Looking for some real Czech cookies? Try mrkvanky, delicious shortbread crescent-shaped biscuits made with fresh carrots! The popular recipe of Bohemian grannies will amaze you with its simplicity and delicate taste.
➜ What are mrkvanky?
Mrkvanky counts among Czech unique cookies, prepared from dough with the addition of freshly shredded carrots. The cookies are filled with fruit jam; the original recipe calls for jam made with plums. Finally, baked mrkvanky needs to be rolled from all sides in powdered sugar.
Regarding the preparation method and their resulting shape, mrkvanky could be called turnovers or ravioli cookies. Thank you to my lovely community around Czech recipes for the fruitful discussion on this topic!
MY TIP: Try also these Czech coconut biscuits, known as koka sušenky!
➜ Shredded carrots
Freshly shredded carrots come into the dough. Avoid shredded carrots you can buy in a grocery store, as these are coarsely grated and often quite dry.
I recommend shredding the carrots finely at home on a handheld grating box. Such carrots deliver a delicious flavor and the right amount of moisture to the cookies.
➜ Ingredients
For Czech mrkvanky, homemade carrot cookies, you will need:
- Carrots; finely grated. Especially in the spring season, I recommend baby carrots, which are fresh and juicy.
- Unsalted butter; softened at room temperature, take it out of the fridge about an hour in advance
- All-purpose flour; plain flour in the UK. For the cookie dough plus a handful for flouring the work surface.
- Baking powder
- A pinch of salt; for taste contrast
Next, prepare the plum jam for the fruit filling and the powdered sugar to coat the baked carrot cookies. Both the jam and the sugar coating ensure a pleasant sweetness of the cookies, as the dough itself does not contain any added sugar.
Note on filling: The original Czech recipe uses plum jam (povidla) in the list of ingredients. However, I know that classic plum jam is not easy to buy in the store. In that case, grab any proven fruit filling that you know won't ooze out when baked.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
STEP 1: Clean, scrape and grate the carrots finely on a handheld box grater.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Add grated carrot and butter to the flour mixture.
STEP 3: Make a soft, smooth dough. Cover the ball of dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour. Do not skip this step!
STEP 4: Flour the work surface and roll out the dough to an even thickness of about 1/8 inch (3 mm).
Cut the dough into rounds 2 and 1/2 inches (6-7 cm) in diameter using a cookie cutter.
Put about ½ teaspoon of jam in the middle of each round. Fold one edge of the round over the filling and press the ends together around the circumference using fork tines. By using this method, you join the cookies and create a decorative edge.
STEP 5: Place the turnovers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the sheet on the wire rack and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 338°F / 170°C (top and bottom heating).
STEP 6: Sift the powdered sugar into a separate bowl. Let the baked cookies cool for a while and roll them in powdered sugar while still warm.
➜ How to roll out the perfect shortbread dough?
I have some quick tips for you to successfully roll out the cookie dough. Following them will prevent the dough from tearing when rolling out and sticking to the work surface and rolling pin.
- The dough you are working with must be rested and chilled.
- If the dough is too firm when you take it out of the fridge, knead it briefly to soften the butter it contains.
- Remember to lightly dust the work surface with flour and rotate the dough throughout the process.
- Roll the dough to the edges using a rolling pin placed in the center—this aids in rolling the dough to a consistent thickness.
- A good tip is to roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper.
➜ Serving
The carrots are soft right from the oven, thanks to the baking powder. Serve on a plate with a cup of good coffee or tea.
Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container and keep them cool and dry.
➜ Other useful tips
- You only need about ½ teaspoon of filling for each cookie. Try filling one mrkvanky cookie, folding it over, and sealing the ends together. If the filling oozes out, reduce its quantity.
- You can also bake the mrkvanky on a sheet not lined with parchment paper. The cookies contain a significant amount of butter and will not stick to the baking sheet.
More Czech sweet recipes:
- Easy Easter biscuits
- Apple-carrot salad
- Koblihy – Czech jam-filled donuts
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Jam Filled Carrot Cookies (Czech Mrkvanky)
Ingredients
Carrot cookie dough:
- 3 carrots small, or 2 medium-sized
- 1 stick unsalted butter (110 g) softened at room temperature
- 1 and ½ cup all-purpose flour (200 g) plus a small handful to flour the work surface
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
Misc.:
- ½ cup fruit jam (150 g) for filling; preferably plum jam
- ½ cup powdered sugar (60 g) for coating
Instructions
- Clean, scrape and grate the carrots finely on a handheld box grater.
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Add grated carrot and butter to the flour mixture.
- Make a soft, smooth dough. Cover the ball of dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour. Do not skip this step!
- Flour the work surface and roll out the dough to an even thickness of about ⅛ inch (3 mm). Cut the dough into rounds 2 and ½ inches (6-7 cm) in diameter using a cookie cutter.
- Put about ½ teaspoon of jam in the middle of each round. Fold one edge of the round over the filling and press the ends together around the circumference using fork tines. By using this method, you join the cookies and create a decorative edge.
- Place the turnovers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the sheet on the wire rack and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 338°F / 170°C (top and bottom heating).
- Sift the powdered sugar into a separate bowl. Let the baked cookies cool for a while and roll them in powdered sugar while still warm.
Notes
- Makes about 22 mrkvanky carrot cookies.
- The dough you are working with must be rested and chilled.
- Remember to lightly dust the work surface with flour and rotate the dough throughout the process.
- A good tip is to roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper.
- You only need about ½ teaspoon of filling for each cookie. Try filling one mrkvanky cookie, folding it over, and sealing the ends together. If the filling oozes out, reduce its quantity.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
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