December the 28th, 2021 - The very popular Lika Skripavac cheese is set to expand not only its offer but also it's sales network following special recognition given to it by the European Union (EU) in the form of a much-sought-after label.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, the much loved Lika Skripavac cheese has been awarded the European Union's label of protected geographical indication, the European Commission (EC) published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Tuesday.

As stated, the method of production of this special Croatian cheese, which became the 32nd Croatian product to boast EU protection, has been passed down from generation to generation and preserved to this day, and its crunchy properties, after which it got its name, occurs due to high fat and protein in the milk resulting from a specific diet the cows eat.

From the heart of Lika all the way down to Dubrovnik...

Native Lika products, including the Lika Skripavac cheese, are the basis of Vedrine's cheese business, which offers quite the variety of produce from Croatia's green heart.

This small family cheese factory is run by two married couples in the village of Brezik below Vaganski vrh on Velebit, and their plant processes about 180,000 kilograms of milk annually, and has more than 20 products in its range.

They recently opened a store in the town of Samobor, and at the beginning of next year they will open their seventh point of sale, in the Crnomerec district of Zagreb. In Samobor, consumers were introduced to some of the novelties Vedrine has on offer - small fruit yogurts, boiled cheese with garlic and butter in four variants, natural and salty, and butters with garlic and chives, which are set to reach the market in the spring.

In addition to their points of sale at markets in Zagreb and Zadar, this cheese factory also cooperates with specialised stores in Zagreb, Sibenik, Split and Dubrovnik.

"Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, we sold our products at the Samobor market, Samobor is an interesting market and people here really like domestic production. We haven’t hired anyone new, I do all of the work, but with the new location we’re opening we’ve hired one person. We have established cooperation with the Better Tomorrow Association of Persons with Disabilities by selling their pasta, as well, and we're looking for more small producers to work with,'' said Ana Todoric from Vedrine.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

Railway connectivity between the capital and the biggest Croatian port has been more than inadequate lately, with no express lines available and a single direct line in operation

Rijeka city councillors Ivana Prica and Kristian Čarapić of SDP criticised the poor railway connectivity between Rijeka and Zagreb at a recent press conference, reported Novi list (Marinko Glavan). The councillors demanded that the Croatian Railways (HŽ) reinstate the high-speed train line between Rijeka and Zagreb that was scrapped last year.

‘The last remaining express service operating on the route Rijeka-Zagreb-Osijek was cancelled on December 24th of last year, while the express line Zagreb-Rijeka-Zagreb has been scrapped even earlier. It thus became impossible to travel by rail from Rijeka to Zagreb and back on the same day. It’s shameful that the capital city and the biggest port in Croatia aren't better connected in terms of railway passenger transport’, they said.

A quick search of the HŽ booking page reflects the painful reality of travelling by rail in Croatia. Not only is there no express service between Rijeka and Zagreb, but there’s only one direct line connecting the two cities at present. That particular trip takes 4.5 hours, a tedious ride compared to 2 - 2.5 hours it takes to get to the capital by bus or little over 1.5 hours if you’re travelling by car.

Other four available services involve a change of train halfway through and take anywhere from 5.5 hours for an early morning service to almost 11 hours in case of a night line:

Trip duration listed on the timetable is the best case scenario. The site warns that ‘due to work on certain sections of the railway, deviations from the published timetable are possible’. This is a frequent occurrence that’s more than likely to extend the duration of your trip by an hour or two and involves a transfer from a train to a bus.

The timetable could use some work as well. The only direct line departs from Rijeka at 1:58 PM and arrives in Zagreb at 6:29 PM. It’s unclear who would find this convenient, as you’d technically waste half a day before departure and would effectively be forced to stay in Zagreb overnight in case you need to get anything done.

There are two morning lines, departing at 5:30 and 7:35 AM, but they only arrive in the capital at 11 AM and 12:42 PM respectively. If you opted for one of these, you’d have no way of getting back to Rijeka on the same day, unless you were willing to either hop on a return train an hour after your arrival, or endure a 13-hour overnight train ride. Here’s the schedule:

The only direct line from Zagreb to Rijeka departs at 8 in the morning and also has a 4.5 hour trip duration. The timetable doesn’t match a normal workday schedule, and frequent travellers on this route - such as college students - essentially don’t have a choice but to travel by bus.

