Treats are synonymous with the holidays. Another COVID-19 lockdown is looming and I find myself looking for ways to satisfy my craving for travel and also feed my need to make the 2020 holiday season as normal and festive as possible. Then I remembered these little treats we had in Prague. While travel options are currently limited, memories are not. And nothing brings back memories quite like the taste of treats enjoyed on a special trip.
Husband wanted to visit the capital city of the Czech Republic mainly because the country emerged from WWII relatively untouched, unlike some of its decimated European neighbors. That, and the beer – specifically Gambrinus. (The world-famous lager Pilsner, commonly associated with Prague, actually originated 50 miles west of Prague in the city of Plzen.)
Prague
Still thriving after wars, various overthrows and the Velvet Revolution, this fairy tale city with its castle on the hill, historic churches, narrow cobblestone streets and statue-adorned bridges stands as a testament to perseverance.
Czech cuisine isn’t well-known outside of the country. Typical meals consist of meat, (mostly pork and lots of it), potatoes, goulash, sauerkraut and dumplings.
Vegetarians may find it particularly challenging to find options. One night, my dinner consisted of two different kinds of sauerkraut, while Husband had a slab of knuckle the size of a cowboy boot.
Our waiter was understandably confused when I ordered only the sauerkraut. When he brought out my plate, he hovered, seemingly expecting me to inquire where my meat entrée was. I just smiled and said “Děkuju“ (thank you). I could see him shaking his head as he walked back to the kitchen.
After a long day of walking from the Castle
down to St. Nicholas Church,
The Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square, Prague
and making our way across the Manes Bridge and into the Old Town Square, (that was some walking, folks) we were ready for some treats.
Trdelnik
We encountered a street vendor selling Trdelnik (pronounced as you would think, with the accent on “del”), meaning “hollowed out log”. They were also advertised as Chimney cakes.
Trdelnik are a cross between crescent rolls and cannoli, and so delicious! I had to figure out how to make these treats at home.
Traditionally, the dough is wrapped around wooden dowels and roasted over a fire.
I don’t have that kind of setup, so I improvised.
Hardware:
I rigged up cannoli tubes with kabob skewers and rested the skewers across a Pyrex pan for baking.
These are the cannoli tubes I used:
Definitely use metal skewers for this recipe. I used skewers from an old BBQ kit we had, here are a set of metal kabob skewers that could also work:
Trdelnik
Equipment
- 4 cannoli tubes
- 4 metal kabob skewers
- 1 9x13 Pyrex glass pan
Ingredients
- 1 8oz pkg 8 ct. Crescent Rolls
- 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°
- Unroll the dough from the tube and press two of the triangles together to form a rectangle.
- Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the dough into strips lengthwise.
- Wrap the dough strips around the cannoli tube overlapping the rows a little.
- Repeat steps 2 - 4 on each of the cannoli tubes, creating 4 Trdelnik
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- After removing them from the oven, brush them with a little melted butter and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.
These are delicious as is, but of course, I can’t leave well enough alone.
I prefer mine with a little squish of cream cheese frosting, but your imagination is the only limit with fillings: fruit, whipped cream, Nutella. . . we had a Trdelnik in Prague filled with ice cream and it was divine!
You can skip the cinnamon sugar topping and fill them with savory options as well – cheese, ham salad, tuna, guacamole . . .
#Christmas #Holiday #treats #trdelnik #prague #desserts
My favorite kind of recipes are those that look complicated but are actually easy and this holiday treat completely fits the bill.
Enjoy!
#treats #christmas #Prague #Trdelnik
Check out another of our holiday treats below:
https://thetravelingdelanys.com/chocolate-canadian-candy-bark/
What a beautiful dessert, this looks absolutely fabulous and very involved! You make it look so easy, I will definitely be trying this recipe!
Thank you so much! I hope you like them – let me know if you try the recipe.
TTD