If you haven’t tasted vanilla crescents (vanilkove rohlicky) yet you haven’t quite lived your life into the full. They are absolutely the best Christmas cookies this earth has ever had. Despite the simplicity of the recipe some kind of a Christmas magic happens during the cooking process and an art of perfection is born…
My grandma would always make batches and batches of Vanilkove rohlicky so that we wouldn’t run out during the Christmas season. Since we helped ourselves to them about 10 times a day – despite my grandma’s attempts – we ended up being out of them about 3 days after Christmas. Then we had to “get to work” and finish up the rest of the other Christmas cookies; what can I tell you…life was rough back then!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 Tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups of ground walnuts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- about 2 cups of powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- ground up skin from 1 lemon
Method:
- Mix butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and walnuts together
- Mix in the flour (1/2 cup at a time)
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper and refrigerate for about 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven for 325 degrees
- Lightly butter two 12″ x 12″ baking sheets
- Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of chilled dough and place them on a floured board
- Rolled each piece into a strip about 1 inch wide and 1/2inch thick; shape each piece into a crescent (semi-circle)
- Arrange the crescents at least 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet
- Bake in oven for 12 to 15 minutes
- Transfer them onto a cake rack and coat them with powdered sugar while they are still warm
- Enjoy!
Note: one can substitute ground walnuts for ground almonds as well.
Another note: the older the cookies get, the better they taste! Store them in the fridge.
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The crescents are also great with ground pecans!
The real vanilla crescent rolls should be baked with ground hazelnuts and coated in vanilla sugar when they are still hot.
You are right Ludmila about coating them with sugar when they are still hot…I will change it!
Also, I have never had them with hazelnuts, my grandma would always make them with walnuts…
Guess what else we’re having for Christmas! (Thank you, thank you)
Hi Katie, these are my all-time favorites…. I hope you will enjoy them.The great think about it is that you can store them in the fridge/freezer forever!
Oh yeah. Those are my favorite from my favorite list. I can practically smell them. We too make them with hazelnuts instead of walnuts. I may try them with walnuts this year too, since they are soo much less expensive here then walnuts. I love the final product but oh boy, did we always have to make a double batch of the dough. We would eat half of it while making rohlicky. And they do store great. Did I mention I have a box in my fridge from last year that I actually brought from Czech? I had to hide them from my daughter (5) or she would eat them in one sitting. she loves them. Thank you.
Oh, why I left the post too. NOt sure if any of you have the same experience. I have made these couple of times here in the states, but found out that the powdered sugar here is different from the Czech.Yeah, I thought I was crazy too at first. But it did not hold as well so I had to alter my recipe. Just wondering if this recipe is based on traditional Czech or proven to work with us ingredients.
Thanks
Hi Lenka,
yes this recipe is the US version (my version but since I use only US ingredients it is the US Version
)
I haven’t noticed the difference in the US vs. the Czech powdered sugar. I just make sure to bathe those things in it as much as possible and they do come out looking like snowmen
PS: good luck with hiding those frozen rohlicky in front of your daughter! Doufam, ze se ti to povede!
Yes, in Austria the Vanilla Crescents recipe is passed on from generation to generation. My grandmother made them and my mother made them. Now I make them. And they are delicious. Have a look: Vanilla Crescents.
Hi Julia,
so was your grandmother Czech?
Tak jsme dopapali vanocni cukrovi. Jak jsem slibila tak jsem letos upekla jak vanilkove rohlicky tak i slepovane cukrovi (linecke). Pro oba jsem misto rodinnych receptu vyzkousela vase recepty a byly moc dobre. Z domova jsem si privezla rybizovou marmeladu, kterou mame nejradeji takze byly skoro jako z domova. Rohlicky se jen rozpadali. Jen my misto normalniho cukru pouzivame mouckovy a tim jsou trochu jemnejsi. Ten cukr v nich trochu chroupe kdyz se nepouzije mouckovy. Proto jsem se te take Tanjo ptala jestli je to us overeny recept pred vanocema. Normalni cukr je stejny, ale tim ze tam davam mouckovy tak recept co mam z domova se tady s tim jejich mouckovym cukrem neda dodrzet a musi se trochu upravit. Tak budu muset experimentovat. Mozna v lete? Nikde se prece nerika ze se nemuzou delat rohlicky v lete ze?
