Franske Snegle - Cinnamon Palmiers

Franske Snegle - Cinnamon Palmiers

Normally these cookies are large, in fact huge. But I wanted to make them smaller, so you get a delicate cookie rather than a huge piece you cannot finish. So I decided to cut the roll into even smaller pieces than I described in the directions, so I ended up with cookie sized cinnamon palmiers. I hope you will try these, they are relatively easy to make.

Makes 12-16.

Ingredients:

• puff pastry, store-bought and defrosted

• 100 g butter, room temperature

• 100 g sugar

• optional 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 10 ml simple syrup (half sugar and half water boiled into a thick syrup)

• extra sugar for sprinkles

Icing:

• confectionary sugar (powder sugar)

• Unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Valrhona)

• and a little warm water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 355℉/180℃ with convection, if you don't have convection, then preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃).

Cream the butter with the sugar, so you have a soft light mixture. Mix in the cinnamon.

Roll the pastry in to a 20 x 16 inch (50 x 40 cm) rectangle. Gentle spread the fluffy filling all over the pastry. Roll the pastry up tight. Cover the roll in plastic wrap, and let it sit in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to firm up a bit.

Cut the roll into 1 - 1.5-inch (3-4 cm) thick slices. Place slices on its ends, and press them flat to about ⅓-inch (1 cm) high. Brush both sides with the simple syrup. Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sugar on top.

Bake the palmier for 20-30 minutes until deep golden brown. Let the palmier cool, before icing.

Enjoy!

Mrs. Hobbs's Italian Rosemary Cookies

Italian Rosemary Cookies

These cookies are to die for!!!

How my friend and the whole world kept this recipe away from me, for so many years, it’s beyond my understanding.

If you only are baking one cookie this year, make it this one!

Makes 60-70.

Ingredients:

• 250 g butter, salted and room temperature

• 400 g sugar

• 2 eggs

• 30 g raw pistachios, finely chopped

• 10 g (3 tablespoons) fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

• 450 g all-purpose flour

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 3 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 orange, the zest

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time, making sure it’s fully incorporated, before adding the next. Mix in orange zest, rosemary, and pistachios. Sift flour, salt and baking powder and incorporate it in the dough.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Roll each part into a log (2 inch in diameter), wrap in Glad wrap, shape the log into a square, by pressing the log onto the kitchen counter. Refrigerate overnight. Try to make a smooth surface to get an even look on the finished cookies. Well, the dough were very soft, so I didn’t get the smooth surface on my logs. 🙃

Cut the logs into thin cookies and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spacing about 1-inch apart. Bake until golden around the edges, about 5-7 minutes at 350°F. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

Dansk Version:

Italienske Rosmarinsmåkager

Ingredienser:

• 250 g smør, saltet og stuetemperatur

• 400 g sukker

• 2 æg

• 30 g usaltede pistacienødder, finthakket

• 10 g (3 spsk) frisk rosmarin, finthakket

• 450 g hvedemel

• ½ tsk salt

• 3 tsk bagepulver

• 1 appelsin, skallen af

Fremgangsmåde:

Pisk sukker og smør hvidt, let og luftigt,. Tilsæt et æg af gangen, så det bliver mikset godt ind inden det næste æg tilsættes. Bland rosmarin, appelsinskal, salt og pistacienødder i. Sigt mel og bagepulveret ned i dejen, og rør det i.

Del dejen i 3 dele, og rul hver del til en stang med ca 5 cm diameter. Kom film (vita Wrap) omkring hver stang, og pres rullerne firkantet, ved at presse stængerne ned mod køkkenbordet. Prøv at gøre overfladen så glat som muligt. Læg nu dejstængerne i køleskabet natten over.

Når du er klar til at bage, opvarm ovnen til 175℃. Skær stængerne i tynde skiver og læg dem på en bageplade med bagepapir, med ca 2-3 cm afstand.

Bag småkagerne indtil de er gyldne i kanterne, ca 5-7 minutter. Afkøl småkagerne på bagepapiret på en bagerist. Opbevar småkagerne i en lufttæt beholder.

Enjoy!

Danish Shortbread Sticks

December 3th

This is a take on the traditional Danish Shortbread or Finskbrød as they are called. I really like the addition of the lemon zest, and the more modern look. Normally Danes do not like changes to their traditional food and cookies. 'It has to be exactly like my mom made it' - but some changes are for the better, like this one.

Inspired by a Blomsterberg recipe.

Makes 30.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 200 g butter, salted, room temperature

• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 60 confectionary (powdered) sugar

• 1 lemon, the zest of

• 275 g all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 1 egg,

• coarse raw cane sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃)

Mix all the ingredients until it forms a dough, be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic film, and let it rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 6 x 12-inch (15 x 30 cm) rectangle. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, set aside. Beat the egg, and brush a thin even layer on the dough. Sprinkle with a good amount of raw cane sugar. Gently press the sugar into the dough with the rolling pin. Put the dough into the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes. Cut the dough in half so you now have 2 squares 6x6-inches (15x15 cm) each. Cut each square in 14-15 long thin logs, 

Bake for 7-10 minutes, until light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

American cookies are soft and chewy...... but I like them more on the crispy side. So I bake my cookies on lower heat, and maybe a little longer than normally. Resulting in a thinner and crispier cookie, just the way I like them.

I hope you will like these cookies too. 

Makes 12-15 cookies 

Ingredients:

• 113 g (1 stick) butter, salted and room temperature 
• 175 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla, I use vanilla bean paste
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅛ teaspoon salt (fine)
• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 50-100 g semisweet chocolate chips (I tend to like less chips in my cookies, than most people)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 370℉ 8190℃). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3-inches apart. I use a ice cream scooper. Bake the cookies until brown around the edges, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wirerack to cool. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 

ice cream sandwich

If you do not need all the cookies at once. You can scoop the dough on to a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze them. Place the frozen cookie dough in a freezer bag. Bake the cookies directly from the freezer, when you need them. Just add a couple of minuts to the baking time. 

You can use your fresh baked and cooled cookies to make ice cream sandwiches with your favorite ice cream. 

Enjoy!

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

I bought some dried culinary lavender, for my cheese cake. I thought that I would receive about a cup lavender. But no, I got a big bag full of lavender. I have enough lavender to last a lifetime or two. So I have to come up with new ways to use the lavender, so now I warned you. 😉

Makes about 30

Ingredients:

• 60 g confectionary (powdered) sugar

• 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender

• 1 lemon, the zest of

• 225 g butter, salted and room temperature

• 215 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

In the bowl for the stand mixer, mix the sugar, dried lavender, and lemon zest until well incorporated. Add the softened butter and cream it with the sugar. You are looking for at light and fluffy butter mixture. Slowly add flour mixing until just combined.

Roll dough into a log (2 inch in diameter), wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for  minimum 3 hours. Make sure to have a smooth surface to get an even look on the finished cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).

Slice the chilled dough into ¼-inch slices, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake cookies 12-15 minutes, not getting any golden edges on the cookies.

Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!