Vanilice (The Serbian Little Vanilla Cookies)

Vanilice means “little vanillas,” and these bite-sized Vanilla Cookies are a type of Serbian Sitni Kolaci, or “tiny cookie”. This delicate class of cookie is most commonly served around the Christmas season, or in my case, I always make them in the Spring.

These cookies are a favorite; every time I make them! I often get requests to bake these. I have been making these cookies regularly for about seven years. I have slightly altered the recipe from the original from Serbia. Two ingredients are hard to find in America; one being vanilla sugar and the other being leaf lard. 

Vanilla sugar is the most crucial ingredient, yet it is tough to find it. However, I have realized that it is widespread in most stores in Europe or NYC during Passover. So I stock up when I see it; you can buy it off of Amazon, but they come in these small packets, and they are a lot of money, and you need too much of it. 

These are very traditional favorite cookies that are crowd favorites; try making them at least once; you won’t regret it! 

Here is how to make vanilla sugar yourself:

Slow Method: Put powdered sugar or regular table sugar in a jar with a vanilla bean split; shake every go often for the next two weeks, and have vanilla sugar!

Fast Method: mix two cups of granulated sugar with one tsp vanilla. Mix well using a whisk or fork until the vanilla is evenly distributed. Spread the sugar out onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Let the sugar dry for one hour. Stir the sugar and spread it out again. Let it dry for another hour. Pour the dried, flavored sugar into the bowl of your food processor. Process the sugar until it is finely powdered. 

Vanilice (The Serbian Little Vanilla Cookies)

These cookies are traditionally made 1-2 days before serving to allow the flavors to meld together and the cookies to soften. Highly recommend.

Ingredients

For the Coating

• 1 ½ cups powdered vanilla sugar

For the Cookies

• 2 cups walnut halves
• ½ cup vegetable shortening (or leaf lard if you feel bold)
• 1 stick salted butter; softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling

• ½ cup jam, apricot or rosehip are traditional; homemade strawberry is also delicious

Instructions

For the Dough

1. Place the walnut halves in the bowl of your food processor. Grind them until they are evenly and very finely ground. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the shortening and butter together with an electric hand mixer. Add the sugar and continue to beat until creamy.
3. Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, until evenly mixed.
4. While beating on a low speed, add the ground walnuts. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until an even and soft (but not sticky) dough forms. (You may not use all of the flour called for.)
5. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball and wrap each separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the wrapped dough for at least 2- 3 hours (up to overnight). The dough can last in the refrigerator for a few days; you can also freeze it.

Rolling and Baking

1. Preheat your oven to 325F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Working with half of the dough at a time, dust your counter top with flour and roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick.
3. Using a 1 inch, round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them one inch apart on your baking sheet. (I used the lid to a spice jar as our cookie cutter!)
4. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes, until just before they start to turn golden around the edges. (You want the cookies to stay that nice white color.)
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling and Powdering

1. Once the cookies are completely cool, make sandwiches out of them with the jam. Take one cookie at a time, spread about ½ tsp of jam on it, and top it with another cookie.
2. Once all the cookies are sandwiched, place your powdered vanilla sugar in a medium bowl or gallon bag. Roll each sandwich in the powdered vanilla sugar until nicely coated.
3. Store the cookies in an airtight container on the counter. The cookies will be good now, but traditionally they are stored for one to two days before eating. Something magical happens in these two days, so do wait, if you can!