Dekuji moc za recepty a zase budu muset neco zkusit. Na jare mozna vanocku.
Ahoj Lenko,
Bydlim v Texasu a od lonskeho roku mam dve prace. Pres den jsem meeting planner a po vecerech cukrarka.
V jedne male restauraci pecu vsechny moucniky a dorty a tak bylo jasne, ze jim na Vanoce nacpu ceske cukrovi…Jak jinak. Trochu jsem si na sebe usila bic, protoze jsem v restaurace stravila cely prosinec a myslim, ze cely stred Texasu mel letos na vanoce vanilkove rohlicky, linecke testo, rumove koule, pernicky a pak take pulmesice s citronovou polevou. Ty ja mam hrozne rada, protoze testo jsou jen zloutky, cukr, rozinky (tady jsem dala brusinky) a orechy…
Myslim, ze jsem napekla tak asi 50 kg vanocniho cukrovi…..Leni, chtela jsem ti poradit. Protoze se tu docela tezko shani vanilkovy cukr, muzes to nahradit tim, ze koupis vanilkovy lusk (je drahy, ale docela dlouho vydrzi) a ten das do sklenice se smesi krystalu a mouckove cukru asi 1:1. Po nekolika dnech sklenici otevri a mas vanilkovy cukr.
No nic, dejte vedet, jestli chces vyzkouset ty pulmesice, muzu poslat recept.
Gabina
recept na pulmesice by byl vyborny!!! Dekujeme!
?
Takze pristi vanoce se schovavas nekde v ukrytu – aby te ty Texasani zase nenasli
I’ve done everything I can to keep these from spreading when I bake. Cool cookie sheet, parchment paper, a little extra flour, even using vegetable shortening instead of butter (!) and they still spread. I can’t put nuts in them – could that be the problem? Grandma’s cookies were nice little plump crescents and mine are flat (but very tasty) butter cookies. Suggestions?
Hmm….that’s weird. I would think for sure that adding extra flour would do the trick
I don’t think adding nuts would make a difference – if anything, they are more breakable. Maybe try a different flour?
The nuts are actually holding the shape when they are baked. If you are not putting any nuts in there, just sugar, butter and all, you are ending up with sugar cookie and they are almost always flat, since the butter melts when you bake them and there is nothing else holding it. Are there nut allergies in your family? Maybe try a different nut or a almond. I also found if I use Czech powder sugar (which my mom brought) they stayed up better. This recipe actually worked really well with US bought powdered sugar though. I was having a hard time using my original (momma’s recepi) without getting them too flat too. Not sure why, but I had to use more nuts in order to get then plump. We are in south so maybe the humidity and all.
good luck. those are my favorite christmas cookie.
I feel like I need to help, I’ve perfected my Czech mother’s recipe, these crescents are the bomb!
I use shredded almons instead, though this Xmas, I’ll mix with Hazelnut. I would increase the amount of shredded nut by 50%. Harder to shape the cookies, but way tastier!
My mother used to make these all the time and, of course, they were delicious. I’m going to try making them this year. However, I don’t remember any lemon being part of the cookie. Do you recommend the “ground up skin of lemon” as a garnish? Never had them that way before.
Mel
Hi Mel,
No, it is not a garnish; that lemon peel just adds and extra kick to the whole mixture – it is delicious! And ut does not taste lemony at all….So you just mix the lemon peel (ground up) into the dough
Good idea Tom! Never enough of nuts in there – and it is healthier that way!
Great ideas all. I also have a suggestion. Buy whole nuts and shell them yourself. More work, but oh boy, can you tell the diference. I use Hazelnuts and they are deliscious when freshly shelled. The store bought is much drier and some of the flavor is gone.
Tanja, my mother’s recipe does not have the lemon or vanilla in the dough. I added these this year to hers and it is really good.
