Liquorice, Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies

Liquorice, Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies

I have a thing with liquorice, I can have cravings for liquorice. I know it's a scandinavian thing, but I'm trying to introduce real liquorice for my American friends. The red "liquorice" with raspberry flavor has nothing to do with liquorice, none what so ever. 

I just bought the book Lakrids i Maden by Johan Bülow, and it was very inspiring. I want to try every recipe. I like the twists Johan Bülow gives to classic recipes like caramelized potatoes by adding liquorice.

I had to try make cookies with liquorice, but I wanted another flavoring than the one in Lakrids i Maden. Liquorice and white chocolate is a match made in heaven, and adding lemon into the mix, makes the flavor go to a whole other level.

This Is my take on a cookie with liquorice.

Ingredients:

• 200 g butter, salted
• 200 g sugar
• 75 g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon fine liquorice powder (Bülow Fine Liquorice Powder)
• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 50 g white chocolate (a good one like Valrhona)
• 50 g sweet liquorice (like Bülows No. 1)
• 1 lemon, the zest of
• 75 g almonds, blanched and ground to a course flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 365℉.

Blanch the almonds, and ground them 

Mix together the flour, liquorice powder and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Combine the egg, milk, and vanilla and bring to room temperature in another bowl.

Cream the butter in a stand mixer, starting on low speed to soften the butter. Add the sugars. Increase the speed, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture slowly, and  mix until well combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate, liquorice and lemon zest. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for more even browning.

Remove the cookies from the pans immediately. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

Klejner - Danish Fried Christmas Cookie

Klejner - Danish Fried Christmas Cookie

December 21. - Today we are decoration our christmas tree. A real tree decorated with lights, Danish flags and pleated hearts. 

Klejner is the oldest of the danish christmas cookies. You were able to make klejner in a pot of fat over the fire, so there was no need for a stove. 

My dad loved klejner, but my mom thought they were to much work to make. So for many years my dad made klejner, one of the few thing he ever made in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 180 g  butter, salted
• 120 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100 g whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon cognac
• 2 lemons, the zest of
• 1 teaspoon bakers ammonium (hjortetaksalt)
• 1½ teaspoon cardamom
• 500 g all-purpose flour
• Palm oil or coconut oil for frying 

Directions:

Cream the butter with the sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle, till it's light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, making sure that it's incorporated before adding the next. Mix in cream and cognac. 

Add bakers ammonium, flour, cardamom and lemon zest and mix until you have a firm dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator over night.

How to

Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll the dough out forming a rectangle about ⅕ inch (5 mm) thick. 

Cut the dough into 1⅕ inch (3 cm) wide strips with a knife, pizza cutter or a klejnespore*. Cut the strips into 3⅕ inch (8 cm) long rectangles, make a ½ inch (1½ cm) slit in it.

To make a klejne carefully open the slit and pull one end of the rectangle through the slit to form a knot. Do this with all klejner. Set the klejner side by side on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Heat up the oil to 170-180℃ and fry the klejner until golden brown. Let the excess fat drain off on some paper towel.

The klejner will keep for about a week, in an airtight container.

Klejnespore

* A klejnespore is a special pastry cutter that makes the perfect size dough strips and make a slit in the middle of the dough strip.

Pebernødder - Pfeffernüsse

Pebernødder - Pfeffernüsse

December 20. - Finally weekend in sight. Time to make paper decorations like the pleated heart. The first known pleated heart was made by Hans Christian Andersen the Danish author and poet.

Pebernødder mean pepper nuts and is one of the oldest christmas cookies in Denmark. Pebernødder are small spicy chrisp cookies, they are really yummy.

This recipe is from the Danish morning TV, but I cut the recipe in half, because I made other christmas cookies this year. 

Ingredients:

• 125 g salted butter, room temperature

• 125 g sugar

• ½ teaspoon ginger

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon white pepper

• ½ teaspoon cardamom

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 50 ml heavy cream

• 250 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃)

Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer, until it's fluffy and white, add the cream.