It’s a shame, as travelling by rail is not only more comfortable than taking a bus, but is also the most sustainable mode of passenger and freight transport.

Bus lines between Zagreb and Rijeka (and vice versa) are much more frequent, with several companies operating on the route and departing every hour or so throughout the day.

There’s not much to complain about on that front, except if you were looking to make a day trip to Zagreb during the holiday season. The last Zagreb-Rijeka bus departs at 7 PM on most days (weekends included), so if you were hoping to revel in the festive spirit of Advent in Zagreb, you’d be limited to daytime activities.

Arguably, Christmas markets are best enjoyed in the evening, and you’d have an hour or so to get a cup of mulled wine and appreciate the sparkling lights before hurrying back to the bus station. This goes for those travelling back to Istria as well, as the mentioned 7 PM service is also the last one that continues on to Pazin and Pula after a stop in Rijeka.

Perhaps a good way for the capital to generate more overnight stays in December, but considering how popular Advent in Zagreb has been in recent years, it could use a few more bus lines in evening hours to accommodate those who don’t necessarily want to spend the weekend.

ZAGREB, 23 Dec 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday that coronavirus was spreading somewhat faster in Dalmatia and urged citizens to remain cautious during the festive season in order to prevent the spread of the virus at family gatherings.

Broken down by regions we can see that the virus is spreading somewhat faster in Dalmatia. After weeks of registering fewer and fewer new infection numbers, today we have a higher number than last week, said Plenković, opening a cabinet meeting.

This Thursday, the COVID-19 crisis management team reported 3,831 new cases in the last 24 hours, as against 3,765 new cases which were registered last Thursday.

The premier recalled the importance of vaccination and personal protection and of avoidance of large gatherings as well as the implementation of  COVID certificates.

"All these measures need to be used combined and then we will have better protection, particularly, during the festive season," he said.

He underscored that the government and national COVID response team were monitoring the situation, considering the new Omicron variant. Some countries are ramping up restrictions where Omicron infections are doubling each day, he said.

Third dose is necessary

The rapid spread of the latest variant is certainly worrisome. "It is obvious that the current vaccines can protect against Omicron and it is necessary to get the third dose," he said and called on citizens to get the booster dose.

Plenković recalled that he had met with country, city and municipal heads this week and discussed education, traffic, demography and employment.

"That system of dialogue is excellent. It has come across great support with county prefects and other stakeholders...I think we can be proud because that framework has improved the balance in regional development in Croatia and county prefects are included in all essential issues," he added.

Also today, the government adopted a few decision important for quake victims in Sisak-Moslavina County.

He in particular underscored a decision on a grant for the cost of food amounting to HRK 2.76 million for the entire county and an additional HRK 1.6 million for the City of Sisak, adding that to date HRK 33 million had been paid to cover the cost of food for meals in that county.

He announced that he would visit Petrinja next week to mark the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck that area on 29 December 2020.

ZAGREB, 23 Dec 2021 - The president of the Bridge party, Božo Petrov, said on Thursday that the party had collected a sufficient number of signatures for their referendum petition against COVID certificates.

When this Opposition party started collecting signatures, the Justice and Public Administration Ministry established that the minimum required number should be 368,446 valid signatures, that is 10% of voters in electoral rolls.

Petrov told a news conference that the party would deliver boxes with the signatures to the national parliament on 24 January.

We will deliver the valid and authentic signatures on 24 January, said Bridge's MP Marin Miletić.

MP Marija Selak Raspudić said that she expected the referendum to be called.

This opposition party started collecting signatures on 4  December at over 1,200 venues across Croatia, and the two-week deadline for the initiative expired at midnight on 18 December.

In the event that the referendum petition was supported by the required number of signatures, the questions proposed for the referendum could be assessed by the Constitutional Court.

The Bridge party collected signatures for their two referendum petitions: one of them being for the transfer of the powers of the national COVID-19 crisis management team to the parliament, where all the pertaining decisions on the COVID crisis management should be approved by two thirds, and the other one on the abolishment of COVID certificates.

ZAGREB, 23 Dec 2021 - In the last 24 hours, of 11,232 coronavirus tests conducted in Croatia, 34% (3,831) have turned out to be positive, and another 53 COVID-19 patients have died, raising the COVID-related death toll to 12,179, Croatia's national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Thursday.

