Slovak Christmas Cookies
It’s a little less than 2 weeks before Christmas and time to start planning for the Christmas baking. You might think it’s too early to start, but in my family of Slovak in-laws, since there are so many different kinds of cookies to make and they tend to have a long shelf life, a week before Christmas is just fine to begin. The most common cookies in our family are:
- medovniky – honey cookies
- vanilkové rožky – vanilla-roll cookies
- linecké kolieska – Linzer cookies
Armed with my grandma-in-law’s recipes and having the experience of helping with these in the past, here’s how to bake them.
Medovniky – Honey cookies
I’ve blogged about these cookies before, about how they can be used as Christmas tree ornaments, and also what beautiful pieces of art they can be when decorated with white icing as they traditionally are. Of course you don’t have to decorate them at all and simply let the dark color be its decoration. I don’t know about you, but to me their color means they’re packed with flavor, or at least should be. Simply adding a piece of walnut to the top, as pictured, can also be a nice touch.
- 4 ¼ cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ¼ sticks of unsalted butter
- 3 ½ tablespoons of honey
- a little less than ½ cup of water
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 to 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon ginger
- ½ tablespoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
Directions
Heat the sugar, water and honey until the sugar dissolves. Add the butter and spices. Once the butter has melted, let it cool. In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Pour the sugar-spice mixture over it and mix with a wooden spoon. Knead lightly to form a smooth dough. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour (preferably overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll out a small amount of dough at a time on a floured board. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Optionally, garnish with quarters or halves of walnuts.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or greased to keep them from sticking. Bake 5-8 minutes.
I like my cookies darker. To me it gives them a richer flavor, but keep a watchful eye. These cookies can burn easily if you let them go too long. Decorate them with icing when they are cool, or leave them as they are.
Icing- 1 egg white
- ½ cup powdered sugar
You don’t need a fancy tool to work with icing. Simply spoon your icing into a sandwich bag, twist the bag tightly until the icing wedges into one corner, and then poke or cut a tiny hole into the corner.
Vanilkové rožky – Vanilla-roll cookies
These cookies are my all-time favorite Slovak cookie. Why? Probably because the flavor of the nuts mixes so well with vanilla. And also, the nuts give the cookie a delicate consistency when you bite into it.
- 3 cups flour
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or one packet of vanilla sugar)
- 1 level tablespoon baking powder
Directions
In a medium bowl mix the flour and baking powder. In a larger bowl, mix the egg with the melted butter. Add the sugar and vanilla extract. Blend in the flour mixture. Add the nuts lastly. Let the dough cool in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Roll out pieces of dough, approx 2.5 inches long and about the width of a smaller finger. Form the roll into a “U” shape.
Bake at 350 F until a light golden color, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.
When they are still warm, take a small bowl of powdered sugar and toss the cookies gently until they are coated. Shake off the excess.
Linecké kolieska – Linzer cookies
The origins of this recipe come from Austria, inspired from the Linzertorte, one of Austria’s most famous desserts. Traditionally, Linzer cookies are made with roasted nuts as one of the ingredients, such as almonds, hazelnuts, or even pecans. In Slovakia I have only had these cookies without nuts. This recipe reflects that and has no nuts. Still, the one thing that all Linzer cookies have in common is the “window” on top of the cookie where sandwiched jam peeks out.
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- Raspberry or black currant jam
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix the yolks and softened butter. Add the sugar. Add the flour, beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough into two pieces and refrigerate until firm, at least a half hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface roll out the first piece of dough. Using a cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.), make cut outs. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet.
Reroll any scraps and cut out more cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Place on a wire rack to cool.
To assemble the cookies, place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the powdered sugar. On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smudge the powdered sugar.
