Jan Hagel Cookies Recipe

A buttery, not too sweet, Dutch treat to enjoy around the holidays.

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by AdobeStock/lina

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbl. water for an egg wash (helps the topping to stay on)

Topping

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions

  • In mixing bowl (I suggest a stand mixer), cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add egg.
  • Gradually add flour and salt. Mix thoroughly.
  • Spread batter in lightly greased jelly-roll pan (a 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch pan). This is a little difficult. You might try rolling the dough out like a pie crust, or try patting in place. It’s a bit tedious, but if you keep your fingers wet, it eventually goes in.
  • Brush dough with the egg wash.
  • In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and nuts; sprinkle on glaze.
  • Bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 15 to 20 minutes, but should be a nice golden brown.
  • While warm, cut into 3-by-1-inch strips.
  • Cool on a rack.
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Jan Hagel cookies are buttery, not too sweet Dutch treat with a yummy cinnamon sugar and walnut topping.

Everyone needs a delicious treat at Christmas, and I have just that treat. Jan Hagel is a Dutch cookie, made usually for St. Nicholas Eve and Day (December 5th and 6th), but anytime during the Christmas season will work. This is a very buttery cookie (1/2-pound of butter), but what sets it apart from something like shortbread is the topping.

The topping is a cinnamon-sugar mix, with walnuts. Divine. I’ve already made two batches, and they’re gone. The recipe comes from an old holiday cookbook of mine, The Holiday Dessert Cookbook, by Kathy Cutler.


Cutler, Kathy. The Holiday Dessert Cookbook. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1986.

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