There are currently 22,461 active cases, including 1,981 hospitalised COVID patients, and of them, 266 are placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the infection with the novel virus in Croatia on 25 February 2020, 686,590 people have been diagnosed with this infectious disease, and of them 651,995 have recovered, including 3,102 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

In Croatia, 55.42% of the total population or 66.05% of adults have been given at least one shot of vaccine against this infection. As many as 62.21% of adults have fully been vaccinated.

December 23, 2021 - 2022 will be a year of change for tourism in Croatia. An overview of 8 key areas TCN will be focusing its efforts on improving Croatian tourism in 2022.

2021 has been a great year at TCN, as we diversified from a news portal into some other projects. There is such potential in so many areas in this country that I am constantly surprised at how few people I see exploring the opportunities. I know a few people who laughed when a certain Dutch expat announced he was going to grow tomatoes in northern Croatia, but having seen the project develop at first hand, it is heartening to see that such ideal dreams of Jan de Jong, Jerko Trogrlic and the team at CROP Hrvatska will become a reality. 

(The Slavonian Wannabe Tomato Growers Convention with CROP Hrvatksa, Osijek, December 2021)

And once it starts, the floodgates could open. Contrary to the general media portrayal, I genuinely think that this is an incredibly exciting time to be alive in Croatia. And I leave 2021 and enter 2022 with perhaps more energy, optimism and determination than ever before since I moved here permanently back in 2003. 

Of course, Jan is a much more successful businessman than I could ever hope to be, and so my main focus in 2022 will be to develop the eco-system of sustainable tourism all over the country, 12 months a year, rather than watch the current lazy status quo which is slowly destroying Croatia's Adriatic jewels. 

It has been another completely random 12 months at TCN. Just as I never expected to be named International Medical Travel Journalist of the Year in Malaysia a year ago, so too I did not expect to be giving a keynote speech at Digital Nomad Week based out of Bali on VIP Day almost exactly a year later - you can see the first presentation of our new CROMADS platform during my online presentation above.

2021 was a year of awards and lawsuits for TCN. A total of 11 international awards for projects that we were partners in, and an impressive 3 lawsuits, the first in my life (I don't count the one publicly announced in 2018 by Mayor of Jelsa, Niksa Peronja, as it never arrived). Seven awards for the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community, delivered in partnership with Manjgura and Mediacor (including 3 at the Polaris Awards in London), 2 for Zagreb Digital Nomad Week with Saltwater Nomads and Zagreb Tourist Board, and 2 for Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program with Saltwater Nomads, City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board. 

But as nice as it was to win the awards, it was actually the lawsuits which gave me the inspiration for a new direction for TCN. If our constructive criticism was not only read by the Kings of Accidental Tourism, but bothered them so much that they were prepared to sue me for 100,000 kuna, perhaps I had a voice that was being heard further than I had imagined.  

I am certainly very grateful to the Kings for the lawsuits. Apart from being described by one journalist as the biggest PR own goal in the history of the Croatian National Tourist Board, it was also the best free promotion TCN has ever had (thank you!), as a staggering 16,000 people took part in an online poll by Index.hr after the story hit all the major news networks. 

If the Kings were that sensitive to a few words, what might happen if we publicly started pushing a few initiatives via TCN to see what stuck, and what progress we could make? The lawsuits will be entering their third calendar year next month, and you can follow progress every step of the way in our Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit feature, which will probably go on for years until we win in the European courts in Strasbourg. TCN promo budget 2022 - 2026 - tick.  

But it seems more and more people are recognising TCN and the various initiatives we are pushing to celebrate the little guy and connect the eco-system outside the crumbling walls of the Mighty State of Uhljebistan. It was an honour earlier this week, for example, to receive an invitation from His Excellency Raj Srivastava, Indian Ambassador to Croatia to the launch of the India-Croatia Startup Bridge. Even more so when the Ambassador told me he was a TCN reader and that some of our articles celebrating Croatian startups influenced his thinking on this initiative. It is a great initiative, and I look forward to TCN reporting on various successes.

Rather than just reporting on the news and blogging about the latest lawsuit postponement by the Kings (Read more in Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit: 50 Lawyers, No Secretary, No Hearing), I started to think about ways that TCN could advocate for positive change in some targeted niches. Although I am not a tourism expert, I am getting to know Croatian tourism very well and travel extensively. Meeting so many people from all walks of life has helped me form a few conclusions on how we could improve a few things. 

