King Cake-Inspired Easy Bostock

This recipe is an easy way to make biscuits that look just like gnarled witches’ fingers and taste wickedly good.

They are fantastically easy to make. All you need to do is mix together the dough ingredients and decorate them with almonds and jam. But the results are really creep and convincing. Serve them with some thick hot chocolate, or a chocolate sauce to dip them in. If you’re making a spooky spread for Halloween, you should check out our Halloween cookies (opens in new tab) too. Both make perfect party food with a ghoulish twist. Our recipe makes 45 fingers and will take around 20 mins to make and bake, plus chilling time.

Method

Using a food processor, beat the butter and sugar until pale. Add the egg and vanilla, and whisk again. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and mix to form a soft dough. Chill for 30 mins.
Heat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Divide the dough into 45 and roll each piece into a finger shape. Press the back of a knife into the dough to make knuckles. Lightly press an almond onto the dough where the nail would be, then remove it again. This is just to leave a little dent for later. Put on lined baking trays and chill for 30 mins.
Bake for 10-12 mins until pale golden, then remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.
Once cooled, spoon a little jam onto the nail base and top with an almond.

Puff Pastry Jam Tarts are a light and flaky snack that you will absolutely love to no end as it is easy to make and requires little time to put together.

Check also homemade strawberry pop tarts recipe.

The flavor of this dish ultimately depends on the jam you will be choosing to use, which makes the recipe flexible as you can definitely use any flavor of jam to your liking.

The most common jam flavor for this recipe is strawberry, which complements the mild taste of the puff pastry since strawberry has a sweet taste with a touch of acidic flavor. Delicate and rich with flavor, this dish is something you should try in the comfort of your kitchen. A winner both in taste and texture, you have no reason to say no to making this dish!

You may serve these Puff Pastry Jam Tarts in the afternoon as a snack. They are good treats for children and a good pair for tea or coffee for the adults. Because of how easy you can make this dish, it is a good quick breakfast idea. As well when you seem to be running late for school or work but are still needing to eat something delicious and satiating. Since this recipe can easily become the favorite of children, a child party should also serve batches and trays of this dish.

Turn your leftover pie dough into these awesome Pie Crust Cookies that are filled with your favorite jam or jelly. These crispy pinwheels are ridiculously easy to make for a sweet crispy treat.

These tarts are made with leftover pie dough

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First I must admit that these jelly tarts are one of my absolute favorites. Thanks to my mother and all her pies, she would make these treats from the leftover pie crusts, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.

There’s nothing to making these crispy cookies, they are made from scraps of pie dough with jelly, or jam rolled inside. How easy is that? Today though I am making a full double crust pie recipe so I can serve these tarts for dessert.

I almost always make extra pie dough just to have some leftovers for these tarts. I usually use jam, but also I have also spread the dough with chopped apples, orange marmalade, and sometimes just sugar and cinnamon. Use your imagination.

Kolaczki are delicious cookies made with easy 3-ingredient cream cheese pastry and filled with jam. They are crispy on the edges and melt-in-your-mouth in the middle. Absolutely delicious and look beautiful on a cookie platter, too!

Kolaczki cookies are known in the US as Polish Christmas cookies. I must admit that being born and raised in Poland I have never seen or heard of these cookies! They are super popular among Polish Americans so I wanted to give them a try. I´m so glad I did because they are absolutely delicious and well worth a try!

These cookies go by the name kolaczki, kolache, kolacky, or kolachkies. To me as a Polish native speaker, “kołaczki” would be more suitable, “kolaczki” sounds a little bit weird. The name of these cookies sounds a little bit “Czech” to me. I´ve also read you can see these cookies all over Europe, including Austria (where I live), but I haven´t seen them here, either!

Jam-filled cookies are very popular in Poland but they have a different shape and are made from a shortcrust pastry dough or “Spritz” cookie dough.

I think it´s possible that these cookies were very popular many years ago in Poland or Czech Republic and emigrated along with many people to the US where they got (well-deservedly) popular.

