Vanilice – Balkan Jam Sandwich Cookies
118kcal
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour Spoon and level; weighing is most reliable.
- 7 oz unsalted butter Softened to about 68°F (20°C), not melted.
- 3 1/2 oz walnuts Finely ground; weigh rather than estimating ground-nut volume.
- 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
- 1 large whole egg About 50 g without the shell; practical US equivalent of the source medium egg.
- 1 large egg yolk Additional yolk, about 18 g each; not another whole egg.
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar For the dough; weigh for accuracy because packet sizes vary.
- 5 tsp fresh lemon juice Weight is more precise than the rounded spoon amount.
- 2 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest Yellow part only, from a washed lemon; loosely filled spoon, preferably weighed.
- 1/6 tsp fine table salt Best weighed on a fine-resolution scale; not coarse kosher salt.
Filling
- 5 1/4 oz smooth apricot preserves Plain preserves with no large fruit pieces; puree chunky preserves smooth before weighing.
Coating
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar Measure unsifted, then sift if lumpy; weighing is most reliable.
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar For the coating; separate from the dough portion.
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale Use for flour, ground walnuts, and small ingredient weights; a 0.1 g scale helps with salt.
- Food processor Pulse walnuts finely without making nut butter; also useful for smoothing chunky preserves.
- Mixing bowls Separate bowls for dry ingredients, dough, and coating.
- Electric mixer Hand or stand mixer.
- Fine grater For the yellow lemon zest only.
- Rolling Pin Thickness guides are helpful.
- Round cookie cutter About 1.6 inches (4 cm) across; keep this size at every scale.
- Half-sheet baking pans Two large pans for the base estimate; bake in uncrowded batches.
- Parchment paper For rolling, baking, and separating stored layers.
- Wire rack Cool the baked halves completely before filling.
- Small offset spatula Or a teaspoon for the preserves.
- Airtight container For refrigerated overnight maturation and storage.
Method
- Prepare the ingredients. Have the butter softened to about 68°F (20°C), pliable but not shiny or melted. Finely grind the walnuts in short pulses without making a paste. Wash and dry the lemon, then measure the yellow zest and juice. Combine the flour, ground walnuts, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the butter with the dough portion of granulated sugar and vanilla sugar for about 3 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl as needed, until creamy and evenly combined.
- Add the eggs and lemon. Beat in the whole eggs, then the additional yolks, until incorporated. Briefly mix in the measured lemon juice and zest.
- Mix the dough. Add the dry mixture in several additions on low speed. Stop as soon as the dough holds together, finishing with a spatula if needed. Do not knead for several minutes or taste the raw dough.
- Chill the dough. Shape into a flat disk about 1 inch (2–3 cm) thick, wrap, and refrigerate for about 60 minutes. Divide a larger batch into several disks so they chill evenly.
- Roll and cut. Heat the oven to 340°F (170°C), conventional, and line baking pans with parchment. Work with half of a base batch or one manageable portion at a time, keeping the rest chilled. Roll between parchment sheets to an even 3/16 inch (5 mm), and cut circles about 1.6 inches (4 cm) across. Gather scraps gently and reroll once. Cut an even number of circles so every finished cookie has two halves. Keep about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) between circles and use additional trays rather than crowding.
- Bake gently. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack for about 10–12 minutes, until the tops remain pale and the undersides are only very lightly golden. Rotate if the oven browns unevenly. Repeat with the remaining trays; the displayed baking time is for the base batch and increases with more batches.
- Cool completely. Let the baked halves firm on the tray for about 5 minutes, then move carefully to a wire rack. Allow at least 20 more minutes and longer if needed until completely cool. Earlier trays can cool while later trays bake.
- Fill the cookies. Pair fully cooled halves of similar size. Stir the smooth preserves, then spread a thin layer on the flat underside of a supported cookie half. Set its partner on top, flat side toward the filling, and join with very gentle pressure. Distribute the measured filling across the selected yield.
- Coat with sugar. Mix the powdered sugar and the separate coating portion of vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl. Gently cover the top, bottom, and sides of each assembled cookie. Lift carefully and shake off loose excess without squeezing the sandwich.
