Danish Gingerbread Cookies - Brunkager

Danish Gingerbread Cookies

December 3rd. Another day another cookie.

The Danish Gingerbread cookies aka "Brunkager" has a very long history dating back to the late 1400s. The name stems from Peberkager or Pepper cookies, but pepper is not meaning the spice pepper, but more likely meaning strong flavored cookies. Traditionally the cookie contains the warm spices we all  use in  fall, like ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. 

The tradition of baking gingerbread cookies for christmas, became more common, when it became easier to control the temperature of the ovens, back in the mid 1800s.  

Most families have their own recipe for gingerbread cookies. I never got my parents recipe. I was sad to see that it wasn't in my mothers little black recipe book, when I got it a few years ago. I remember rolling out the doug and using cookie cutters to make small men, women, hearts, stars and Yule Goats. We rarely decorate the cookies with icing, I think my parents didn't like the mess and the cookies became to sweet.

So I had to find one that I liked. And this one is nothing like the one my mom baked.  I love Mette Blomsterberg, so of course I found one of her recipes. This is how I made the cookies:

Ingredients: 

• 250 g butter

• 125 g syrup I use "lys sirup" from dansukker*

• 250 g brown sugar

• 2 teaspoon Potassium carbonate K2CO3 (Potaske)**

• 1 tablespoons cold water

• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground allspice

• 60 g candied orange peel

• 25 g raw pistachios

• 150 g Almonds

• 500 g All-purpose flour 

Directions: 

Melt butter, syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan on medium heat, until it reaches 160 ℉ (70 ℃). Remove saucepan from heat.

Mix allspice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and flour and add orange zest, almonds and pistachios. 

Dissolve the Potassium carbonate (potasken) in the water and add it to the flour mixture. 

Mix it all together in a stand mixer, until the dough is uniform.

Dough pressed in the baking pan.

Put the batter in a baking pan lined with parchment paper.   Press well to fill the baking pan completely. Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper. Let cool at room temperature until the next day. The dough should be about 1 inch high in the pan. 

Cut the dough into 3-5 logs with a sharp knife. Cut each log in thin slices and bake them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 355℉ (180℃) for 9-13 minutes.

Cool completely on a rack and store in an airtight container.

* You can get the syrup here

** You can replace potaske with baking soda, but the cookies won't be as crispy. You can get potaske here.

Vanilla Wreaths - Vanillekranse

Vanilla Wreaths - Vanillekranse

Today is thew start of december and I'll be posting a christmas related post every day until christmas. This is my way of making a Advent Calendar for you. I hope you will enjoy  this.

The vanilla wreath, or Vanillekranse, is a classic Danish cookie. You'll find them in tins with Danish Butter Cookies. If you like the Danish Butter Cookies, you have to make these. They are so much better. 

Every year I bake cookies for christmas, and vanillekranse is always a given. In my house it’s not christmas without vanillekranse. They are one of my favorite cookies. I'm pretty sure that you'll find vanillekranse in every danish home at christmas time. 

Thinking about it, I should have done my homework better, when I met my now husband. I should had made sure that my favorite christmas cookies was his too. It could have saved me from hours in the kitchen, baking ;0) Well we all have to make sacrifices, right?

I have been trough a lot of different recipes for vanillekranse, but after tasting Mette Blomsterbergs, the search was over. These are by far the best vanilekranse I have ever had. So this is Mette Blomsterbergs recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla pod (or half if it's a thick one)*

• 200 g butter (salted and room temperature)

• 180 g sugar

• 1 egg

• 250 g all-purpose flour

• 75 g blanched** almonds, ground into flour

Directions:

Spilt the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seed with the tip of a knife. Using the knife, mix the seeds with some sugar. This helps the seeds to distribute in the dough. You want an even distribution of seeds in the dough, like small black freckles.

Cream the sugar, vanilla seeds with the butter. Mix in the egg, finally mix in the ground almonds and flour. 

