European Christmas Cookies Bonuses

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Recipe Notes

Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies 

  • Homemade vanilla sugar takes this recipe up a delicious notch. Get my super simple recipe here.
  • If you’re having trouble shaping your cookies, this video will help!

Croatian Coconut Balls

  • Don’t skip the powdered milk! That’s what gives these treats their delicious taste.
  • You can, however, use shredded or desiccated coconut (I prefer desiccated but have used shredded).
  • Make sure to use unsweetened coconut, otherwise the treats will be too sugary.

Finnish Pinwheels

  • You can make your own puff pastry from scratch. Or keep a box from the store in your freezer!
  • You can use any kind of jam you’d like. Lemon curd would also taste great!

Speculaas Spice Palmiers 

German Rum Balls

  • Chocolate is the star of this recipe, so use the best you can afford!
  • I tried all dark and found that a mix of dark and milk tasted the best.
  • You can make these treats ahead of time – just store them in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Greek Honey Spice Cookies

  • Make these cookies a day or two ahead of time so the syrup has time to soak into the cookies. You can add the walnuts and orange zest just before serving.
  • These cookies are a little sticky due to the syrup.

Icelandic Cornflake Cookies

  • Use quality chocolate or chocolate chips. Don’t use mini chocolate chips.
  • No need to buy brand name cornflakes if you don’t want to.
  • My silpat baking mat worked really well when baking these cookies.

Italian Christmas Cookies

  • Use Christmas sprinkles for a festive look.
  • These cookies stand up well to coffee and tea.
  • Change the sprinkles and they’re great any time of year!

Polish Kolaczki

  • Use your favorite jam in these cookies – or lemon curd!
  • You can make these any size, really. If you want bigger kolaczki, cut fewer squares and increase jam and baking time. (I don’t recommend going smaller, though.)

Swedish Dream Cookies

  • These cookies are heavenly but they are delicate, so keep that in mind when transporting them.
  • They may look plain but trust me, they don’t need anything extra.