For the Crust

1. Cut the butter into ½ inch pieces and place in the freezer until frozen.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the frozen butter pieces and pulse in the processor until the mixture forms small size clumps.

3. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time to the dry mixture and pulse to combine. Only add enough water for the dough to become sticky.

4. Sprinkle flour on your work surface and scoop the dough out of the food processor. Gather the dough into a mound and knead it a few times to smooth it out.

5. Divide the dough in half and gently pat and press each half into a circle about 1 inch thick. Wrap both pieces of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

For the Tart

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water.

4. Lightly flour a clean work surface.

5. Remove one of the dough circles from the refrigerator, unwrap it, place it on the floured work surface and sprinkle flour on top of the dough.

6. Roll out the dough into a rectangle that measures close to 9 x 12 inches. The dough should be about ⅛-inch thick.

7. Using a knife or a pastry wheel, trim off the edges and cut the dough into 3 x 2 inch rectangles, saving the trimmings.

8. Transfer the rectangles to a prepared baking sheet and space them about 1 inch apart.

9. Gently brush half of the rectangles with 1 tablespoon of the mascarpone, starting from the center and stopping within ¼ inch of the edge on all sides. Top the mascarpone with 2 teaspoons of our Florida Orange Juice Marmalade.

10. Using a brush or your finger, dampen the edge of the prepared rectangles using the egg wash.

11. Carefully place a dry pieces of dough on top of the prepared pieces, and press to seal the edges together.

12. Repeat with all tarts, then crimp the edges of each tart with a fork.

13. Using the tines of a fork, puncture the top layer of the pastry a few times to vent.

14. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.

15. Repeat the process with the second half of the dough and use the dough scraps to make a few more pastries. Only re-roll the dough once or it will not bake well. You should have approximately 16 breakfast tarts.

16. Bake the pastries until they are golden brown on the sides and the top, about 20 minutes.

17. Remove from the oven and immediately move the pastries onto a cooling rack. Let the pastries cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

18. The fully cooled baked breakfast tarts can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 3 months.

Helpful Tip: Freeze your breakfast tarts for future use. Simply reheat in a 375° F oven for about 12 minutes when ready to serve.

These rolls made from cottage cheese dough with marmalade were extremely popular in Soviet times, but they are great for modern children, too.

Crunchy on top and soft inside, these homemade rolls are easy and fun to make with the kids.

Memories from childhood are the most magical, and food back then seemed to be tastier than today. In our family we enjoy listening endlessly to my dad talking about desserts from the Soviet era. Rolls made from cottage cheese dough (rogaliki) are one of them.

These rogaliki are biscuits in the form of small croissants sprinkled with sugar. The secret of their popularity is that you can quickly make a delightful dessert with simple and affordable ingredients. The cooking process is quite simple, such that even a child can manage it.

The rolls melt in your mouth as soon as you take them out of the oven. The texture is something between shortbread and puff pastry. If you bake them simply with a sugar filling, they will be crumbly. If you add filling they’ll become a little moist inside.

My dad told me that his aunt used to make them with marmalade. Homemade biscuits can’t compare with them. My mother likes to make them with granulated sugar and cinnamon as a filling.

Ingredients (for 16 rolls)

Cottage cheese (30%) – 200 g
Butter – 200 g
Flour – 300 g
Yolks – 2 pcs
Vanilla sugar – 1 tbsp
Salt – a pinch
Marmalade – 200 g

Sprinkles

Milk – 2 tbsp
Sugar – 3 tbsp

Preparation

1. Rub the cottage cheese into the flour through a sieve and stir.

2. Add diced butter.

3. Then knead it with your fingers.

4. Add the egg yolks.

5. Knead into a crusty dough, cover with cling film and leave in the refrigerator for an hour.

6. Roll out the dough into a circle and cut into segments like a pizza.

7. Cut the marmalade into handy strips.

8. Place the marmalade on the edge of the triangular segment and roll up into a tube at the sharp end.

9. Brush the top of the rolls and dip in sugar.

10. Bake in an oven preheated to 190°C for about 30 minutes.

11. Serve hot or cool. And don’t forget to experiment with the fillings.

How to make Vologda cranberry pie with meringue (RECIPE)

