My Danish Kitchen

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