In Czech households, Christmas baking begins long before December 24.

Kitchens turn into production lines, recipes are pulled from handwritten notebooks, and cookies are baked days—or even weeks—in advance.

Among the dozens of traditional sweets prepared each year, two appear almost without exception: linecké cukroví (Linzer cookies) and vanilkové rohlíčky (vanilla crescents).

Both rely on simple ingredients, careful handling, and time. And both tell a story of Central European tradition that has changed very little over generations.

Linecké cukroví (Czech Linzer cookies)

Linecké cukroví are delicate sandwich cookies made from shortbread dough and filled with fruit jam, usually red currant or raspberry. They are traditionally shaped as hearts, flowers, or stars, with a small cut-out in the top layer so the jam shows through.

Czechs bake them several days before Christmas, allowing the cookies to soften and develop their characteristic tender texture.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
• Unsalted butter, cold but slightly softened
• Powdered sugar (for the dough and for dusting)
• Egg yolk
• Freshly grated lemon zest
• Vanilla (paste or extract)
• Seedless red currant jam or raspberry jam

Method

• Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the cold butter cut into small pieces, powdered sugar, egg yolk, lemon zest, and vanilla.
• Using your hands, gently combine the ingredients into a smooth dough. Stop as soon as the dough comes together; overworking it will make the cookies firm instead of delicate.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
• Divide the dough in half, keeping one portion chilled. Let the other rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes, then roll it out on a floured surface to about 3 mm thickness. Cut out shapes, making sure to create equal numbers of tops (with holes) and bottoms.
• Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (350°F) for 6–8 minutes, until lightly coloured.
• Once cooled, dust the tops with powdered sugar. Spread jam on the bottom cookies and gently sandwich them together.

Czech Linzer cookies

Vanilkové rohlíčky (Czech vanilla crescents)

Vanilkové rohlíčky are small crescent-shaped cookies with a fragile, crumbly texture. They are baked without decoration and coated while still warm in vanilla sugar, which gives them their signature aroma.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Unsalted butter, softened
• Powdered sugar
• Ground walnuts (or pecans)
• Egg yolk

For the vanilla sugar:

• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla bean
• Airtight container

Method

• Place a vanilla bean into an airtight container filled with powdered sugar and allow it to infuse.
• Finely grate the walnuts and place them in a bowl. Add the flour, powdered sugar, egg yolk, and butter cut into pieces. Work into a smooth dough.
• Wrap the dough and refrigerate for two hours.
• Divide the dough into four parts. Roll each into a strand about 2.5 cm thick, cut into small equal pieces, and shape each piece into a crescent.
• Place the crescents on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 8 minutes. The cookies should remain pale.
• While still warm, gently roll the crescents in vanilla sugar. Handle carefully—they break easily.

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