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The cookies are traditionally cut into squares with two sides folded over the filling, but they can also be cut using a round cookie cutter and the jam simply spooned on top. The dough is made with just butter, cream cheese, and flour, and the jam and a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar are the only sweeteners, making for a delicious and delicate cookie that is also perfect for holidays and special occasions.

“Kolache Cookies remind me of jam thumbprints. They’re buttery and flaky with a nice burst of fruit from the jam. Not to mention they’re absolutely beautiful on a cookie platter.” —Joan Velush

(4-ounces) softened
softened
1/4 to 1/3 , chilled

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(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Gather the ingredients.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese; beat until fluffy.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Add the flour to the mixture and blend well.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Heat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Spoon 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon jam onto the center of each cookie.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Rotate each square of dough so it is a diamond shape; fold 2 opposite corners together, meeting in the middle, slightly overlapping the edges. Press the corners together firmly with one finger on top and one beneath so they adhere. If necessary, dab the dough with a little water to get the corners to stick. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
Remove the pan to wire racks to cool. Lightly sift confectioners’ sugar over the cooled cookies.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Tips

Do not skip refrigerating the dough; if the dough is warm, it will stick to the surface while rolling and won’t hold its shape in the oven.
To prevent the cookies from opening up while they bake, you can pinch the corners together and fold over the pointed edge, adhering it to the cookie. It may not look as pretty but will be better looking than if the cookie unfolds in the oven.
If using a round cookie cutter, simply spoon the jam onto the center of the cookie and spread out a little, leaving a border of the cookie exposed.

How to Store

Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Make Ahead

The dough can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of time, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerated. When you roll out the dough, let it stand at room temperature just until pliable. A good test is to start to roll out the dough–if it is brittle or tends to crack, cover it and let it stand at room temperature a little longer.

What flavor jam can I use?

Almost any type of jam works as the filling for Kolache cookies. Apricot and strawberry are traditional, but feel free to try blueberry, cherry, raspberry, mulberry, or lingonberry. A poppyseed filling is also common, as is a cream cheese filling.

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This Bostock toast is a delightful marriage of toast and almond croissant. Toast turns pastry. We’re topping these toasts with orange marmalade and sliced almonds inspired by my favorite almond-filled french King Cake.

This recipe is inspired by Jake Cohen and all of his beautiful challah.

Here are the ingredients needed for this King Cake-inspired Bostock pastry

• brioche bread, challah sliced, or a thick sliced buttery sandwich bread – any leftover bread is great for this French pastry

• almond flour

• granulated sugar

• unsalted butter

• a large egg

• almond extract and vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

• orange zest and orange flower water (if you have some on hand)

• sea salt

• sliced almonds

• powdered sugar

• orange marmalade

• gold flakes or sprinkles to be extra festive

First, slice brioche. We’ll start by making a quick simple syrup to brush each slice of bread. Because we’re adding moisture and topping the bread with loads of flavor, this is a perfect recipe to make with a stale loaf of bread.

Simply dissolve granulated sugar into water in a small saucepan. BOOM. Syrup. BUT, this easy bread wash is also an easy place to add flavor. I add a splash of rum and a few dashes of orange flower water. Gorgeous. Brush syrup on both sides of the bread and set aside on a baking sheet.

Next we’ll make the topping for the toast. Whisk together almond flour, sugar, melted butter, and egg. Luxury, right? Finish with orange zest, almond extract, vanilla bean paste, and a sprinkle of sea salt to the bostock batter.

Now, let’s assemble. Traditional bostock recipes don’t call for jam or marmalade but since there are Mardi Gras inspired – MORE IS MORE. I chose orange marmalade because of all the lovely citrus grown in Louisiana but truly, whatever jam you have in the fridge is perfect.

