Hertzoggies recipe is another famous South African biscuit. Hertzoggies looks like a mini tart, but they are known as biscuits or cookies. They are delicious, with fluffy coconut meringue and apricot jam on top of a flaky pastry crust. This coconut meringue and apricot Hertzoggies are perfect for adding to your holiday baking lists.

What is Hertzoggies?
Hertzoggies, also known in Afrikaans as a Hertzogkoekie or in English as a Hertzog Cookie, is a jam-filled tartlet or cookie with a coconut topping commonly served on a cup-like pastry base. The cookie is a popular dessert in South Africa, where it is often eaten with a cup of English tea. (Source: Wikipedia)
Where Does the Name Hertzoggies Come From?
These old-school tartlets date back to the 1920s. The pastries were created in Cape Malay in support of General James Barry Munjick Hertzog. He was the third prime minister of the Union of South Africa, who was said to love these confections hence the name Hertzogkoekie in Afrikaans.
These cookies are part of South African culture. You will see different shapes or designs of this delicious mini tartlet, but the ingredients and processes are similar.
Why you will like Hertzoggies Recipe
- These can be made with store-bought or homemade puff pastry, pie crust, and apricot jam.
- You can serve them with a cup of tea or any beverage.
- They are delicious and can be served at any time of the day.
- Even though this is made with apricot jam, you can also vary the jam and the pastry base.
What is Hertzoggies Made of?
Most ingredients you will need for the pastry crust are standard, like flour, salt, eggs, water, and butter. For the coconut meringue filling, ingredients include apricot jam, egg white, sugar, and unsweetened desiccated coconut.
The secret to making a perfect Hertzoggies is a silky and fluffy meringue topping.
What is Meringue?
Meringue is a dessert made from whipped egg white, sugar, and sometimes an acidic ingredient. The acidic ingredients include lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar. The main key to meringue is the formation of stiff peaks by denaturing the protein in the egg whites through beating or whisking.
There are 3 types of meringue: French, Italian, and Swiss. French meringue, also known as the basic meringue, is the most known one and the type used for making this recipe. All the meringue types used the same ingredients but a different mixing method.
Tips for Making Meringue
- Ensure that the bowl and beater you use to beat your meringue are entirely grease and moisture free.
- Crack your eggs in a separate bowl when separating the whites. Even a tiny bit of yolk can ruin your meringue, so crack each egg in a small bowl before adding it to the bowl in which you will be mixing the meringue batter.
- Add the sugar gradually, one Tablespoon at a time, and give it a chance to dissolve before adding more.
- You can test that the sugar is completely absorbed by taking a small bit of the batter and rubbing it between your fingers — if it’s not, it’ll feel gritty.
- Don’t stop until you get stiff peaks. The batter will take several minutes, at least, of beating to achieve stiff peaks. It will increase in volume and be very thick and glossy.
- Don’t over-beat your batter! When you reach stiff peaks, stop and mix in the unsweetened desiccated coconut.
Pastry Crust
Hertzoggies start with a buttery and flaky pie crust. The crust is made with five ingredients and chilled for easy handling.
Flour: all-purpose flour was used in the recipe. What you want for pie is flour that yields a tender, flaky crust, which means all-purpose flour or pastry flour is the ideal type to use.
Butter: unsalted butter is used in the recipe. If you use salted butter, omit the salt in the dough ingredients. All other fat like shortening or margarine will work; the choice will depend on your flavor preferences and dietary needs.
Salt: added to bring all the flavors together in the pie crust. Leave out the salt; the crust will taste bland and tasteless unless you make a salt-free pie crust or use salted butter.
Egg yolk: add richness and use as a binding agent.
Ice water is essential in this recipe to help the butter hold its shape. Ice water keeps the bits of fat in the dough cold and intact. This creates little pockets of fat that, as the pie bakes, gradually melt and form tiny caverns in the crust, making the crust flaky.
Step-by-step Instructions on How to Make the Recipe
Step 1: Place flour, salt, and cold butter pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer and blend on low until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
Step 2: Add in your egg and enough cold water to bring the mixture together.
Step 3: Press into a disk and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill for an hour minimum. Don’t skip the chilling, or your pie crust will melt in the oven.
Step 4: Place the egg white into a bowl and whisk until soft peaks. Add the sugar slowly until stiff peaks form. Add the coconut flakes and vanilla.
Step 5: roll the pastry crust, and cut it into circles. This is the circle cutter set I own and love. Transfer them to the prepared pan. Add the apricot jam and top them with coconut meringue and bake until golden.
Expert tips for making the Hertzoggies
- spotlessly clean and dry, as any particle or wetness—even a tiny piece of egg yolk—can impede your egg whites from stiffening
- use eggs at room temperature.
- use a hand mixer or standing mixer. You can use a whisk, but you might need a little elbow grease for
- Be careful not to overfill the Hertzoggies with the apricot jam
- Chill the dough for at least an hour for easy handling.
- Use a round cutter larger than the baking pan.
STORAGE AND FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS
Cookies stay fresh, covered at room temperature for 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Baked cookies freeze well for up to three months.
Substitutions
- You can use store-bought puff pastry if there is no time to make a homemade crust. Already-made pastry makes equally delicious Hertzoggies.
- Another option with crust is to use store-bought pie crust.
- You can use strawberry or any jam flavor available in your fridge. It is a perfect recipe to use any half jars of jam in a fridge.
More South African Recipes You’ll Like
Don’t Want to Miss a Thing?
Follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, to keep up to date with all the latest news from the Duchez Kitchen.
If you have any questions about this recipe, I would love to hear them in the comment section below. Did you make this recipe? Let me know by leaving a review and recipe rating below. Tag me @ #theduchezkitchen- on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
Thanks for reading. As always, know that God loves you, and stay blessed!
Happy baking
Linda!
Hertzoggies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter cold and diced
- 3 large egg yolks (save the egg whites for the meringue)
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 m) cold water
- Filling
- 3 large egg white
- ¾ cups (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (140g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- ½ cup apricot jam
Instructions
- Pastry Crust
- In a medium mixing bowl, add flour and set aside. Cut the butter into pieces and add them to the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender until well-mixed. You can also rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. Add the egg yolks and cold water to the mixture slowly and mix to form a dough. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it in a plastic bag or cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
- Meringue
- While the dough is chilling, start with coconut meringue filling. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites to form soft peaks. While beating, slowly add the sugar until stiff peaks form. Check the post for tips on how to make a perfect meringue. Gently fold in the coconut flakes, followed by the vanilla extract, and set aside. You can also transfer the coconut meringue to a piping bag or a large Ziploc bag with about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) corner snipped off.
- Putting the Hertzoggies Together
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Prepare 2 12- cupcake pans or tartlet pans with melted butter or non-stick cooking spray.
- Roll the cold or chilled pie dough on a floured board into 1/8- ¼th inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut into 2 ½ inches-wide circles. Re-roll any scraps and repeat the process until all the dough is used. Transfer the circles to the prepared tartlet pan and press into the pan’s bottom and sides. Repeat with the remaining dough. Add 2 teaspoons of jam into each tartlet and pipe the meringue batter or spoon over the apricot jam to cover fully.
- Bake the Hertzoggies in the preheated oven until the pastry is set and the meringue is crisp and golden for about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Notes
2. Handle the pastry as little as possible to get a delicate and flaky crust.
3. Make sure all the pastry crust ingredients are cold.
4. If the pie dough feels soft, place it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to firm up before proceeding STORAGE AND FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS
Cookies stay fresh, covered at room temperature for 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Baked cookies freeze well for up to three months.
Leave a Reply