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Archive for December, 2011

Danish Pebernødder with Pepper

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Danish, tagged , , , on December 26, 2011| 19 Comments »

Danish Pebernødder

Danish Pebernødder

This year I am trying out a different version of Pebernødder. There is of course numerous different recipes floating around out there but I came across this one which had some very high praises attached to it. Evidently it is from Lagkagehuset in Denmark which is a renowned bakery with several locations in Denmark.

Pebernødder

This recipe is very good indeed, really it is! However, I had forgotten why I choose my original Pebernødder recipe and it was because I am not a big fan of pepper. It’s not that you can taste the pepper per se but it does leave a slight heat on your tongue, which I don’t particularly care for, but that’s just me. But the Pebernød really is very tasty in itself and it bakes perfectly. So if your like me, I suppose we can simply just leave out the pepper 🙂

Ingredients:

125 grams salted butter, at room temperature (4 3/8 ounces)

125 grams dark brown sugar (4 1/4 ounces)

1/2 deciliter heavy whipping cream (1.7 ounces)

250 grams all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).

Beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Add cream and beat until combined. Sift together flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Place dough onto lightly floured working surface, knead dough briefly and divide into four smaller portions. Roll each portion out into logs the size of your middle finger. Cut logs into 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) pieces and place on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes or until light browned in color. Let cool on baking sheets before storing in an airtight container. Glædelig Jul and Merry Christmas ♥

Danish Pebernødder

Danish Pebernødder

Source: Maden i mit Liv originally from Lagkagehuset

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Brunkager – Ginger Cookies

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Danish, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on December 22, 2011| 10 Comments »

Brunkager

Here is another Cookie which I grew up with. You can buy a version of this in some grocery store, but why on earth do that, when you can fill your house with an intense aroma of cinnamon, cloves and ginger. The Brunkage cookie is crunchy and crisp and to me it’s filled with childhood Christmas memories from a long, long time ago….well, not that long ago 🙂

I’ve been searching for a Brunkage recipe which uses ingredients that I have relative easy access to. Again, there are numerous different ways to make this cookie. This recipe is really straight forward as far as ingredients go, it is easy and quick to make and the cookies are very flavorful. As far as the syrup goes, I did use a Danish dark syrup (mørk sirup, in Danish). However, I did some inquiring about a substitute syrup and the response I got was that Maple syrup will work just fine. So although I have not tried it myself, it should be no problem using Maple syrup. I hope you enjoy this cookies as much as I do!

Brunkage thickness

Ingredients:

200 grams butter (7 ounces), at room temperature

200 grams sugar (7 ounces)

1 deciliter syrup (0.4 cup) (100 milliliter)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

325 – 350 grams flour (11.4 – 12.3 ounces)

1 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch of salt

100 – 125 grams blanched sliced almonds (3.5 – 4.4 ounces)

Directions:

In the bowl of an stand-up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or electrical mixer add butter and sugar and beat until smooth. Add syrup, ginger, cinnamon and cloves, mix until combined. Holding back a small amount of flour for kneading the dough, add the majority of the flour and all of the baking soda, salt and almonds. Mix until combined, careful not to over-mix. Turn dough out onto working surface and using the remaining flour, knead the dough briefly until smooth.  Divide dough into two equal portions and form  two logs 5 centimeters in thickness. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and place in a zip lock bag. Let dough rest in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 176 degrees C (350 degrees F) and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice dough into approximately 4-5 mm (0.2 inch) thick slices and bake in the middle of oven for 9-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to cooling rack. Store cookies in a cookie tin with a tight-fitting lid. Glædelig Jul and Merry Christmas 🙂

Mørk Sirup

Source: Kirsten Hüttemeier via Connie Lauridsen Childs

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World Peace Cookies – Secret Recipe Club

Posted in Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Secret Recipe Club, tagged , , , , , on December 19, 2011| 16 Comments »

World Peace Cookies

This is my second month of participating in The Secret Recipe Club and I was assigned to go sneak around Everyday Insanity’s food blog. Everyday Insanity is a very lovely blog run by Cindy who lives in Utah and who has grown children as well as grandchildren. The blog has an even mix of wonderful savory foods and delicious sweets. Since Christmas is quickly approaching I really wanted to stick with the Christmas theme. When I came across Cindy’s World Peace Cookies I immediately knew what I was making. What could possibly be more appropriate for the Christmas season than World Peace Cookies?

I had already heard wild rumors about how delicious these cookies are and I am here to tell you that the rumors are true. The cookies are fairly simple and quick to make. I did read a piece of good advice which was to remove one tablespoon of flour and it worked out really well. So I measured out 1 1/4 cups flour and then removed 1 tablespoon. The final dough appears a little bit crumbly but simply just press the dough together gently. After the cookies are done baking they may look undercooked to you, but they really are fully cooked so don’t be tempted to over-bake them.

