Swedish Pepparkakor
2/3 C. packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2/3 C. molasses
2/3 C butter
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 egg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3 1/2
C. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Heat brown sugar, molasses, and spices just to boiling. Remove from
heat, add baking soda and stir. Add butter and stir until melted.
Pour into mixing bowl and cool. Add beaten egg and mix. Add flour one
cup at a time. Knead on a floured surface for 1-2 minutes, then wrap in
plastic wrap and chill until firm - at least one hour. Roll out on a
floured
surface to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake
on greased or parchment paper lined sheets at 325 degrees for 8-10
minutes.
Cool on a rack. Decorate with icing if desired. Makes 4-5 dozen
cookies.
Store in tightly covered container - the cookies improve with age.
(Legend says put a pepparkor in the palm of your hand, make a wish, and
tap it with one finger. If it breaks into three pieces, your wish
will come true!)
Swedish Almond Kisses
2 C. almonds
2 egg whites
1 C brown sugar
2 T flour
Chop almonds roughly - 5-6 pieces each. Beat egg whites until stiff.
Gently fold in brown sugar, flour, and almond pieces. Drop by
teaspoonfuls onto greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheets and
bake at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Swedish Fork Cookies
3/4 C. flour
1/2 C butter
2 T white sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 C white sugar
1 T cinnamon
Cream butter and the 2T of sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the
egg yolk. Add the flour and mix until well blended. In a small
bowl, combine the 1/2 C sugar with the cinnamon. Roll the dough into
balls
the size of small olives and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place
cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet. Press with a fork in a
criss-cross
pattern and flatten the cookies to about 1/3 inch thickness. Bake
at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until light brown. Makes about 4 dozen
cookies.
Swedish Chocolate Bombs
1/2 C butter or margarine
1/2 C white sugar
1 1/2 C rolled oats
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T cold coffee
1/2 C pearl sugar
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in the oats,
cocoa, and vanilla until well mixed, then stir in coffee. Roll
the dough into balls a little smaller than a ping pong ball. Put the
pearl
sugar in a shallow dish and roll the chocolate balls in the sugar.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Makes 2 dozen balls.
Swedish Almond Yummies
1 1/2 C flour
1 C white sugar
2 tsp. almond extract
2 eggs
1/4 C sliced almonds
Blend flour and sugar. Add eggs and almond extract and mix well. Roll
dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Top each with an
almond slice and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees until golden
brown.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Swedish Wafers
1/2 C butter
1/2 C white sugar
1 egg
3/4 C flour
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Separate egg and
add yolk to butter mixture. Beat egg white until it holds stiff
peaks. Fold beaten whites into dough and drop by teaspoonfuls 3
inches apart
on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges
are golden brown. Makes about 40 cookies.
Swedish Oatmeal Lace Cookies
1/2 C butter
3/4 C quick cooking oats
1/4 C flour
2 T
light cream
1/2 C white sugar
Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients
and cook until mixture starts to bubble - stir constantly. Remove from
heat and stir briskly for a few strokes. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls
about 4 inches apart on a well greased and floured baking sheet. Bake
one sheet at a time at 375 degrees for 5-6 minutes until golden brown.
Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then carefully remove with a
spatula
and place over rolling pin or glass so they will curl as they cool. If
they harden before they are removed from the baking sheet, reheat them
in the oven for a few second to soften them. Makes about 30 cookies.
The
bigger the cookie, the more fragile it will be. Check the oven
temperature
and the batter by doing a pretest with 1/2 tsp. of batter.
Rosenmunnar (Swedish Thumbprint Cookies)
1 C butter
1/2 C white sugar
2 C flour
1/2 C jam, any flavor
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour and mix well.
Shape into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Use thumb to make a
1/2 inch indentation in the center of each cookie. Fill indentation
with jam. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until edges are
golden brown. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Scandinavian Almond Bars
1/2 C butter
1 3/4 C flour
1 C white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 C sliced
almonds
2 T milk
Cream butter and sugar, add egg and almond extract and mix until
fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Divide dough
into 4 pieces and roll each into a 12 inch log. Place 2 logs on a
cookie sheet 4-5 inches apart and flatten with hand until it's about 3
inches wide. Brush flattened log with milk and sprinkle with sliced
almonds. Bake
at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes until edges are slightly browned.
While
cookies are still warm, slice diagonally into 1 inch slices. Cool and
drizzle
with almond icing.
To make icing: stir together 1 C powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. almond
extract, and 1/4 C milk until smooth. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Swedish Almond Rolls
5 T flour
1/2 C almonds
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C softened butter or margarine
1 C packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs and
vanilla. Sift flour and salt together and add to butter mixture.
Stir
well. Chop almonds finely and add to mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto
cookie sheets about 5 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8
minutes
until edges begin to brown. As soon as cookies are cool enough to
handle,
roll each one around the handle of a wooden spoon or pencil. If cookies
become too brittle, reheat in oven for a few seconds. Makes about 5
dozen
cookies.
Swedish Light Dreams
1/2 C butter
1 C flour
1/3 C white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. almond extract (or use lemon extract for a lemon cookie)
Melt butter and allow to cool to room temperature. Cream with sugar
until smooth and light yellow. Add almond (or lemon) extract and mix
well. Sift together flour and baking powder and stir into butter
mixture.
Knead dough lightly on floured surface, cover and chill for one hour.
Roll dough into a log 1 inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2 inch slices,
roll
slices into balls, and place on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet
1 1/2 inches apart. Use a fingertip to slightly indent the top of each
cookie and bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until light golden
brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies.
Swedish Dark Dreams
15 blanched almonds, halved
1/2 C butter
1/3 C white sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 C flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Melt butter in a frying pan and heat until it browns - but don't burn
it. Pour browned butter into a mixing bowl, discard any residue, and
allow to cool to room temperature. Cream cooled butter with sugar and
vanilla. Sift flour with baking powder and add to butter mixture. Mix
well and knead dough lightly on floured surface. Cover and chill one
hour.
Roll into a log 1 inch in diameter and slice into 1/2 inch pieces. Roll
pieces into balls and place on greased or parchment lined cookie
sheets. Top with an almond half and bake at 300 degrees for 25-30
minutes until edges are golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes about
30 cookies.
