Recipe: Vanilice (Serbian Jam Sandwich Cookies)
It seems like every culture has their own version of a sandwich cookie–America has the classic Oreo, England has Jammie Dodgers, Austria has Linzer Cookies…the list goes on. Even France has a sandwich cookie (albeit it’s really more of a pastry): the macaron…my absolute favorite, obviously. Serbia has their sandwich cookie as well–vanilice! It’s actually not hard to pronounce either–it sounds like vanilitse (the c is like a hard “s” sound). In Serbian, it means “little vanilla cookies” (suuuuper complex translation, I know…).
If you’ve been reading this blog at all, you’re probably aware that I’m Serbian; I’ve already talked about my Serbian-Inspired Zerbo macaron and even posted a corresponding classic Serbian recipe for Zerbo Kocke (it’s legit too–my generous Aunt in rural Serbia gave it to me…she’s an excellent baker!). As I draw a tremendous amount of inspiration from travel and various cultures, I thought these cookies would be a simple (and delectable) way to share this inspiration 🙂
These little bites of euphoria melt-in-your-mouth, mostly due to the buttery dough, enriched with walnuts. Now, I’ve already ranted about the deity-level appreciation for walnuts in Serbia in my Zerbo Kocke recipe (I seriously think a walnut could be elected as the next president of Serbia and nobody there would bat an eye…). The walnuts really help the dough taste extra-rich and provide more depth of flavor in the final cookie, though (I guess Serbians are onto something after all…now where’s my Walnut for 2020 hat…).
The cookies are traditionally filled with small amounts of apricot jam, but this recipe is incredibly adapatable. You can use almost any filling you’d like to (within reason, though…please steer clear of guacamole unless you don’t want friends anymore…). My boyfriend enjoys blueberry jam the most (he also just loves blueberries, I think!), but any jam will work; nutella, chocolate spread, or cookie butter would also be delicious variations.
I also love how easy these cookies are to make! The dough can even be made ahead of time (up to three days in advance!) and the cookies keep at room-temperature for about a week. If you’re looking for a new bite-sized treat to bring to a potluck or want to have a special tea-time cookie, these would be absolutely perfect!
Now, enough talking…here’s the recipe:
Vanilice (Serbian sandwich cookies) recipe
Ingredients
- 250 grams butter, cubed and softened This equals about 17 Tbsp. (or 2 sticks plus 1 Tbsp.) butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk At room temperature
- 11/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 100 grams finely ground walnuts You can do this part in a food processor easily–just make sure to not process it too much or it will turn into a paste!
- 400 grams AP flour
Powdered sugar (preferably vanilla sugar–see ingredient note in recipe for more) for rolling
Store-bought or homemade jam; apricot is traditional but you can choose whichever flavor is your preference!
Instructions
- Place softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or regular bowl; you can use a hand mixer instead!) with granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes.
- Add egg and egg yolk and beat until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- Beat in the vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice, and salt until combined.
- Now add the ground walnuts and beat again for 1-2 minutes.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the flour (so you don’t make a mess!) until it’s all combined. You don’t want to overmix the dough (these cookies are melt-in-your-mouth tender and don’t like being overworked), just let it start coming together.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and press together further until it’s smooth. Then, split the dough in half (it doesn’t have to be exact) and form into two disks. Plastic wrap the dough and let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you want to, this dough can be made the day before (just let it sit overnight). NOTE: The reason I split the dough in half is for easier rolling; you don’t want the dough to get too warm when we roll it and cut it later, so two disks makes the process easier.
- Once the dough has chilled, take one disk out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick, pushing together any cracks that might form at the edges.
- With a 1 1/2 or 2 inch round cookie cutter (remember to flour the cutter so it doesn’t stick!), cut out small circles from the dough and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment. You can re-roll the dough and cut more pieces; keep doing this until the disk is gone (or just small scraps are left). NOTE: Traditionally, vanilice are relatively small, dainty cookies often served with coffee in Serbia; people will even make them about 1 inch or smaller in diameter (around the size of a quarter or so). The cookie-cutter sizes I’ve given are just my preference, feel free to make smaller or bigger cookies at your own discretion. Additionally, vanilice are typically round, but go ahead and have some fun with shapes if you’d like (such as hearts for Valentine’s Day or eggs for Easter).
- Repeat this whole process with the second disk. At this point, the first pan from the first disk can go in the oven (or in the fridge to chill while rolling out the second disk). Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until they look set and have slightly browned bottoms. The cookies should not spread or change color much.
- Once all the cookies are baked, let them cool on a cooling rack until they can be picked up without crumbling. They don’t have to be cold–the cookies will actually take in the powdered sugar topping better if they’re still slightly warm.
- When the cookies have cooled down, start spreading jam on half of the cookies (the other halves will be the top of the sandwich cookie). You’ll want to be restrained with jam–too much will cause the jam to all run out of the cookie when you roll it in powdered sugar later. I typically use between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon. NOTE: In Serbia, the jam is usually much thicker than what you’ll get in America (and less sweet). If you really want to get the true Balkan dessert experience, try to find a Balkan or International market that might stock Eastern European jams and use those for an extra-special cookie 🙂
- Once all the cookies have been filled and sandwiched, roll each cookie sandwich in powdered sugar. Vanilice typically use vanilla sugar (which you can find in specialty European or Balkan grocery stores), but if you can’t find that regular powdered sugar will work just fine! You can also make your own vanilla sugar by putting a vanilla bean (unopened) in some powdered sugar for a few days.
- Get ready to eat until your pants burst (only joking…kind of…these are just soooo good). The cookies are best after they’ve been sitting for a few hours (or the next day), as the jam softens the cookie a little bit more. But if you can’t wait (I don’t blame you) they’re still delicious right away 🙂
Notes
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And if you want a complete tea-time dessert display, make these and order some macarons from Poeme to go on the side; you’ll have the ultimate afternoon tea party 🙂
Happy baking everyone!