- Allow the flavor to develop. Arrange in a clean airtight container, using parchment between layers. Refrigerate promptly at 40°F (4°C) or below for about 12 hours before serving so the filling and cookie texture can settle together. Follow the preserves label and the storage notes; do not leave the filled cookies on the counter overnight.
Notes
Yield: About 80 baked circles make 40 assembled sandwich cookies at 1x; 160 circles make 80 cookies at 2x; 240 circles make 120 cookies at 3x. One nutrition serving is one finished cookie made with two halves and filling. Actual count varies with cutter size, thickness, and handling of scraps; divide the full-batch nutrition by your actual count if it differs.
US measurements: Metric preserves the exact formula. Flour cups use 120 g per cup; spoon into the cup and level without packing. Ground walnuts are given by weight because a cup changes with grind and packing. Powdered sugar uses a reference 120 g per unsifted cup, but brands and packing differ. Lemon juice is rounded from a 244 g-per-cup reference; zest uses a rough 2 g-per-teaspoon peel reference and should be weighed. Fine table salt uses 6 g per teaspoon; the unusual one-sixth teaspoon amount is best weighed. Coarse kosher salt is not a volume equivalent. Vanilla sugar teaspoons assume about 4 g each; weigh rather than assuming a whole packet. US packet sizes can be 9 g, while each base-recipe vanilla-sugar portion is 8 g.
Ingredients: US all-purpose flour is a practical substitute for German Type 405, not the same milling classification. Use plain unsalted butter, finely ground fresh walnuts, a whole egg plus an additional yolk, and vanilla sugar. Dr. Oetker vanilla sugar is a practical US baking-aisle or European-grocery option; check the package ingredients and weight. No liquid vanilla extract is needed. Use smooth plain apricot preserves; if buying chunky preserves, puree them smooth before weighing the amount needed.
Timing: The displayed 14 hours 35 minutes includes 45 minutes of active preparation, rolling, filling, and coating; about 25 minutes for successive baking batches; 60 minutes of dough chilling; a conservative 25-minute cooling allowance after the final tray (5 minutes on the tray, then at least 20 minutes on a rack); and 12 hours of refrigerated maturation. Earlier trays can cool during later baking. Start with softened butter ready to use. More trays, extra cooling, or larger batches extend the total; chilling and maturation are not multiplied at 2x or 3x.
Handling: Keep the tops pale, with only very light color underneath. Grind walnuts finely so rough pieces do not break the thin dough. Stop mixing as soon as the dough holds together. Cool fully, support the cookie halves on a flat surface, spread a thin layer of preserves, and press gently. Lift carefully when coating; do not squeeze the sandwich.
Overnight rest and storage: This version matures covered in the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C) or below rather than being held overnight on the counter. The checked apricot-preserves manufacturer recommends refrigeration after opening; follow your jar label. Once filled, refrigerate promptly and keep total room-temperature handling within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Plan to serve within 3–4 refrigerated days as a conservative home-use window, not a validated shelf life. Let a serving portion lose its refrigerator chill briefly before eating. Moisture can soften the sugar coating; add a light fresh dusting from any reserved coating if desired. No ten-day room-temperature storage claim is made.
Make ahead and allergens: Chill the wrapped dough overnight if useful, then let it become just pliable enough to roll. Fully cooled unfilled baked halves can be frozen airtight, thawed in the closed container, and filled after thawing. Do not taste raw dough. Contains wheat, milk, eggs, and walnuts; check all product labels for other allergens and cross-contact.
Nutrition estimate: Per one of 40 finished sandwich cookies, calculated from the exact Metric formula. Checked USDA matches cover all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, English walnuts, granulated and powdered sugar, whole egg (50 g), yolk (18 g), raw lemon juice, and lemon peel. Vanilla sugar is modeled as sucrose; the apricot-preserves label reference is 50 kcal and 13 g carbohydrate per 20 g. The estimate includes all filling and the full coating mixture, so discarded coating or dough scraps reduce what is actually eaten. Product variation, US rounding, and actual cookie count change the result. This recipe has been reviewed editorially, not kitchen-tested.