Czech Boží milosti Recipe

Let's make Boží milosti, a crispy sweet treat from the old days of Bohemian grannies. Milosti cookies are most often associated with the Czech Easter, but feel free to prepare them at any time of the year. I have a simple recipe for you made with white wine and cream.

What Are Boží milosti

Boží milosti are small cookies, fried in fat and coated with powdered sugar. They are made most often in the diamond shape with 1-2 notches in the middle. You would also find them as flowers, circles, or knots.

And the English name for Boží milosti? Here you are: God's Favor, God's Grace, or Angel Wings, or listy (a Czech word).

When Are they Made?

Boží milosti are prepared during the Carnival time (masopust or fašank) in the Czech Republic. This festive season full of exuberant fun and good food begins shortly after Christmas, exactly on the Feast of the Three Kings, and continues until Ash Wednesday. Then the Carnival is replaced by a long fast that lasts until Easter.

An even more usual time for the making of Boží milosti is Easter itself when these little pastries were prepared in large quantities and given as a treat to the little carolers.

Ingredients

To make boží milosti, we need:

• All-purpose flour
• Egg yolks
• Powdered sugar
• White wine; for taste and to prevent the pastry from soaking up too much fat when frying
• Sour cream; rather thicker, with a fat content of 15% or more
• Lemon zest; freshly grated
• A pinch of salt

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

Next, prepare:

Oil for frying and icing sugar for coating. I also recommend paper towels to lay the fried milosti on – the paper will soak up the excess fat.

Instructions

STEP 1: Put the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the egg yolks, white wine, cream, and lemon zest.

STEP 2: Work into a pliable, soft dough. Starting with a fork, mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Then continue with your hands, working the dough until it is whole and smooth. If necessary, add a little flour carefully. It takes about five minutes to process the dough with your hands.

STEP 3: Wrap the dough in a food foil and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest.

STEP 4: Roll out the rested dough thin. Dust the surface lightly with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut out squares with an edge of approximately 2 inches (5 cm). Make two notches in the middle.

STEP 5: Heat a higher layer of oil sufficiently; it should be at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) high. Carefully place the cut-out shapes in the oil and deep fry until golden brown. This takes a very short time; you do not need to flip the cookies.

STEP 6: Remove the fried graces with a slotted spoon and place them on paper towels, allowing excess fat to drain off.

STEP 7: Coat the still hot boží milosti cookies in icing sugar, thoroughly and on all sides.

Serving

Arrange boží milosti on a nice plate and serve with coffee or tea. Feel free to add a bowl of sweetened sour cream or thinner jam to dip the cookies in.

Useful Tips

• Replace half the wine with rum; the cookies will get a more intense flavor.
• The thinner you roll the dough, the crispier and more fragile boží milosti will be.
• Don't sprinkle too much flour on the surface while rolling out the dough. Excess flour tends to burn when frying.

More sweet recipes:

• Buttermilk sheet cake – with chocolate topping
• Apple compote – a Czech fall dessert
• Easy kolacky cookies – made with cream cheese butter
• Trdelnik – chimney cake