Balkan Vanilla Walnut Jam Cookies Vanilice 🍓✨

Description

Balkan Vanilla Walnut Jam Cookies, known as Vanilice, are delicate sandwich cookies made with buttery walnut dough, filled with raspberry or apricot jam, and rolled in powdered sugar until they look snowy and festive. They are tender, fragrant, nostalgic, and perfect for holidays, tea tables, cookie boxes, and elegant dessert boards. ✨

Hook ✨

Soft walnut cookies, bright jam, vanilla aroma, and a snowy sugar coat make Vanilice one of the most loved little sweets of the Balkan table. 🍪

Ingredients

• Cookie dough 🍪
• 🧈 200 g unsalted butter, softened (¾ cup + 2 tbsp / 7 oz)
• 🍚 80 g powdered sugar (⅔ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🥚 1 egg yolk, 18 g (1 large yolk / 0.6 oz)
• 🌼 10 ml vanilla extract (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🍋 2 g finely grated lemon zest (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌰 100 g finely ground walnuts (1 cup / 3.5 oz)
• 🌾 280 g all-purpose flour (2¼ cups / 9.9 oz)
• 🧂 1 g fine sea salt (⅙ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• Filling and finish 🍓
• 🍓 160 g raspberry jam or apricot jam (½ cup / 5.6 oz)
• 🍚 120 g powdered sugar, for coating (1 cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🌼 8 g vanilla sugar, optional (1 packet / 0.28 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Cream the butter 🧈
2. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and powdered sugar for 2–3 min until pale, smooth, and creamy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon zest, then mix for 30 sec more.
3. 2️⃣ Add walnuts and flour 🌰
4. Stir in the ground walnuts, flour, and salt. Mix gently until a soft dough forms. Do not overwork it, because Vanilice should stay tender and delicate.
5. 3️⃣ Chill the dough 🛋
6. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap it, and chill for 30 min. This makes the dough easier to roll and helps the cookies keep their clean shape.
7. 4️⃣ Roll and cut 🍪
8. Heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 5 mm (¼ in) thickness. Cut small rounds with a 4 cm (1½ in) cutter and place them on a parchment-lined baking tray.
9. 5️⃣ Bake gently 🔥
10. Bake for 10–12 min, until the cookies are set but still pale. Do not let them brown too much. Cool on the tray for 5 min, then transfer carefully to a rack.
11. 6️⃣ Fill and sandwich 🍓
12. Spread a small amount of jam on the flat side of half the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies and press gently so the jam reaches the edges without spilling.
13. 7️⃣ Coat and rest ✨
14. Mix powdered sugar with vanilla sugar if using. Roll the filled cookies generously in the sugar. Let them rest for at least 2 hours before serving, or overnight for the softest texture.

Total Time

⏱ Prep: 30 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 12 min
🛋 Rest: 2 h 35 min
⏰ Total: 3 h 17 min

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