As we take a break for Christmas (TCN will be offline from midnight tonight until December 28), here are 8 key areas we will be focusing on in 2022, in addition to delivering you your daily Croatian news in English. 

Split Winter Tourism Roundtable

After posting a few TCN articles on the potential of Split winter tourism and questions why we no longer have much, some of the private Split tourism operators came up with a suggestion that TCN host a winter tourism roundtable, inviting all key stakeholders (including the Mayor of Split, Split Dalmatia County, regional and city tourist board director, Split Airport, State Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, GMs of Split's 5-star hotels, representatives from the restaurant, hotel, hostel and MICE sectors, and tourism consultants) to have an open exchange of ideas in search of a way forward. 

Not only did everyone invited come, but they all engaged and left an excellent lunch at CHOPS Grill with the desire to try. We meet again in January. Special thanks to Jasmina Kruscic, Jelena Tabak, Mare Mustapic, Daniela Rogulj, Mario Seric and MIchael Freer for pushing this initiative. Let's see 2022 deliver the first results.  You can read more in Reflections on the First TCN Split Winter Tourism Roundtable. 

Vukovar Card and Vukovar 365, Full of Life

How many of you have been to Vukovar on any other date than November 18?

Having been to Vukovar Remembrance Day in 2019 and 2021, as well as several other visits, I came up with a suggestion called the Vukovar Card, a chance for people who change their Facebook status every November 18 for a day to do something more concrete (Vukovar Card: Support Local Economy Rather than Temporary Facebook Status). I was very grateful for the positive reaction and support of regional tourist board directors Ivana Juric and Rujana Busic Srpak, who devised a Vukovar Card 7-day itinerary through the magic of Vukovar Srijem and Osijek Baranja Counties. I sent this to Minister of Tourism Nikolina Brnjac and State Secretary Tonci Glavina with a request for a meeting to develop the concept. 

That meeting will take place on January 10 at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and I was encouraged by Tonci's positive initial feedback at the Split winter tourism roundtable.  

If you are interested to know more about the new Vukovar and the people and businesses framing a brighter future, follow the TCN series, Vukovar 365, Full of Life, with new TCN writer Katarina Andjelkovic from Vukovar.

Digital Nomads

The growth of the Croatian digital nomad story has been one of the highlights of my year. So much positive energy, innovative ideas, fabulous people and unforgettable experiences - it has been a privilege to be part of the journey. Working with Jan de Jong, Saltwater Nomads, the Digital Nomad Association, the Digital Nomads Croatia Facebook group,  Swanky Travel, Zagreb Tourist Board, the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Doma Zagreb Aparthotel, and others has been one of the undoubted highlights of 2021. Zagreb Digital Nomad Week & Ambassador Program and Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence program complemented Jan's visa initiative and has helped put Croatia well and truly on the digital nomad map.

2022 will be more of the same... and more. Exciting initiatives in both Zagreb and Dubrovnik will be announced in early 2022, and if we can dot the Is and cross the Ts on a couple of other projects, things could get very interesting. It seems that next year will have me travelling internationally to promote the Croatian digital nomad story, with Digital Nomad Festival in Turkey in May, and Digital Nomad Summit in Bali in September already in the diary.  

Medical tourism and digital nomads

2022 will see the 10th anniversary of my favourite conference in Croatia, the annual Crikvenica International Health Tourism conference in Crikvenica. CIHT has been good to me over the years, giving me my first exposure to the global medical tourism community (and leading to those awards in Malaysia). The pioneering work of Ognjen Bagatin and the Kvarner Health Tourism Cluster have placed Croatia firmly on the medical tourism map, and after the major blip that is the pandemic, it is time to renew efforts. You can read a report on CIHT 2021 in Kvarner Full of Health Tourism Opportunity, as CIHT 2021 Shines.

A major new medical tourism opportunity has presented itself since 2019, one which I will be pushing hard - digital nomads. Rather than having to work hard to attract foreign patients to come to Croatia for treatment, why not instead spend less energy informing all the nomads who are already here how Croatian medical tourism can fix their medical issues at a fraction of the price back home. No need to travel, for they are already here. 

The potential of the Kvarner region for health tourism is huge, and there is a much underutilised airport on Krk, Rijeka Airport. An issue I will also discuss with Minister Brnjac on January 10, as she is a transport expert.  