Spread each slice of bread lightly with jam and then spread generously with the almond batter. I like to top each soon-to-be toast with an extra smear of jam. Option but, why not live?

You can leave the marmalade off the toast all together – it’s delicious topped with fresh berries in lieu of jam. Make the toast you like!

Make the Sprinkle each toast with sliced almonds and bake in the oven until the toasts are golden brown around the edges and smell divine. The baking time is the perfect moment to make a pot of coffee and gather powdered sugar and sprinkles.

These toasts are the perfect blend of French toast and bakery almond croissant, all from our very own ovens in just a few minutes. Is it a perfect weekend brunch food? Absolutely yes.

Happy Mardi Gras, friends! Let me know how you love this recipe with rating and commenting below. xo

Description

Mardi Gras-inspired French Bostock pastry topped with orange marmalade and toasty almonds.

For the Syrup:

water
granulated sugar
rum, optional
A few drops of orange flower water

For the Topping and Toast:

almond flour
granulated sugar
unsalted butter, melted
almond extract
vanilla bean paste
grated orange zest
large egg
A pinch of sea salt
thick slices of brioche, slightly stale is best
Orange marmalade or any jam you love
Powdered sugar
Gold sprinkles or flakes if you have them

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl pan heat water and sugar. I know it’s such a tiny amount but swirl it around the pan until the sugar dissolves. It should just take a few minutes. Add the rum and orange flower water. You can skip the rum if you’d like – no biggie. Set the syrup aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour and sugar. Pour in the melted butter, almond extract, vanilla paste, orange zest, egg, and salt. Whisk the mixture together into a spreadable paste.
Let’s assemble the toast. Use a brush to lightly brush both sides of bread with the sweet syrup. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Spread each slice with orange marmalade (or any jam) to the edges. Spoon a generous 2 tablespoons of almond mixture onto the toast and spread until just nearing the edge of the bread. Add a swoop of orange marmalade to the top of the almond mixture. Sprinkle each toast with a few tablespoons of sliced almonds as you see fit.

Keywords: almond, frangipane, king cake, mardi gras, brioche, toast,

Recipe FAQs

Is this recipe dairy-free?

Many puff pastry sheets are made without dairy products or eggs in them to allow for a longer shelf-life. However, there are still a lot of puff pastry brands that contain dairy. If you are planning to make this recipe dairy-free, make sure to use the brand of puff pastry sheets without dairy in it.

Can I make my homemade puff pastry sheets for this recipe?

Yes. However, making your own puff pastry sheets for this recipe is time-consuming, which kind of erases the “quick and easy recipe” description. Homemade puff pastry sheets are also more expensive than just buying ready-to-use ones.

Top Tips!

Don’t fill the puff pastry tarts with too much jam. It will cause too much mess inside the oven when you bake it, requiring you more time to clean your kitchen.
Brush melted butter around your puff pastry sheets. By doing this, you will be giving each Puff Pastry Jam Tart a shiny and almost golden appearance.
Let the dish cool down before serving them. The dish will be too delicate to serve if it is fresh from the oven, hence you need to give it at least 5 minutes to cool down.

How to Make Puff Pastry Jam Tarts?

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Cut the puff pastry sheet into even squares, then score a small square in the middle and add a teaspoon of jam in the small square.
Place the jam tarts onto a baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then sprinkle the powdered sugar on top.

Why Does This Recipe Work

One would think that this recipe is too simple and plain to be made and tried at home, but there is always something intriguing with simplicity. Are you not curious about what makes this recipe popular and must-try? Here are some of the things that made this dish something that you can never pass up the chance to make at home:

Light and delicious snack idea that your whole family and friends can thoroughly enjoy. Whether, for an afternoon or midnight snack, this dish is an excellent choice!
Quick and easy comfort food that you can make any time of the day, and in any season of the year!
This dish is made with 3 ingredients that are available in your cupboards or the nearest market. They are all budget-friendly as well, thus you don’t have to hesitate to double this recipe to make more servings.
A freezer-friendly recipe that you can store for months without spoilage! You can make a large number of this dish, and easily store them in the freezer for whenever you would like to serve them.
This puff pastry can be considered finger food for any gathering. Anyone can easily pluck a piece from the table, and see how quickly the plate empties of this dish.