The cookies are slightly crumbly yet a little chewy and wonderful chocolaty with a hint of sea salt. I believe they will become a stable Christmas cookie here at our house. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe Cindy 🙂

World Peace Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (11 tablespoons), at room temperature

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

a small 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour – minus 1 tablespoon

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (use chips or chocolate that’s chopped into small chocolate chip size)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add  brown sugar, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Continue to beat for two minutes more, scraping sides of bowl and paddle as needed.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. With the mixer off, add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Pulse the mixer on low about five times, one or two seconds each time. Continue to mix on low-speed just until the flour disappears into the dough, do not over-mix. The dough will look crumbly. Add the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn dough out onto work surface, press it together and divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time, press and gently roll the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, making sure rack is placed in the center of oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Using a sharp knife, cut the cold logs into 1/2 inch slices. If the sliced dough cracks, simply just press them together again. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes. Do not over-bake cookies even though they may not look done to you. Transfer baking sheet to a cooling rack and let cookies rest until room temperature.

Note: the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you are using frozen dough, you do not need to defrost it before baking (although it is a lot easier to slice if it’s defrosted) – just slice the logs into cookies and bake for 1 minute longer. Enjoy!

Source: Cookbookhabit via Everyday Insanity

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Anvil Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Posted in Chocolate, Cookies, Frosting, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 12, 2011| 13 Comments »

Anvil Cookies

My husband Joe asked me if I could make cookies in the shape of an anvil. I said “sure, but I don’t think you’ll find an anvil cookie cutter in the stores”. Of course I should have known that it wouldn’t stop him on his quest for anvil cookies. And so he proceeded to make an anvil cookie cutter…is there anything that man cannot make?

Gentile Forge Cookies

The cookie cutter is nice and sharp and it worked like a charm. I choose a delicious chocolate sugar cookie and to make sure the dough does not spread out during baking it’s important to let the cut-out cookies chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.

Anvil Cookies

Anvil Chocolate Sugar Cookies (makes 44 cookies)

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (355 grams)

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder (75 grams)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), at room temperature

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (350 grams)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar (220 grams)

1 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder (15 grams)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (can use other extract flavors if desired)

1/4 – 1/2 cup warm water (60 – 120 ml)

food color, if desired

Directions:

To make Cookies: In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder and set aside. In the bowl of an electrical mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, mix until combined. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients. As dry ingredients becomes incorporated you can increase speed. Mix only until it forms a homogeneous dough. Divide dough into two portions, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

Remove one half of dough from refrigerator. Lightly flour your work surface and roll dough out to a thickness of 1/4 inch (6 millimeters). Keep turning the dough so it does not stick to counter. Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to baking sheets. Place baking sheets in refrigerator for 15 minutes (to prevent cookies from loosing their shape during baking). Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until firm around edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Frost with Icing if desired.

To make Icing: Note – for these particular cookies I only iced along the edges of cookies. If you plan on filling in cookies with icing, I would recommend doubling the icing recipe.

In a medium bowl sift together powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add almond extract. Add warm water in increments, while mixing with your electrical mixer. Add food color if desired. Beat on medium speed until smooth and glossy. Proper consistency is when a ribbon of icing falls into bowl and remain on surface for a few seconds. Add more confectioners sugar if icing becomes too thin. Use icing immediately or store in an airtight container covered with plastic wrap directly on the surface.

Be sure icing in completely set before storing cookies in an airtight container. It could take several hours for icing to set.

Source: adapted from Joy of Baking

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Havregrynskugler – Oat Balls

Posted in Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Danish, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2011| 11 Comments »

Havregrynskugler

Havregrynskugler is a Danish Christmas treat that children of almost all ages can really get involved in making. They are a fun activity and super easy to make and also no-bake.

There are numerous different recipes for Havregrynskugler varying from low-fat to much richer, lower sugar to sweeter as well as adult versions containing alcohol and coffee. I like this version because it does not have a lot of butter, contains Marzipan which I love and it has a slight crunch from the sugar. If you don’t care for the sugar crunch you could substitute with confectioners sugar.

Havregrynskugler

Ingredients:

50 gram unsalted butter, at room temperature (4 tablespoons)

50 gram marzipan (1.75 ounces)

75 gram sugar (2.63 ounces)

125 gram oats (1 1/2 cups)

25 gram unsweetened cocoa (0.87 ounce or 4 tablespoons)

1 -2 teaspoon almond extract

1 -2 teaspoon rum

2 teaspoon seedless raspberry jam

about 100 gram coconut flakes, chopped finely (3.51 ounces)

Directions:

Optional: process oats in a food processor for a few pulses to break up oats a little.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add butter and break marzipan into small pieces, cream together until smooth. Add sugar and continue to beat for 1 or 2 minutes longer. Add oats, cocoa, almond extract, rum and raspberry jam, continue to mix until homogeneous.

Form into small balls by pressing the dough together and rolling in your hands. Immediately roll each ball in the coconut. Place covered in refrigerator. Serve cold. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Kvalimad

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