Spreading the Truth about Slavonia, Full of Life

The biggest surprise of 2021 for me was not only how full of life Slavonia is, but how ignorant the rest of Croatia is about what is really out east in their own country. I was shocked at how few of my Zagreb friends who are among the 200,000 Croats who go skiing abroad each year had ever been to Slavonia and the East. With such little local knowledge, how can we expect tourists to know?

Lots of activity coming next year on this, including a fun survey on the streets of Zagreb to highlight the gap in knowledge. Here are two questions from the survey to get you in the mood. How many of you can answer both:

1. What is the main town in Baranja?

2. Can you name three famous buildings in eastern Croatia, not including the Vukovar Water Tower? 

Want a taster of what you are missing? Read more in Time to Tell the Truth about Slavonia Full of Life. 

Danube Drone Days

What happens when you meet an English businessman over breakfast at your hotel in Osijek in November?

Sometimes it leads to a night of sushi and gin in the company of the CEO or Orqa, three drone geeks, and a plan to promote Slavonia and the Danube with some of the best drone pilots in the world. 

 I love the concept of Danube Drone Days, and I am looking forward to working with these two geeks above to make it a reality.  

CROMADS

Our new baby. What more can I say, but watch the official promo vid above, and check out www.cromads.com after Christmas for more. This is going to be fun.  

Total Croatia Travel Portal

2021 also saw TCN launch its sister site, Total Croatia, a multi-lingual tourism information platform answering the questions people are asking. Launching in May, I was perhaps a little ambitious wanting to be the leading portal by the summer, but we are working hard behind the scenes to make sure Total Croatia's first full year in 2022 will be a big one. You can check it out here. 

And that - more or less - is that. If you are interested in getting involved to build the eco-system outside the crumbling walls of the Mighty State of Uhljebistan, drop me a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject TCN 2022, explaining how you can help and what you can offer. 

Enough from my side, except to thank you all for your company, interest and support in 2021. We have a great readership, and I even enjoy the contributions of the trolls these days. 

Things are starting to move slowly but surely. The default negative mindset is being challenged by new ideas and shoots of positivity. Croatia is a great country with a really bright future once we overhaul the current system. 

And you will be able to read all about it on TCN in 2022. 

Cheers!

TCN will be offline from midnight tonight until December 28. Merry Christmas to All. 

December 23, 2021 - Organized by members of the St. Jakov Mountaineering Society Speleo section from Bitelić and the HGSS Sinj branch, after last year's first Christmas tree decoration in the Krstača pit on Vrdovo, in accordance with tradition, a unique Christmas tree was decorated in the Vranjača pit in the Kamešnica area, about 50 meters deep, on Saturday, December 19. 

The Dinaric area is full of sinkholes, hidden pits, and caves, which unfortunately are often targeted by irresponsible individuals, and instead of serving a natural purpose, they are often turned into illegal dumps of various types of waste. This speleological section, in cooperation with numerous colleagues from all over Croatia, organized several ecological actions to clean the pits throughout the year and preserve them.

With the anticipation of Christmas, members of the St. Jakov Bitelić speleo section and the HGSS branch office in Sinj contributed to this year's Christmas mood and decorated the Christmas tree in a pit about 50 meters deep, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and successful New Year.

You can watch the video below:

What happens when a beginner baker attempts to make traditional Christmas cookies? A lighthearted personal blog to document a slightly chaotic evening of holiday baking

Christmas snuck up on me this year. It’s the first holiday season in four years that I’m spending with my family, and I couldn’t be more overjoyed - looking forward to our traditional chaos of decorating the tree on Christmas Eve and gobbling up bakalar like there’s no tomorrow. I even managed to buy most presents on time, but there’s one thing I forgot: Christmas cookies!

Save for helping my mom with holiday baking while I was growing up, I’ve never really tried my hand at making my own Christmas (or any other) cookies. I’m sure this comes easy to a lot of people, but I shy away from working with any kind of dough (especially if yeast is involved - rest assured I did not partake in the bread-baking obsession at the start of the pandemic). This Christmas, however, I’ve been feeling ambitious and picked a few recipes to try out. I was even sensible enough to stock up on all the ingredients I’d need.