What’s in This Recipe?

Puff Pastry. It will be used as the base for the recipe; it will be the ones responsible for holding the jam in place. Puff pastry is light and flaky and has a delicateness and buttery taste that easily complements the flavor of any jam you will use.

Jam. The jam used in this recipe is strawberry, but feel free to use any jam to your liking. The flavor of the jam is the main taste of this recipe, and they are important to really give context to the dish, otherwise, the whole recipe will just be flaky and buttery with no other taste.

Powdered Sugar. Sweeten your Puff Pastry Jam Tarts by sprinkling powdered sugar on top once baking is done.

Kolaczki Recipe (delicious jam cookies) – VIDEO

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For the cookie dough

at room temperature
(115g) full-fat cream cheese at room temperature
+ 2 tablespoons (145g) flour spooned and leveled, not scooped

For the jam filling

any kind of jam my favorite is apricot and strawberry or
solo pastry filling / thick marmalade of your choice

Additionally

equal parts of: flour + caster/superfine (or granulated) sugar + powdered sugar for rolling out the dough (you need all 3)
powdered sugar – to sprinkle on baked cookies

Or walnut filling (optional, makes extra)

(100g) ground walnuts, or hazelnuts/almonds
(50g) light brown sugar

Make the cookie dough

In a medium bowl, mix the soft butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and salt using a mixer or a spatula until just combined (not longer).
Add flour and mix until combined. If using a spatula, combine the ingredients until roughly combined then transfer to a rolling mat and knead until combined. The dough will be sticky, the ingredients should be well-combined but the dough doesn´t have to be completely smooth.
Wrap the dough in plastic foil. Flatten into a 1-inch (2.5 cm) square and place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.

Prepare the filling

If you´re using solo brand filling or any other very thick type of filling, you don´t have to do anything.
If using regular jam: add it to a pot, and cook for a couple of minutes (2-4 minutes), stirring almost constantly, until it´s thickened. Transfer to a plate and let set and chill completely – it will look almost like a jelly and can be cut with a knife. If you don´t do this, regular jam will just spill all over the baking sheet.
Walnut filling: in a small pot, warm up the milk and butter until hot and melted, add vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, stir to combine. Add to a medium bowl along with sugar and ground nuts, stir to combine.

Shape the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
On a medium plate, combine equal amounts of flour, superfine/caster sugar (or granulated sugar), and powdered sugar (yes, there should be all these 3 ingredients) – you can just eyeball the amounts. You will use this for sprinkling the dough while rolling it out (don´t use just flour!).
Divide the dough into two parts, leave one part in the fridge.
Cut the dough into 2-inch (5cm) squares using a knife/ravioli cutter wheel/pizza knife.
Fold over the opposite corners of each square and seal well: dip your finger in water and wet one corner of the pastry square. Place the oposite corner of the square on top, moisten it with water and press well to combine both parts of the dough (this is important, otherwise, the cookies will open up in the oven). All of this is shown on the photos in the body of the post or on the video (scroll up to see it).
Place each cookie on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies need to be just a little bit spaced apart – they won´t rise much in the oven.
Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake

Transfer the cookies with parchment paper to a cooling rack.
When cooled, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

How to measure flour: Fluff the flour by stirring it in the bag/flour container with a spoon. Spoon the flour and sprinkle it into your measuring cup. Sweep off the excess flour with the back of a knife. Use a digital scale for best and consistent results.
Kolaczki cookies store really well and they still taste amazing even after a couple of days. Store them in a tightly closed container. You can store the cookies dusted with powdered sugar.
My cookies were really small that´s why I got so many. If your cookies are bigger you will get less cookies in total.
Calories = 1 cookie (1/47 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!

