Classic Viennese Jam Shortbread Cookies
A well-known bake in a new look - give it a try! Bake classic Viennese cookies, but with a small twist for extra beauty: use three jams instead of one. On shortbread dough, you’ll get a true mosaic-like treat!
Updated : 02 March, 2026
Easy
About 45 min.
Ingredients
Dough
500 grams
Wheat flour
220 grams
Butter
150 grams
Sugar
2
Eggs
1 teaspoon
Baking powder
0.5 teaspoon
Salt
Filling
360 grams
Uogienės
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to make Viennese cookies? Measure out the ingredients. Use higher-fat butter. It’s very important that it’s real butter with no added vegetable fats. Use large eggs. Use all-purpose (high-grade wheat) flour.
Step 2
Sift the flour together with the salt and baking powder.
Step 3
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave.
Step 4
While the butter is still hot, add all the sugar and stir thoroughly until the sugar crystals dissolve completely. Let the butter mixture cool to room temperature, otherwise the eggs may curdle when added.
Step 5
Once the sugar-butter mixture has cooled, add the eggs and whisk well until smooth.
Step 6
Add the flour mixture to the beaten eggs and knead a pliable shortcrust dough. Work fairly quickly. If you feel there is excess oil pooling in the dough, add a little more flour.
Step 7
Divide the dough into two unequal parts.
Step 8
Wrap the smaller piece in plastic wrap or a bag and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Step 9
Place the remaining dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roll it out with a rolling pin or press it out by hand, making low edges so the jam won’t run off the dough.
Step 10
Typically, Viennese cookies use one type of jam (most often blackcurrant or cherry). But I decided to bake an unusual, very pretty version and played with color, choosing three jams: cherry, orange, and gooseberry. It’s important that the jam is not too runny. Jam with a thicker, spreadable texture works even better: it spreads easily but won’t flow too much when heated.
Step 11
Spread 3 types of jam over the dough. You can arrange them in a pattern - diagonal or horizontal stripes - or in any order. I spooned small patches of filling. In the end, it formed a bright mosaic-like design.
Step 12
Grate the remaining chilled piece of dough on a medium or coarse grater. Usually the dough is grated directly over the filling, but in my case that would have covered all the beauty, so I grated it into a separate bowl.
Step 13
I scattered the grated dough along the borders between the different jams. This way I kept the colorful filling visible, while still topping the cookies with grated dough as the recipe requires. Of course, you can simply sprinkle the grated dough over the whole surface. Bake for about 40 minutes at 180°C (356°F), adjusting to your oven.
Step 14
Here’s the beauty we got. The green jam faded a bit, and the other colors dulled slightly, but it still looks lovely.
Step 15
Let the cookies cool completely, cut into pieces, and serve. Enjoy!
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