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Kerstkransjes are a traditional Dutch Christmas cookie. Kerstkransje means ‘Little Christmas Wreath’ because these cookies resemble Christmas wreaths. Every year when Christmas approaches these cookies pop up in the supermarket. They’re so easy to make yourself though, so why not make a few yourself this year!
How to make Kerstkransjes
This Kerstkransjes recipe is an adaptation of the Kerstkransjes recipe I found on AH.nl(Dutch). I recently made a new batch of vanilla sugar so I used that but you can substitute the vanilla sugar for vanilla extract.
You’ll need flour, castor sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs, lemon zest, butter, almond essence, thinly sliced almonds and cane sugar. Oh, and a pinch of salt which I forgot to take a photo from. And of course cookie cutters.(The full list of ingredients including measurements can be found in the recipe card below.)
Start by adding the flour and a pinch of salt to a bowl.
Add the castor sugar.
And the vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract)
Add in the lemon zest.
Almond essence.
An egg.
And the butter.
Now I like to use the traditional, time tested, knife method. Where you take two butter knives and cut the butter through the other ingredients till you get a crumbly consistency.
It should look a little like this.
Once you have the crumbly consistency, it’s time to ditch the knives and get stuck in with your hands and bring all the ingredients together.
You should be able to form the cookie dough into a ball.
Wrap your cookie dough in some clingfilm and put it in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.
While the dough is chilling it’s time to turn on the oven and preheat to 350ºF / 175 ºC. And prepare a baking tray by lining it with parchment paper.
Take your chilled dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a floured work surface.
Take your cookie cutter. Ideally you use a cookie cutter with a scalloped edge so it resembles a wreath more, but I don’t have one so I used this blossom one instead and I think they look cute 🙂
Use a smaller, round cookie cutter to cut out the middle part of the cookie to create a hole.
Put your cut out cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and brush with egg.
Sprinkle cane sugar on the cookies.
As well as some thinly sliced almonds. That’s it, now it’s time to put them into the oven and bake till they’re a light, golden color.
You’ll end up with a batch of cookies that’ll look like this.
They’re perfect to hang in your Christmas tree as decoration as well. Obviously the cookies will go stale if you leave them in too long but it’s nice to hang them in the tree on the day that you’ll be eating them.
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Kerstkransjes are traditional Dutch Christmas cookies. Kerstkransjes are easy to make. Traditionally these Christmas cookies are hung in the Christmas tree.
Votes: 8 Rate this recipe!
Rating: 4.88
You:
| Type | Cookies |
| Cuisine | Dutch |
| Servings | cookies |
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 gram
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/3 cup castor sugar 75 gram
- 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar 25 gram ( or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- lemon zest of half a lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon almond essence
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 stick butter cold - 150 gram
Topping
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons cane sugar
- 3 tablespoons thinly sliced almonds
Ingredients Cookie Dough
Topping
|
Votes: 8 Rate this recipe! |
Instructions
Cookies
Add all the ingredients for the cookie dough into a bowl (flour, castor sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon zest, almond essence, one egg, butter and a pinch of salt)
Use two butter knives to cut the butter through all the ingredients until it resembles a crumbly texture.
Once crumbly, use your hands to shape the cookie dough into a ball and wrap in clingfilm. Leave in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 ºF / 175 ºC.Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Flour your work surface and roll out the dough, roughly 1.7 inch / 4mm thick.Using a round, preferably scalloped edged cookie cutter, cut out the cookies. Using a smaller, round cookie cutter, cut a hole in the middle of the cookie.Transfer the cut-out cookies onto the baking tray.
Topping
Lightly beat an egg and brush the cookies with some of the egg.Sprinkle cane sugar and thinly sliced almonds on top of the cookies.
Bake the cookies for approximately 15 minutes, until golden.
Recipe Notes
Please note that the cup measurements in this recipe are approximate. I have added cups for those that prefer using cups. The recipe is most accurate using weights measurements.
- You can substitute the vanilla sugar in this recipe for 1 tsp vanilla extract. If you do that you might want to add an extra tablespoon of sugar to the recipe as well, depending on your personal preference.
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6 comments
Laura
26 July 2022
I’d love to give this a go. Simple ingredients and it looks so yummy that I’m not sure I’ll stop eating after just a couple of cookies. I have a nut-tree house, though, so there is my challenge. I don’t know how to get around this. I just use vanilla extract and no nuts on top – would it taste ok, though?
Reply
Rachel (Cakies)
28 July 2022
Yes, it should be fine without the nuts and just vanilla extract.
Reply
Deb Gledhill
4 December 2020
I’m confused by your measurements. 2 cups of flour generally weighs 120 g/1 cup. So should it not be 240 g for 2 cups?
A 1/2 stick of butter, at least in Canada is 4 Tablespoons or 1/4 cup and weighs 56 grams.
Am I missing something?Reply
Rachel (Cakies)
5 December 2020
The measurements aren’t supposed to be used interchangeably. I measure separately for cups and grams and that’s why there can be slight discrepancies.
That said, you are correct about the butter, I’m not sure how this typo got there because it’s supposed to be 1 1/4 stick of butter. I have adjusted it accordingly now. Thanks for pointing it out.Reply
Willempje Maldonado
1 December 2019
Can castle be substituted for regular sugar. I can’t find castor sugar around here.
Reply
Rachel (Cakies)
2 December 2019
Yes, you can substitute it with regular sugar or fine sugar if you have that available.
Reply
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