Krakiowanki, also known as Polish Christmas Cookies, are butter and cream cheese slice-and-bake cookies, coated in sprinkles or colored sugar. With their colorful and festive presentation, these simple and delicious cookies make a great addition to any holiday cookie plate or tray.
Sprinkles make most people happy. Not me. I’m just going to come out and say it; they annoy me. There is absolutely no way to use sprinkles and not end up with them everywhere. No matter how careful I am, they never fail to end up over the entire counter and floor. Days later I still find the damn things in places that I know I’ve cleaned several times. I’m not sure where the little suckers hide out, but leave it to Brenna to search them out, and make it her mission to annoy me even more by rolling them around the floor. Stupid cat. A normal cat would eat them, but nope, she prefers to just play with them. So if you visit during the holidays, and you find sprinkles in the bathroom, blame it on Brenna.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 (8-oz) Package Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- Sprinkles or Colored Sugar
Directions:
- Mix the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 30 seconds, or just until combined.
- Add the sugar, and then mix just until incorporated.
- On low speed, slowly add a cup of flour at a time, and mix just until incorporated.
- Divide the dough into thirds. Place each piece of dough onto a large piece of parchment paper, and use the paper to help form the ball into a log. Roll each log in sprinkles or colored sugar to completely coat and then wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Slice each log into 1/4-inch slices. Place the slices on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
Suggestions:
- This is a recipe from my recent baking class at “The Boutique Bakeshop” with Maria O’Rourke. The original Krakiowanki (Polish Christmas Cookies) recipe calls for 6-oz of cream cheese. I despise leftovers, so I chose to use the entire 8-oz package of cream cheese. The dough was a little stickier when working with it, but the end result was almost the same.
- Do not over-mix the dough, or it will become tough.
- The cookie dough must be chilled overnight, or the cookies will lose their shape and melt all over your cookie sheet. They’ll still taste wonderful but will look like little piles of Christmas goo.
- Leave each cookie log in the fridge until you are ready to slice and bake it so that the dough stays nicely chilled.
- This recipe will yield approximately five to six dozen cookies, depending on the size of the log you shape your dough into, and the thickness of your cookie slices.
Improvements:
- Add freshly grated lemon or orange zest to the cookie dough.
- Dip the cookies in melted chocolate in lieu of coating them in sprinkles or colored sugar. No sprinkles in the bathroom using this technique, but a high possibility of chocolate cat prints tracked through the house.
- CLICK HERE to check out all of our past cookie recipes. Don’t forget to check out our Christmas cookies section.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 (8-oz) Package Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- Sprinkles or Colored Sugar
Directions:
- Mix the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 30 seconds, or just until combined.
- Add the sugar, and then mix just until incorporated.
- On low speed, slowly add a cup of flour at a time, and mix just until incorporated.
- Divide the dough into thirds. Place each piece of dough onto a large piece of parchment paper, and use the paper to help form the ball into a log. Roll each log in sprinkles or colored sugar to completely coat and then wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Slice each log into 1/4-inch slices. Place the slices on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, before removing them to a baking rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
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MORE GREAT CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES
Mexican Chocolate Chip Crinkle Cookies
Raspberry-Cranberry Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies
Christmas is a time for family, friends, and delicious holiday cookies. From classic butter cookies to iced gingerbread cookies, this list of ultimate Christmas cookie recipes has something for everyone. Whether you’re looking for festive colors, unique seasonal ingredients, or just a cookie that’s super easy to make, these Christmas cookie recipes will help you find the perfect cookie for the season. CLICK HERE for the recipes.