Mix the dry ingredients and mix it in, and you will get at firm dough.

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your little finger, cut the dough into 1 cm pieces . 

You can roll them or just keep them as is.

Bake for 7-10 minutes to light brown.

Keep in an airtight container.

Elf Cookies - Nissehoveder

Elf Cookies - Nissehoveder

December 11th - Time for remembrance.

I have never seen these elf cookies aka nissehoveder (elf heads) anywhere else than in my family. The cookies were very much appreciated by my brother and me, but I know my mom hated making these, because they are a bit labor-intensive. The cookie itself is straight forward and easy, but it's a sticky mess to cut out all the eyes and mouths. The first year I made them, I even had made a nose, but that was a bad idea, a bad bad idea.

Thank you mom and dad for teaching me to make elf cookies - I miss you guys so very much.

Here is how to make my family's elf cookies.

Ingredients:

• 250 g all-purpose flour

• 200 g butter

• 100 g confectionary sugar

• 1 egg yolk

Topping:

• red and green cherries

• confectionary sugar

• water

• red food coloring

Directions:

Crumble the butter in the flour, until it looks like bread crumbs. Add the sifted confectionary sugar and the egg yolk and mix until it’s all combined.

Form dough into a rod with an inch in diameter. Press to form a top on the rod, this makes the elf hat. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Cut the green cherries into small cubes, these will be the eyes.

Cut the red cherries into quarters and slice the quarters, these will be the mouths.

Cut the logs into ¼-inch thick cookies and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spacing about 1 inch apart. Place eyes and mouths on the cookies.

Bake until slightly golden around the edges, about 10-12 minutes at 350°F. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks.

Icing: Mix confectionary sugar with a few drops of water and food coloring. Paint  the cookies with the red icing. Let the cookies dry on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

The Danish version:

Nissehoveder

Ingredients:

• 250 g hvedemel

• 200 g smør

• 100 g flormelis

• 1 æggeblomme

Pynt:

• røde og grønne cocktailbær

• flourmelis

• vand

• rød frugtfarve.

Directions: 

Smørret smuldres i melet. Flormelis sigtes i og æltes let i dejen sammen med æggeblommen. 

Dejen formes til en pølse på godt og vel et kosteskafts tykkelse. 

Pølsen trykkes lidt i den ene side så den kommer til at spidse, gerne meget. Pølsen lægges i køleskabet i mindst 0,5 time. Herefter skæres den i tynde skiver med en skarp kniv. 

Når kagerne er kommet på bageplanden, pyntes de med øjne, og mund (cocktailbær). 

Herefter bages de i 7-8 min ved 200ºC. 

Inden de er helt afkølede kan nissehovederne få hue på, med lidt rød glasur.

Danish Shortbread - Finskbrød

Danish Shortbread - finskbread

It's December 7th, and I think Santa had a cookie or two, his stomach is full of shortbreads on the picture. 

This is the danish version of a shortbread, called Finskbrød or Finnish bread. I have no idea why the are called so, because they are for sure a danish cookie.

Compared to regular shortbreads these are sprinkled with coarse raw cane sugar and chopped almonds, which adds to the taste and texture of the cookies. 

As a child these cookies was one of my favorites. I loved these light and buttery crisp cookies. But for the last 5-6 years I haven't been making Danish shortbreads. Why? I don’t know, maybe I have just been focused on trying new cakes? 

Having this blog made me go back to the shortbread, and I think they are back to stay.

I somehow lost my moms recipe, but found this great one on Anne au Chocolat's blog. 

Ingredients:

• 375 g all-pupose flour
• 250 g butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 100 g sugar

Toppings:

• egg white
• coarse raw cane sugar 
• chopped almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃)

Mix flour and butter. I used a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter in the flour mixture. Mix until the the butter resembles wet sand. Mix in sugar and egg yolk. Be careful not to overwork the dough. 

Roll the dough, a little at a time, into logs the size of a finger. Press the log flat (about 1/5 inch thick). Cut the logs into 1 inch pieces. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12-15 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.