Hey Lenka, bet you’re right about the freshness of the nuts. I’ll also try some lemon grind another time, sounds good. I do use vanilla in the dough. I’ve seen recipes where authentic methods ask for real ground vanilla.
as for the coating, I’ve experimented with many. I find that the best taste is this: I go by eye, but I mix maybe a cup of sugar with a half cup of icing sugar, with two packets of Okher vanilla sugar. A perfect compiment to the cookie itself.
Tom, where do you get Okher vanilla sugar here?
I live in New Brunswick, Canada. The Vanilla sugar is sold in the large supermarkets here(Sobey’s and Superstore). Below is a link…
http://www.oetker.ca/en/product/baking-ingredients/pouch/11100
You must not use too much, as it’s concentrated I think, and tastes a little bitter if not mixed with other sugars.
Vesele Vanoce!
@ Tom: No way!!! The Czech sugar cookies are sold there??? Or are they just the ‘regular’ Vanilla cookies? Oh wait, I will check the link…
Tanja, I included the link for Vanilla sugar. But as a matter of fact, there is a German bakery here which sells the Vanilla crescents year round, but they are not rich enough, and quite bland compared to mine. Maybe I should go over there and show them how to do them right, LOL.
Thank you so much. I will check the site. I have yet to find the Vanilla sugar here. Yeah, I mix mine with powdered sugar to coat the vanilla crescent in. I know what you mean by bitter.
I have a couple from home but am almost out. And they do not sell Vanilla sugar in Czech anymore, just Vanilinovy cukr a it is not the same.
Thanks again
Very interesting and so many good tips. I also mix powdered sugar with regular sugar and one packet of vanilla sugar ( Cost Plus carries vanilla sugar). However I use about 2 cups of powdered sugar and about 1/2 cup of regular sugar.I have also found out that unbleached all-purpose flour is closer to the czech version then the bleached one.
Ahoj tTanja. TRied the vanilla crescents, but what do you do with the lemon zest? And when?
Hi Joe,
just mix it into the dough
@ Susan K: S.O.S.!!!! I have just finished my last batch of vanilla crescents and they all totally break!!!! I must have added too much flour, or my nuts were not equally ground…..any ideas????? I am horrified.
Hi Tanja, if the crescents were too brittle, most likely the amount of butter was wrong. It’s the butter that keeps the cookie together. I imagine it’s possible that the nuts weren’t ground enough too.
Hi Tom, thanks I think it was the nuts; I was lazy to pull out my food processor and used a regular (smoothie) blender; some nuts got ground way too much and some did not. What if I put one more egg yolk into it – would it help?
hi Tanja, I see my post did not post.
I too messed up my last (double) batch. The dough was wayyyyyyy tooooooo brittle and would not even hold to make a ball. I added some extra lemon juice, vanilla extract and a little by little egg white. Worked like a charm. Not one broke. My mom have been making them for years and she has some years that she would trow them out of the window. 
Also, I added some red sugar sprinkles to my coating sugar this year. They look very festive, like somebody dusted them with red glitter. I may try green next year too. Vesele vanoce.
Hi Lenka – so you too!!! I wonder what would happen if I added full eggs into the dough instead of just egg yolks – to give it some extra stickiness..what do you think?
I don’t see how it could hurt. I added just the whites since I have been baking a lot and still have about 8 egg whites in my refrigirator left.
I would try it. They will probably be more yellow once you bake them. Let me know how it went.
Tanja, you probably put in too much flour. I would not put in egg white, only yolk. The egg white might hardened the dough once it is baked. I tried your recipe and it turned out beautifuly, however I put in less flour. The butter is also very important. I use the European or Irish butter from Trader Joe’s (unsalted only). It has higher fat content.
I think you are right Marika, I think I put too much flour in it. But how come the butter holds the things together? Wouldn’t it just melt it more????
The butter is very important because it is leavened when it is creamed with sugar. That means there will be tiny bubles in the cookies during baking. This will ensure their fluffiness. That’s why butter should always be at room temperature. Actually, you should have put more butter into your vanilla crescents, not egg yolk. Bad advise from me, sorry about that. Maybe you could shape the dough into little balls and bake them. After coating them with powdered sugar you can call them snow balls, new tradition perhaps?
