Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Chill:: 60 mins
Total: 110 mins
Servings: 30 servings
Czech susenky (soo-SHEN-kee) are popular cookies served for special occasions and at Christmas, when they become vanocni cukrovi (vah-NAWTCH-nee koo-KRAW-vee). This basic recipe can be transformed into different cookies by varying the shape and sandwiching them together with jam or cookie filling, decorating with different-colored icings, dusting with confectioners’ sugar, or leaving plain. The recipes for this traditional sweet are truly endless.
«These buttery Czech Christmas cookies are perfect for holidays and special occasions. They can be iced, dusted, filled, or dipped in chocolate. After a brief chill in the fridge, the cookie dough is extremely easy to roll and cut. I got about 4 1/2 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies (unfilled).» —Diana Rattray
A Note From Our Recipe Tester
Ingredients
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10 ounces butter, softened
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3/4 cup sugar
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2 large eggs
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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4 cups (510 grams) all-purpose flour
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Icing, optional, for garnish
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Jam, optional, for garnish
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Confectioners' sugar, optional, for garnish
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F.
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In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Add eggs and vanilla and mix until completely incorporated.
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Add the flour and mix into a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough for 1 hour.
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Working with half of the dough at a time, roll the chilled dough between pieces of parchment paper to 1/8-inch thick or 3/16-inch thickness, if sandwiching cookies together.
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Remove top piece of parchment paper and cut dough into various shapes. Since the dough doesn't expand much when baking, a mere 1/2-inch space between cookies will be fine. If at any time the dough is getting too soft, refrigerate it for a few minutes and then continue.
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If making sandwiched cookies, cut an even number of plain cookies and an even number of cookies of the same shape that have had a small "window" cut out with a thimble or piping tip so the jam or filling will peek through.
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Remove the scraps and, grabbing the parchment paper by opposite corners, place it on a sheet pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, they should remain light but still be baked through.
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Cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Excess dough can be wrapped and refrigerated.
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If sandwiching cookies together, sprinkle confectioner's sugar over cookies with a "window." Spread jam or filling on "window-less" cookies.
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Place confectioners' sugar cookies on top of the jammed cookies to create sandwiches.
Recipe Variation
- If decorating with icing, it can be left plain white or tinted with powdered or paste food coloring (liquid food coloring will dilute the icing, but if that happens, just add more confectioners' sugar). You can sprinkle with coarse sugar, chocolate sprinkles, or whatever your heart desires.
How to Store Baked Cookies and Cookie Dough
- Transfer cooled cookies to an airtight container, separating layers with sheets of wax paper to keep them from sticking together, and store them in a cool, dry place. Filled cookies will last 3 to 4 days, while iced or uniced cookies will last up to 2 weeks.
- To free undecorated, unfilled cookies, transfer them to an airtight container. Label the container with the name and date and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost the cookies at room temperature and decorate or fill as desired.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 30 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 153 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 8g | 10% |
| Saturated Fat 5g | 25% |
| Cholesterol 33mg | 11% |
| Sodium 66mg | 3% |
| Total Carbohydrate 18g | 6% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 2% |
| Total Sugars 5g | |
| Protein 2g | |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 7mg | 1% |
| Iron 1mg | 5% |
| Potassium 25mg | 1% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
