Vanilla Crescent Cookies – Czech Vanilkové rohlíčky
Czech Christmas wouldn’t be complete without vanilla crescent cookies. They are the first type of Christmas cookies that disappears from the table! In Czech, we call them vanilkové rohlíčky.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 and ½ stick (170 g) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (50 g) coarse sugar
- 1 cup (100 g) walnuts shelled
- 1 egg yolk
Homemade Vanilla Sugar:
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
- Grate the walnuts and put them in a bowl.
- Add the flour, egg yolk, sugar and butter cut into pieces.
- Work into a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest for an hour.
- Divide the dough into four pieces, roll each into a strand about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Cut the strand into small, equal-sized pieces.
- Roll the pieces of dough into crescent shapes and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 340 °f (170 °C) for 12 minutes.
- Roll the crescents while still warm in vanilla sugar.
Vanilla Sugar:
- Pour powdered sugar into a large container with a screw cap and place a vanilla bean inside. Close the container and shake it. In about three days, the sugar is beautifully scented and ready to use.
Notes
- I grate the walnuts using a manual rotary grinder with a fine shredding blade.
- Let the crescents cool for a few minutes after baking. Then remove cookies from the baking sheet and coat them with vanilla sugar while they are still warm.
- Be careful when coating, the rolls are fragile!
- To make baking easier, get a silicone mold with crescent shapes to press the dough in.
- The vanilla crescent cookies taste best about ten days after baking. During this time, they soften and become tender. Count on it if you are planning to put the cookies on the Christmas table.