And then I forgot to plan for the actual baking part. The holiday schedule got hectic as it tends to do, and last night I realised Christmas is a few days away and I’d have no time for any baking shenanigans after the 22nd… So I thought to myself, let’s just make one kind of cookie. One, and I’d consider this holiday season a success. My amazing mom’s going rampant with holiday baking as usual so we won’t be facing a shortage of sweets any time soon - here’s her baking list for the next two days, featuring a few Croatian holiday hits:

Are the crossed out ones those you’ve already made? I asked.
Nope, those are the ones I’ve given up on, she said.

Still, there’ll be plenty to go around, and so I got back to the single thing on my to-do list. Should be enough to save face, if all goes well. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work - chaotic, messy work heavily relying on improvisation.

You’ve surely seen your share of dreamy food blogs with perfectly styled photos and a highly skilled baker behind the scenes. This is not one of those blogs. While I consider myself a decent home cook, I wouldn't last two hours on the set of The Great British Bake-Off… but I’m not going to let that stop me. After all, it’s the holiday spirit that matters! Join me as I (attempt to) make linzer cookies, a Christmas staple in Croatia. 

Linzer are buttery sandwich cookies filled with jam of your choice. I don’t remember a holiday season without an ungodly amount of linzer cookies in our pantry. It’s one of those things that taste better the longer you let them rest, so it’s prudent to plan ahead and double or triple the recipe to make sure you don’t run out before the season is through.

Out with the ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar, lemon zest, butter and egg.

Extremely satisfying.

The recipe says to 'combine all ingredients to make a dough'. This means nothing to me. Combine them in what order? Isn’t baking a precise art? It was too late in the day to call mama for instructions, so I did some googling and found out there seemingly was no single right way to start off. Some say to cream butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy and then add the other ingredients, some opt to combine the dry ones first and then cut in the butter.

At past 11pm, I don’t think my neighbours would enjoy the first option, so I skipped the mixer. In with the butter! A bit of elbow grease later, what wasn’t looking promising at first quickly turned into nice smooth dough. We actually might be getting somewhere:

I popped the dough in the fridge to rest and went to prep the stuff I’d need for the next step. Thankfully, I recently bought a proper rolling pin - the last time I needed to roll out something, I ended up using an empty bottle of ginger ale. It was a nice glass bottle. It did the trick. I'm happy to have the rolling pin anyway.

However, I realised I'd overlooked a few crucial things in regards to the linzer project. One, I have a single baking tray, which isn’t a fun prospect knowing you’ll have at least 5-6 six trays’ worth of cookies to bake. Two, while I did pick up some festive snowflake-shaped cookie cutters, I forgot that linzer cookies feature a cutout in the top layer for the jam to peek through. Do I have anything at home to punch a hole in my cookies?

I fumbled through my kitchen drawers and found a metal tea strainer. This will do for the bigger cookies, what about the smaller ones? Too bad I don’t have a thimble, the reliable hole-punching tool that I've more often seen used in baking than sewing.

What I do have is a well stocked bar, so I snagged a tiny metal cap off of a mini bottle of Austrian schnapps. Consider this a nice homage to the Austrian origin of linzer cookies.

I promise these were not so ghostly pale in real life. 

Not the most elegant solution, but needs must. It’s not too late to turn away, dear reader, because things only get more crafty from this point on.

The snowflake cookies turned out a bit difficult to handle due to their specific shape, and I wanted to make a batch of simple round cookies as well. You’ve guessed - no round cookie cutters in the household, but I learned a wine glass does the trick quite nicely:

A little test run - seems to work. 

At this point, it’s 1am and I’m questioning my life choices. The last batch is in the oven and I still have the final step to complete: warm up some jam on the stove and assemble the little linzer sandwiches. The jam firms up as it cools down, acting like glue that ensures the cookies stick together and stay in place.

Let’s not forget some dramatic flair, a holiday-themed reenactment of Scarface with a mountain of powdered sugar covering every inch of my kitchen counters. Luckily I remembered to generously dust the top cookies with sugar before assembly, so that the jam peeking through the cutout remains nice and glossy. It’s a lovely pop of colour that gives linzer cookies their distinctive appearance. Success!

I've a talent for food photography as well.

A little uneven, but delicious - I was surprised how decent they turned out considering I MacGyvered my way through the whole affair. I have a bite to make sure they’re fine to serve to others, and I feel that unmistakable taste of the holiday season.

Oh, and a final tip. To ensure that people in your household don’t break into your stash of cookies too soon, store them where noone will think to look - in the sewing tin ;)

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season full of delicious treats. Happy Christmas!