This Dutch shortbread cookie is the perfect addition to any cookie exchange you may be participating in. Or you may even want to just whip up a batch to settle down with while watching holiday movies. I was introduced to the Jan Hagel last year, and I’m pleased to share with you during the start of #HousefulOfCookies 2nd annual blog hop!

Hi there and welcome to the 2nd Annual #HousefulOfCookies blog hop! I’m excited to share the recipes and yummy creations of 26 other bloggers and myself. Just in time for those cookie swaps that I’m sure you’re getting ready for. Instead of trying to the old faithfuls, why not check out these posts and find something new to add to your repertoire. This year, I’m presenting the Jan Hagel, a traditional Dutch shortbread that I came to know of last year during a cookie exchange. My aunt Rebecca brought them for us to exchange, and I’ve been thinking about them ever since. 

They are full of butter, sugar, and magic. I promise. Many renditions of this cookie use almond slivers as the choice nut topping, but my aunt made them with pecans last year. Pecans also hold a special place in my heart because my granny Blackburn had a pecan tree in her backyard and nothing made me happier than getting my own personal box of them shipped to me every year. I’m pretty sure that I’ve told this story before, but when I was in college and pregnant with Nathaniel I asked her to send me a box because I was craving them. She sent me a HUGE box and then told me to share them with my friends. I gave each of them ONE pecan and kept the rest for myself. So ridiculous I was. 

Back to the cookies. These cookies whip up in no time, and only use sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon (a touch), and one egg. That’s it. The secret, I’m told is making them as thin as possible, without losing the shortbread aspect. You also have to cut them while the dough is still warm, so they can harden into succulent, buttery bites that you won’t be able to stop eating. 

I may have had to fight off little hands once these came out of the oven. Especially my helper, Sir Twizzler. He kept walking past the kitchen opening until I told him that he could come in and test one of them out. Nothing beats helping mommy in the kitchen and then getting to eat your hard work. 

So you want to make them? Here’s the recipe, and I promise you, you can have them baked and ready in less than an hour. 

Jan Hagel