Chocolate Biscotti

Chocolate Biscotti

December 2nd, time for more cookies.

This recipe is an old family recipe from my husbands family.  I had never heard or seen these cookies before I met my husband. 

My husbands godmother had to find the recipe in her attic, so I could make it a merry christmas in little our home.

Ingredients:

• 250 g butter, room temperature

• 315 g all-purpose flour

• 250 g sugar

• 2½ eggs

• 1½ teaspoons ammonium carbonate (hjortetaksalt)

• 2½ tablespoons baking cocoa (a good one like Valrhona)

• 10 g cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon cloves ground

• ½ teaspoon cardamom ground

• 50 g Hazelnuts, chopped

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 360℉ (180℃).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the butter with the sugar. Add one egg at a time, and mix well in between the eggs. 

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour the dry mix into the butter mixture a little at a time, and mix slowly to start with, otherwise you will have a flour/spice plume all over the counter. (Or so I've heard).

Divide the dough evenly into 2 equal mounds on the prepared baking sheet. With moist hands, space the dough evenly apart and form into 2 (9 by-3-inch) logs. 

Bake the logs for 25-30 minutes or until done, when a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the logs for 5-10 minutes on a wire rag. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on baking sheet. Bake them again until the cookies are crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Store the biscotti in an airtight container.

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.