commenting.

Calisa Rhose said...

I wonder if you can substitute the apricot for other fruit preserves? We don't eat a lot of apricot. I may have to experiment. :) Thanks Jannine.