American, Czech, Eastern-European, Polish American

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Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!

Here´s what you need to make kolaczki cookie dough:

Just basic 3 ingredients are needed for the dough: cream cheese, flour, and butter.
Additionally: vanilla extract for some flavor (you could also add a small amount of almond extract) and salt (always add a small amount of salt to any dessert).
There is no sugar in the dough but we will be rolling it out sprinkled with sugar so the dough will be a little bit sweet. Jam filling is also pretty sweet and we will also sprinkle baked cookies generously with powdered sugar.
For rolling out the dough you will need flour, powdered sugar, and superfine (caster) sugar in equal amounts (you can just eyeball it). The dough is pretty sticky so you need to be generous with sprinkling with this mixture. Don´t use just flour! Sugar sweetens and flavors the dough and also helps the cookies get some color. You could use just sugar but I think they´re easier to roll out when there is some flour in the mixture.

Filling for kolaczki cookies:

You can make jam filling or nut filling for kolaczki.

For the jam filling you can use:

any kind of jam – really, it doesn´t need to be thick! all you need to do is cook the jam for 2-3 minutes until thickened and it won´t spill out of the cookies! you can check the video to see how thick the jam must be in order to be suitable for this recipe
don´t use thin jam without cooking it first! it will spill out of the cookies and they will be soggy
you can use store-bough thick pastry filling (such as Solo brand) or a really thick marmalade

For the nut filling you will need:

ground nuts of your choice (I used walnuts)
brown sugar (has more flavor but regular white will also work)
hot milk and butter
some flavorings: cinnamon, vanilla, salt

Different kolaczki recipes:

I find smaller cookies more tasty than larger (they are more crispy and the dough doesn´t get soggy).
Roll out the dough very thinly. Thick dough doesn´t taste that good, takes longer to cook, and gets soggy.
Use a really thick marmalade/pastry filling or cook regular jam until thickened (otherwise the filling will spill out and the dough will be soggy).
How to keep kolaczki sealed: Seal the cookies well using water to make sure they won´t open up in the oven (it´s shown on the video!). Thicker dough is also more likely to open up.
Chill the dough really well and work with only 1/2 of the dough at a time.
If the dough is sticky, you can sprinkle it generously with sugar-flour mixture while rolling it out.
Don´t use a filling that is too thin – it will spill out of the cookies and make the pastry soggy.

How To Make Pie Crust Cookies

Step 1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Step 2. On a lightly floured surface roll the pie dough into a round. The size will depend on how much dough you have.

If you are using pie dough scrapes bring them all together in a ball and roll that out.

Step 3. Spoon small dollops of the jam or jelly on top of the rolled out dough and spread the filling close to the edges, but leave the edges plain.

Tip ~ You do not need a lot of jam. When you roll the dough that will spread the jam even more.

Jam tarts recipe

Step 3. Tightly roll the dough into a log like you would for cinnamon rolls.

Rolled pie crust tarts

Step 4. Place the dough seam side down on a cutting board, then cut ½” thick slices and place the slices on the prepared baking sheets. You can sprinkle the tops with sugar.

Ready to bake tarts

Step 5. Bake the pie dough tarts for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown.

Step 6. Cool the tarts on the baking sheet, then store them in an airtight container for several days.

More recipes to make and bake

Pie dough – You have options

You can use leftover pie dough
Make pie dough just for these tarts
Buy a store bought pie crust

Jam or jelly – just use your favorite

When making pies you usually have scrapes of dough from cutting the excess from the sides of a pie, this dough is perfect for making these cookies.

Or, if you only need dough for a single-crust pie, make a double-crust pie dough recipe and use the extra dough for the cookies.

You can definitely buy a store-bought pie crust and roll that out to make these pinwheels, and I have done that, but honestly, a buttery homemade pie dough tastes so much better.

