Tamara Novacoviç with a recipe for crescents that don’t look like the usual kind of crescent-suspects.
Text And Photo By Tamara Novacoviç
I understand that the word crescent means something different than what you see in these pictures, in the sweet pastry and baking world, right? But for some reason we call these cuties crescents in Croatia (Kresenti in original). They are are made of flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth dough, linked by dark or white chocolate, or also with marmalade. I made mine with dark chocolate and white chocolate, in which I added 2 drops of almond extract. 
The dough is formed into tiny balls, dipped into egg whites, rolled into ground almonds/ walnuts or hazelnuts, baked and them linked with chocolate or jelly. Heaven! This dough is so flavorful due to rum, orange/lemon zest and vanilla bourbon in it. The cookies are best after a day or two, they soften a bit and all the flavors come together. Recipe is adapted from here (the text in Croatian).
Crescents
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: Approximately 30 crescents 1x
Description
These Croatian crescents are made with a flavorful dough infused with rum, citrus zest, and vanilla, then coated in nuts and filled with chocolate. Perfectly soft and aromatic after a day or two.
Ingredients
- 12.3 oz (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 7 oz (200 g) butter
- 5.2 oz (150 g) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean pod
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1/2 orange
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp rum
- 2 egg whites (for dipping)
- Ground almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts (for coating)
- Dark chocolate, melted (for filling)
- White chocolate, melted (for filling)
- 2 drops almond extract (optional, for white chocolate filling)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix butter with sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean until creamy.
- Add the egg, egg yolks, lemon zest, orange zest, and rum. Mix well to combine.
- Gradually add sifted flour and mix until the dough comes together. It will be soft and pliable.
- Form the dough into small balls, about the size of a walnut.
- Dip each ball into lightly beaten egg whites, then roll in ground almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts to coat.
- Place the coated balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Melt the dark and white chocolate separately. Add 2 drops of almond extract to the white chocolate if desired.
- Once the cookies are cool, sandwich them together with a small amount of melted chocolate or marmalade.
- Let the chocolate set before serving. The cookies are best enjoyed after a day or two when the flavors have melded together.
Notes
These cookies are best after a day or two when the flavors meld together. Store them in an airtight container to keep them fresh. You can substitute marmalade for chocolate if desired. Experiment with different nuts for coating to vary the flavor.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Croatian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 crescent
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 10
- Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 20
Hello Linda, glad you’re coming to visit :)
as far as the recipe for the cake, you can try this one (just google translate it):
http://www.coolinarika.com/recept/sedmo-nebo/
I think this is the recipe you’re looking for, hope I’m right :)
Hello Tamara,
I’m very glad I found your website. I will be going to Croatia in June of this year. I have been looking for a Croatian dessert called the Seventh Heaven Cake but can not find it. The crescents wound lovely and I think Iwill try them! If you have heard of the Seventh Heaven Cake please let me know.
Thank you.
Linda
These look delicious! Love the flavors. Crescents in the US usually mean “crescent moon” shaped like a quarter moon that is curved. No matter the shape or name these look tasty.
Thank you. I know that crescents in English speaking world mean something different, different shape. These are call crescents (Kresenti originally) for I don’t know what reason. We also call them Crescent Cookies :)