Czechoslovakian Cookies (Layered Cookie Bars with Nuts and Jam)

Step 1

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325℉. Prep and gather all ingredients. Chop the nuts by pulsing them in a food processor if you have not purchased them pre-chopped. The nuts need to be chopped finely, but not so fine that they are powder. They should be in small pieces. I often purchase finely chopped nuts if I am short on time.

Step 2

Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9”x13” pan thoroughly with butter and flour. (See Notes below). Or, line the pan completely with parchment paper.

Step 3

Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream them together using a paddle attachment until they are light and fluffy.

Step 4

Add the egg yolks and blend well. Then, add flour a little at a time, then the nuts, and continue to blend until well combined.

Step 5

Spread half of this batter evenly on the bottom of the greased and floured pan using a rubber spatula.

Step 6

Then combine the apricot and pineapple preserves and spread this mixture over half of the cookie batter in the pan, leaving about ¼” space from the edge of the dough/pan. Do the same on the other half of the dough, using either cherry or berry preserves.

Step 7

Next, carefully cover the preserves with the remaining dough, using your fingers to spread it out as evenly as possible. Alternatively, you can break up the dough into small little balls, press them in your palms, then place them individually over the preserves. The balls do not need to be shaped or anything fancy–just pinched off little chunks of dough dropped evenly all over the preserves. This gives the cookies a really nice homey look. It is ok if some of the preserves are not covered completely. (See photo in Step-By-Step section above.)

Step 8

Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour or until the topping is a light golden brown and the preserves are bubbling through the cookie topping.

Step 9

Remove finished cookies from the oven and let them cool completely in the pan before cutting them into small squares. I like to refrigerate them briefly before cutting them so that they will set completely and harden a bit, making it easier and less messy to portion. Before cutting, run a knife or small metal spatula around the edge of the pan. This will be helpful when cutting the bars and removing them from the pan. Alternatively, you can try flipping the whole pan onto a cutting board and then cutting them from there, but I admit that this method is not foolproof and may take some practice.

Step 10

Dust cookies lightly with powdered sugar, if desired.