Checking Out Czech Confectioneries, Prague, Czech Republic

Originally Hungarian and largely popular throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, Trdelník is a delectable snack made of pastry dough strips spiraled around a wooden or metal stick, then roasted over an open fire, and coated in vanilla sugar, nuts (almonds or walnuts) and/or cinnamon. The hollow, sweet bangle is usually served warm, sometimes crammed full with ice cream. A perfect treat on a cold winter day!

A special treat for special occasions, such as weddings or parish fairs, kolaches are time-honoured pastries that are traditionally made with sweet yeast to produce a round piece of leavened dough, which is then topped with a special poppyseed filling. If poppy seeds don’t tickle your fancy, you may as well pack it with cottage cheese, raisins, plum-, strawberry-, pear-, blueberry-, apricot-, or any other fruit jam. Kolaches come in a variety of sizes, sometimes big enough to feed a whole family, and can be either “open” or “closed”. The name kolach (kolač – singular; koláče – plural) comes from the Czech “kola” which means a “wheel,” “round.” ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).