If you need a pie crust recipe this is my recipe for a Buttery Flakey Pie Crust, it is easy to make and is delicious. Or use the enriched pie dough recipe in the recipe card.

More Polish desserts for you to try

Top tips for making witches’ fingers

Add a few drops of green food colouring gel to the dough to make these look even more witchy. You can dip the bottom of the fingers into jam as well if you like, to make them look like they’ve been severed.

How can I make a nut-free version of this recipe?

For guests with nut allergies, we recommend making the green version of these witches’ fingers (see tip, above) and swapping the almonds for half a bright red glacé cherry. It will look like a painted fingernail. Snip the ends into a point to make them look more like sharp nails.

What are the best things to serve at a grown-up Halloween party?

For a party that is not a sit down dinner, we recommend plenty of picky things that people can eat with one hand while they hold a drink with the other. Go all out with the spook-factor and don’t be afraid to serve things like this – they’re not just for kids, because at Halloween anything goes. They’re also great to have on hand for any passing trick or treaters.

Halloween food ideas (opens in new tab)
Halloween cupcakes (opens in new tab)
Halloween recipes (opens in new tab)

Jessica Dady is Senior Content Editor at Goodto.com and has over 10 years of experience as a digital journalist, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the best food hampers to cookbooks, from the best cake stands to baking sets, Jessica has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to must-have food products. A passionate baker, she spends much of her time creating celebration cakes for friends and family – particularly for her two lucky children.

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Puff Pastry Jam Tarts are light and flaky snacks that you will absolutely love. This dish is so easy and made with only 3 ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Cut the puff pastry sheet into even squares, then score a small square in the middle and add a teaspoon of jam in the small square.
Place the jam tarts onto a baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the powdered sugar on top.

Don’t fill the puff pastry tarts with too much jam. It will cause too much mess inside the oven when you bake it, requiring you more time to clean your kitchen.
Brush melted butter around your puff pastry sheets. By doing this, you will be giving each Puff Pastry Jam Tart a shiny and almost golden appearance.
Let the dish cool down before serving them. The dish will be too delicate to serve if it is fresh from the oven. Hence you need to give it at least 5 minutes to cool down.

Use blueberry jam for the recipe instead of the classic strawberry jam, and then top it with chopped blueberries rather than the typical powdered sugar.
If powdered sugar is not available in your cupboard, you can substitute it with granulated sugar. Granulated sugar will also do the trick of sweetening the dish.

: You can freeze this dish for up to a month so long as it is wrapped in foil and kept in an airtight container.

Serving Suggestions

For an afternoon tea, these Puff Pastry Jam Tarts can easily be served with your favorite tea, such as green tea, black tea, oolong tea, and such.

Scones and apple tarts are among the favorite pairs for this dish as well. For an intricate breakfast, your classic egg sandwich will make a great combo with these jam tarts as well! Kids will definitely love a fresh orange juice and jam tarts combo, too. However, for a quick bite before going out, you can just eat a serving of this dish and then wash it with iced water.

These jam tarts are an excellent pair for a lot of dishes, but they are also a good standalone dish you can grab for a quick bite.

Pie Crust Tarts with Blackberry Jam

These golden flaky tarts have humble beginnings by using the leftover pie dough. Just reroll the scrapes and spread with jam, roll up the dough, cut and bake. So simple. Sometimes you need a full batch of tarts so I am including my favorite pie dough recipe so you can have plenty.

Flaky Pie Crust

cold and diced
solid vegetable shortening
or flavor of your choice

Making the pie dough

In a large bowl mix the flour and salt together.
Cut in the cold diced butter and the cold vegetable shortening into the flour using a pastry cutter or two knives. The butter and shortening should be the size of peas.
Mix in the egg, water, and vinegar with a fork until the dough comes together. At this stage, you may need to add additional water in small amounts to bring the dough together.
Turn the dough onto a floured board and bring together in a ball. Cut the ball in half. At this point, you can wrap and chill the dough or continue on to assembling the tarts.