Stastne a vesele a Bohateho Jeziska
I always partially melt the butter in the microwawe so I can mix the dough with a wooden spoon. Is that OK? I just don’t know how to mix it otherwise if the butter is at room temp then to use my bare hands and then it is not properly mixed. All these questions….;)
PS: Mariko, ty jsi asi profesionalni pekarka vi? Ty toho tolik vis!!!! Jaka pocta, ze jsi ma ctenarka
))
Dekuju Marika, mas pravdu, more butter.
Now, I’ve nuked hard butter before in other recipes and the softened butter has worked fine. Also, I’ve found that a hand blender works better than a wooden spoon. It has to be a strong blender, the dough is naturally thicker than what the hand blender is really designed to mix.
…I know, I know, the wood spoon is so much more traditional
Tanja, you are to kind, thank you. Ne nejsem pekarka, ale je to moje hobby. Ja bych to maslo do microwave nedavala. Perfektni darek pro tebe: Kitchen Aid mixer, the heavy duty one. To ti umicha vse, hlavne kynuta testa. Happy baking (:
I finally broke down and started using my Kitchen Aid mixer. I’ve had it for years but always done all by hand. Well, I will never go back. What a time saver. Rally an arm saver
Sorry wooden spool. You will be used for the kiddie’s bottoms only. Just kidding 
Treba ho Jezisek staci prinest dneska vecer. A kdyz ne Jezisek tak Santa a o par hodin vice. 
:)
Ladies, ladies, you both recommend Kitchen Aid mixer!!! I may have to treat myself (maybe I can buy a used one on Amazon). And does it mix bread dough too? Could I use a bread maker to mix the rohlicky dough?
I don’t know about the bread mixer. I don’t have one. Tanja, the Kitchen Aid is very useful and as Lenka said a huge time saver. It is also very heavy, so if you want to order it through Amazon, the shipping charges will be astronomical. Lenka is right, treat yourself. I have my mixer for over ten years now and it’s still mixing. It is a really good investment.
Musim uznat,Tanjo,ze je to perfektni blog-moc pekne! Nasla jsem to nahodou,hledala jsem ,zda se da podomacku vyrobit vanilkovy cukr,chtela jsem totiz upect vanilkove rohlicky.A misto toho jsem nasla tohle-se super receptem na jejich upeceni a navic jeste radu od Gabky-mam tuseni,jak si udelat vlastni vanilkovy cukr.Sice budu muset s pecenim nejspis pockat par dni,ale kdyz uz jem je nepekla na vanoce,ted uz na par dnech nezalezi.Ted me napada,pristi tyden jsme pozvani “na kafco” k jednem novym slovenskym znamym,tak snad se mi peceni podari a vezmu jim na ochutnavku.Diky moc,hodne dalsich uspechu…
jo jeste se chci zeptat,jak by asi chutnaly ty rohlicky obalovane v kokosove moucce-teda,jestli by to na nich vubec drzelo? Ja jsem totiz hrozne spatna kucharka,veci,o kterych lide reknou,ze se nemuzou pri vareni nepodarit,ja bych jim mohla vypravet,jak je to jednoduche,chichi…
Ahoj Radko
ja taky zrovna nejsem sefkuchar,ale tyhle rohlicky jsou opravdu jednoduche! S tou kokosovou mouckou nevim, holka…
Radko, vanilkovy cukr je mozny koupit v Cost Plus World Market. Nevim jestli tento chain je po cele Americe, ale urcite to muzes objednat pres jejich website. Vlastni vanilkovy cukr neni tezky udelat. Trik je jak spravne seskrabat vanilla beans from the pod. Good luck:)
prectla jsem skoro vsechny blogs a nektere jsou mi do smichu
jak do che muze uzit mixer food processor nebo varechu
ale mixer je rychlejsi
moje deti se narodily tday v Canade ale rohlicky pracny/ medvedi tlapky a linecke maji nejradeji i pak moje apple strudels bnez toho by nebyly vanoce
keep up the good job
milada
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