Jam Filled Carrot Cookies (Czech Mrkvanky)

Jam Filled Carrot Cookies (Czech Mrkvanky)

Looking for typical Czech cookies? Try mrkvanky, delicious shortbread cookies made with fresh carrots! The popular recipe of Bohemian grannies will amaze you with its simplicity and delicate taste.

Course cookies

Cuisine Czech

Keyword carrot

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Resting time 1

Total Time 1 30

Servings cookies

Calories 103kcal

Author Petra Kupská

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.

Nutrition