Most of Checks start baking Christmas cookies around December 6, right after St. Nicholas day! It is a big tradition, grandmothers, grandfathers, moms, dads and kids, everyone wants to participate! Some watch the cookie masters and some sneak around the kitchen to get a piece of a broken cookie or taste lovely creams and chocolate. Most of us like this time of the year, it’s a little stressful but so worth it!
Oatmeal Cookies
I remember that my grandparents once baked 6o kilos of cookies, which was mental! They all were so perfect and delicious. My grandfather wouldn’t allow any mistakes, he was one big perfectionist! Since I live in Dublin and my grandparents don’t bake anymore, I have to do it myself. I LOVE IT! I can’t imagine Christmas without Linecké Cukroví and Vanilkové Rohlíčky, these are the only cookies that MUST be served during the whole Christmas time!
Vanilla Crescents and Czech style Linzer Cookies!
If you decide to bake some of the cookies I baked this year have patience and enjoy! I always make sure I have some wine to drink, fabulous Christmas music to listen to and plenty of time to bake. Happy baking!
Oatmeal Cookies:
350g porridge oats
250g melted butter
200g icing sugar
150g raisins
3 eggs
50g plain flour
1tbsp baking powder
2tbsp dark rum (rum essence is an option)
In a small bowl,
mix raisins with rum and let aside for a while. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Celsius. In a large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients together with the
raisins and rum. Mix well, until all ingredients are combined properly. Feel free to use different nuts and seeds if desired. Using a
tea spoon scoop small balls/mounds about 5cm apart on cooking sheets. Bake for
8 – 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5
minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you melt some dark chocolate and pour it gently over over the cookies you will make them taste even better!
Vanilla Crescents:
300g plain flour
200g butter
100g ground walnuts
1tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
40g icing sugar (plus extra for coating)
Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. In a large bowl, mix
all ingredients until completely incorporated. Place the dough in a plastic bag and cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Form walnut-size pieces of dough
into crescent/roll shapes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 -15
minutes or until golden brown. While still warm, roll in icing sugar. When cookies
are cool, store them in an airtight container. These delicious crescents will
keep several weeks.
Czech Style Linzer Cookies:
900g plain flour
600g butter
300g icing sugar
3 egg yolks
Filling and decoration:
½ jar raspberry jam
1tbsp dark rum (optional)
3tbsp icing (powdered) sugar
In a large bowl, using your hands mix all ingredients until
well combined. Divide the dough in half, cover each half with plastic wrap, and
refrigerate until firm (at least 30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Celsius. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one half of dough from
the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it’s
about 5 mm thick. Using a 5 cm cookie cutter cut out the cookies.
Place the
cookies about 3 cm apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie
cutter to cut out the centres of half of the cookies on the baking sheet.
Reroll any scraps and cut out the remaining cookies. Repeat with the second
half of dough. If the dough gets too soft, place it in the refrigerator for
about 10 minutes. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until golden around
the edges. Please note that the cookies burn very easily! Remove from the oven
and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Place the cut out cookies into a container or a small bowl
and coat in icing sugar (powdered sugar). Spread a thin layer of jam on the
bottom surface of the full cookies. Place the cut-out cookie on top and press
them gently together. Store them in an
airtight container. The cookies can be stored in a cool place for several
weeks.
