Barbara Grunes

To heighten the toffee flavor, substitute toffee baking bits for half of the chopped almonds.

Use fruit-flavored Life Savers, sour balls, or similar hard candies for the "stained glass." It is fun to make your own design for the ornaments. For example, if you want to make a holly leaf or a dove, draw the shape on a piece of cardboard—about 3 inches in diameter is a good size—and cut it out. Edge the gingerbread strips around the design on the cookie sheet. Continue until all the gingerbread has been used. To crush the candies, use a food processor or place the candies between 2 pieces of waxed paper and crush with a rolling pin.

Various Central European countries have their own variations on these popular filled cookies, sometimes spelled kolache or kolace. Some are made with a yeast dough, others with cream cheese or even ice cream. The cream cheese dough is the most popular for the Polish version of these rich cookies.