Put the dough into a decorationg bag with a star decorating tip. Pipe the dough in small circles approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

The process

If you have a stand mixer, a meat grinder attachment and a vanillekrans attachment to make stings of star shaped dough; you can do this instead of piping the cakes:

Chill the dough in the refrigerator overnight. Add the cold dough to the feeder on the grinder, and push it into the grinder, and long strings of star shaped dough comes out of the grinder. I do this on medium to high speed. You can also use a cookie press.

Place the strings of dough on the table, an cut them into 4 inch pieces. Join the ends to form a wreath, and place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 356℉ (180℃) until lightly golden about 10-14 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rag. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

* You can substitute the vanilla pods with 2 teaspoons vanilla paste.

** blanched is when the skin is removed from the almonds.

The danish Version:

Vanillekranse

Ingredienser:

• 1 vanillestang (eller en halv polynesisk)*

• 200 g smør (saltet og stuetemperatur)

• 180 g sukker

• 1 æg

• 250 g hvedemel

• 75 g smuttede** mandler, malet til mel

Vaniljestangen flækkes på den lange led og kornene skrabes ud med en lille kniv. Mas vaniljekornene og lidt af sukkeret sammen med en paletkniv, således at kornene skilles ad.

Vaniljesukker, sukker og det stuetempererede smør røres sammen. Rør ægget med i og tilsæt slutteligt mandelmel og hvedemel.

Dejen kommes i en stofsprøjtepose med en stjerne tyl & sprøjtes straks ud i "kranse" på bagepapir - diameter ca. 5 cm. Bages ved 200 grader til de er let gyldne - ca. 10 - 14 minutter.
Afkøles på bagerist og opbevares i tætsluttende dåse.

* Du kan erstatte vanillestangen med 2 tsk vanille pasta

** smuttede mandler, er mandler uden den brune hinde.

Waiting for december.........

24 Little black secrets

I've got 24 little black secrets for my husband, an advents calendar with a little liquorice treat for every day until christmas.

But I got something for you too. Stay tuned, It all starts tomorrow.

Candied Almonds - brændte mandler

Candied Almonds - Brændte Mandler

The smell of candied roasted almonds is the smell of december in Copenhagen. Walking down the pedestrian street Strøget in the heart of Copenhagen, you will see vendors selling these almonds. 

I have never tried making candied roasted almonds, but it's really easy and you only need 3 ingredients. But be aware - they are highly addictive.

Ingredients:

• 200 g almonds

• 200 g sugar

• ¼ cup water

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, for cooling the almonds.

Pour all ingredients in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir so all the sugar gets wet. Bring to a boil, stir constantly until all liquid is evaporated and you have crystallized sugar in your pan again.

When the sugar starts to melt again, turn down the heat to medium and keep on stirring. Now the almonds will be covered by the caramelized sugar. 

Pour the candied almonds onto the baking sheet. Separate the almonds if they stick together. Let them cool completely. 

Enjoy the sweet and crispy treat.

Liquorice Candied Almonds - Brændte Lakridsmandler

Liquorice Candied Almonds - Brændte Lakridsmandler 

Inspired of the regular candied almonds and by Johan Bülows book "Lakrids i maden" (liquorice in food) I made another batch almonds. This time I added raw liquorice powder and the sweet liquorice syrup. And oh boy, that was a brilliant idea.

Be aware - they are highly addictive.

Ingredients:

• 200 g almonds
• 200 g sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon Raw Liquorice Powder
• 2 teaspoons Sweet Liquorice Syrup

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, for cooling the almonds.

Pour all ingredients in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir so all the sugar gets wet. Bring to a boil, stir constantly until all liquid is evaporated and you have crystallized sugar in your pan again.

Turn down the heat down to medium, when the sugar starts to melt again and keep on stirring. Now the almonds will be covered by the caramelized sugar. 

Pour the candied almonds onto the baking sheet. Separate the almonds if the stick together. Let the cool completely. 

Enjoy the sweet and crispy treat.