My Grandmother's Christmas Cookies: Medvědí Tlapky (Bear's Paws)

Medvědí Tlapky have always been my absolute favorites out of all of my grandmother's fabulous Christmas cookies. They are called paws because their surface mimics the striations of a bear's paw.

The most important part of this recipe are the baking sheets.  My mother amassed a small collection of exciting shell shaped forms for my grandmother's cookies before I was born, and my grandmother swears by them, having spent decades baking these cookies on individual forms.  You can easily bake these on madeleine pans for the same effect.

You will need:
270g granulated sugar
270g walnuts
450g flour
360g margarine
2 eggs
80g cocoa (or grated chocolate)
rind of 3/4 lemon
heaping 1/2 tsp. cloves

For the topping (not pictured):
confectioner's sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar per 1c. confectioner's sugar (optional)

Begin by grinding together the walnuts and granulated sugar in a food processor.

Measure your flour, margarine, and cocoa using a kitchen scale, then mix them together with all your other ingredients in a large bowl with a spoon for a just a minute.

That way, when you start up your hand or standing mixer (with dough attachment, on low speed) the cocoa won't fly all over the kitchen.  Beat it all together in your mixer until it forms a slightly sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead it by hand until fully combined.  Lump it all together on a plate.  Cut off a quarter of your dough and put the rest into the fridge.  Prepare your forms with a generous amount of baking spray, as these cookies tend to stick.

Take small chunks of dough and roll them into short little lumps, then press them into your forms.

Bake them for about 15 minutes at 350°, rotating halfway through.  Immediately remove them from the hot baking sheet and place them on a cooling tray.

When cool (or even while still warm), transfer them to a cookie tin and sprinkle them lightly with your confectioner's sugar mix.

Keep the tins open just overnight, then store them away until Christmas.