Vanilice Serbian Sandwich Cookies Recipes

VANILICE / VANILLA COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand (or hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Scrap the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure all the butter is incorporated.
• To the butter and sugar add the whole egg and egg yolks and whip until incorporated, then add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla sugar. Mix with the stand mixture until all ingredients are incorporated (1-2 minutes).
• Turn off the mixer and switch to a spatula at this point. Add in the walnuts and stir, turning the mixture into a thick batter. Once all the walnuts are incorporated, add in the flour and form a uniform and soft ball of dough with the help of your hands.
• Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap or in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the dough is completely cold.
• When the dough has completely chilled, take it out of the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350 F ( 200 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1/4 inch (6 mm). Use a cookie cutter, shot glass, or small cup to cut out small round pieces. I use a shot glass (for rakija) because I prefer this size and get about 40 cookies.
• Using a small knife or angled spatula transfer the cut-out cookies to your baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the bottom of the cookies begin to slightly brown but the tops remain light in color. Do not let them brown on top.
• When baked, remove the cookies from the baking sheet and transfer to a cooling rack or tray to cool.
• Re-knead the scraps of the remaining dough into a ball and roll it out again. Repeat the above steps until you've used up all your dough and baked all your cookies.
• When the cookies have cooled, spread a very small amount of apricot jam (or preserves but remove large fruit pieces) on one piece and place a 2nd piece on top, making a sandwich cookie. Roll the cookie in powdered sugar and place on serving tray.

VANILICE (SERBIAN SANDWICH COOKIES)

Steps:

• Combine shortening and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl; cut with a pastry knife until crumbly. Add egg and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Work in 2 cups flour with your hands; knead until stiff and similar in consistency to pie dough.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat® mats.
• Dust a work surface generously with flour and set dough on top. Roll dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut into rounds with a 1 3/4-inch cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. For every 2 cookies you cut, use a smaller cookie cutter to cut a hole or shape out of the second cookie; the cut-out cookies will be placed on top of the whole cookies when filled.
• Re-roll the dough and continue cutting out cookies until all the dough is used up. You should have an equal number of whole and cut-out cookies. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; do not let the cookies brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring onto wire racks. The cookies will be crumbly and fragile while still hot so handle carefully. Let cool completely.
• Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl. Spread 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon apricot jam onto each whole cookie, then place a cut-out cookie on top. Dip the filled cookies in sugar until well coated on both sides.