Assembling the Jelly Roll Tarts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Spread your favorite jam or other fillings of your choice over the dough. I suggest you spread this fairly thin to be able to roll the dough without the filling coming out.
Roll up the dough starting on the long side. Turn the seam to the bottom. Next gently cut into ½” slices and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Cool the tarts on the baking sheet.
Keep these tarts in a sealed container for several days.

If using scraps of pie dough the number of tarts will vary according to how much pie dough you have.

Just gather all the scrapes of dough and shape into a ball, flatten and then roll the dough as shown above. I

The nutrition is based on a full pie dough recipe.

Let us know how it was!

Don’t forget to pin this to your Pinterest boards for later.

Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my about page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!

About Jere’

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.

How to make kolaczki cookies step by step

Make the cookie dough:

STEP 1: In a medium bowl, mix the soft butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and salt using a mixer or a spatula until just combined (not longer).

STEP 2+3: Add flour and mix until combined.

If using a spatula, combine the ingredients until roughly combined then transfer to a rolling mat and knead until combined. The dough will be sticky, the ingredients should be well-combined but the dough doesn´t have to be completely smooth.

STEP 4: Wrap the dough in plastic foil. Flatten into a 1-inch (2.5 cm) square and place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.

Prepare the filling:

STEP 5+6: If you´re using solo brand filling or any other very thick type of filling, you don´t have to do anything.

If using regular jam: add it to a pot, and cook for a couple of minutes (2-4 minutes), stirring almost constantly, until it´s thickened.

Transfer to a plate and let set and chill completely – it will look almost like a jelly and can be cut with a knife. If you don´t do this, regular jam will just spill all over the baking sheet.

STEP 7: Walnut filling: in a small pot, warm up the milk and butter until hot and melted, add vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, stir to combine. Add to a medium bowl along with sugar and ground nuts, stir to combine.

Shape the cookies:

STEP 8: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

On a medium plate, combine equal amounts of flour, superfine/caster sugar (or granulated sugar), and powdered sugar (yes, there should be all these 3 ingredients) – you can just eyeball the amounts. You will use this for sprinkling the dough while rolling it out (don´t use just flour!).

Divide the dough into two parts, leave one part in the fridge.

Sprinkle some of the flour-sugar mixture on a silicone rolling mat (best for rolling out cookie dough or anything, really). Place one part of the dough on a rolling mat and roll out very thinly (about 1/8 inch or 3-4mm), sprinkling the dough with the flour-sugar mixture if it´s sticking to the rolling mat.

Cut the dough into 2-inch (5cm) squares using a knife/ravioli cutter wheel/pizza knife.

Place some of the filling (about 1 teaspoon) in the middle of each pastry square (don´t add too much filling).

STEP 9+10: Fold over the opposite corners of each square and seal well: dip your finger in water and wet one corner of the pastry square. Place the oposite corner of the square on top, moisten it with water and press well to combine both parts of the dough (this is important, otherwise, the cookies will open up in the oven).

All of this is shown on the video that is located above the recipe card! (scroll down to see it).

STEP 11: Place each cookie on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies need to be just a little bit spaced apart – they won´t rise much in the oven.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

STEP 12: Bake

Bake for about 14-16 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden. Every oven bakes differently so make sure to keep an eye on your cookies.

Transfer the cookies with parchment paper to a cooling rack.

When cooled, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

Some Variations

100g butter
100g caster sugar
1 medium egg
1tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
45 blanched almonds, halved
5 tbsp strawberry jam

Storage

Kolaczki cookies store really well and they still taste amazing even after a couple of days. Store them in a tightly closed container. You can store the cookies dusted with powdered sugar.

To store: Refrigerate this dish in an airtight container for three days; longer than that, and you already have to transfer it to the freezer for longer shelf life.

Freeze: You can freeze this dish for up to a month so long as it is wrapped in foil and kept in an airtight container.