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!

Marengskys - Meringue Tops

Marengskys - Meringue Tops

Meringue tops are called kys or kisses in Danish, and are small sweet tops, perfect with ice cream or at any party. 

These are dressed up for a party, with some rainbow disco dust.

Makes a lot.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 135 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• a drop food coloring
• sprinkle of rainbow disco dust 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300℉ (150℃). Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In the bowl for the stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually, a couple tablespoons at a time, while still beating the egg whites. The egg whites/meringue will become thick and glossy. Gently fold in cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and food coloring.

Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe tops onto the prepared baking sheets, You don't need to space them to far apart, they will stay pretty much the same size. Sprinkle the tops with rainbow disco dust.

Bake the meringues for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Napoleonshatte - Napoleon Hats

Napoleonshatte - Napoleon Hats

Napoleon hats are a stable in the Danish Baker's Shops. The cake is made from shortcrust pastry with a filling of kransekage dough, then dipped in a good dark chocolate. Napoleon hats are one of the cakes I have to have when I'm visiting Denmark. They are really delicious, and to be honest, this homemade version with real marzipan is so much better than the ones you can buy at most baker's shops. 

The cake is named after the (funny) hat of the French General and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.  

Makes 16.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 300 g all-purpose flour

• 150 g butter, salted and room temperature

• 100 g confectionary sugar

• 1 egg

Filling:

• 250 g almond paste (I used ren rå marzipan from Odense)

• 100 g sugar

• 1 egg white

Dipped in:

250 g dark chocolate, tempered

Directions:

Pastry:

Mix the butter in the flour and sugar in a stand mixer. Add the egg and mix just until the dough starts to lump together. Form the dough into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

On a floured surface roll the dough to about 1/10-inch (3mm) thickness. Cut out rounds about 3⅕-inch (8 cm) in diameter.

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Filling:

In the making

Beat the egg white with the sugar until combined, mix in the marzipan a little at a time. Divide the mixture into 16 balls. 

Place a ball unto the center of each pastry round. Fold three flaps of the circle up, pressing it into the marzipan ball, so it sticks. Use three finger to make it even. 

Bake the cakes for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Let the cakes cool completely. Place the cooled cakes in the refrigerator until you are ready with the tempered chocolate.

Dip the bottom of the cake in tempered dark chocolate, scrape excess chocolate off the cake. Set the cake on its side with the chocolate pointing up, until the chocolate has set.

Serve the napoleon hats with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

Enjoy!

Just dipped in chocolate

Coconut Macaroons - kokosmakroner

Coconut Macaroons - kokosmakroner

I love cocos macaroons aka kokosmakaroner. I love the crispy crust and the sweet soft center. And the cookie just get better when dipped in a good chocolate. Everything gets better with chocolate. 

We learned to make these macaroons in home economic in school, well we learned a simpler version, but this recipe adapted from Food52, elevates the simple macaroon to a whole new level.

Makes 12-16 small cookies.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 2 egg whites
• 110 g unsweetened, coconut flakes
• 85 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste 
• 1 pinch salt

Dipping:

• 150 g dark chocolate (I used valrhona)

Directions:

Cookies:

Put all ingredients in a large heatproof bowl, I used a stainless steel bowl. Place it on the top of a pot with boiling water, taken off the heat. Stir the mixture until the egg starts to thicken and turn opaque. Remove the bowl from the pot, and set aside for about 20-30 minutes. This gives the coconut time to absorb the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

With wet hands form 10-12 ball, and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Shape the balls to peaks. 

Bake the cookies for 5 minutes, you just want the tips to begin to color. Lower the heat to 325℉ (165℃). Continue to bake the cookies for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown with darker edges. 

Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before gently removing them from the parchment paper.

Dip the macaroons in tempered chocolate. The macaroons will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Enjoy!

Rutebiler - Chocolate Meringues

Rutebiler - Chocolate Meringues

Rutebiler is a very light and airy cookie, kinda like a chocolate meringue, but rutebiler has a rising agent, and in my version you use whole eggs. Rutebiler are small crispy chocolate rectangles, with a hollow center. They will melt in your mouth with a sweet chocolaty taste, making you want another one.

We had rutebiler at birthdays, as light cookies. Well, my mom had a bad experience with meringues and rutebiler at birthday parties. At one of my brothers birthdays the boys had a big food fight with meringues, and I remember my mom cursing a lot while cleaning up the sticky mess from carpet and furniture in the living room. That was the end of meringues at birthday parties in my family. 

Makes about 100. 

Ingredients:

• 750 g confectionary sugar (powder sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 2½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1¼ teaspoon Ammonium bicarbonate (baker's ammonia)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃).

Line baking sheets with baking paper.

Crown cookie press attachment

Sift the dry ingredients together, and mix them in the eggs. The batter will be kinda thick paste, a little on the dry side.  Run the dough through a cookie press or meat grinder with cookie attachment, that looks like a crown. Each cake should be about 5 cm (2-inches) long, place them about 2-inches apart, because the cookies will expand. Bake the cakes in the center of the oven for 6-8 minutes. These cookies are light and airy, with a hollow center.

Keep the cookies in an airtight container.

Enjoy!