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What is traditional Risalamande (Danish Rice Pudding Dessert)
This recipe for Risalamande is properly the most famous and traditional Danish Christmas dessert that you can make. Risalamande is a rice pudding with vanilla, almonds and whipped cream, and it's typically served together with warm cherry sauce. The word Risalamande comes from the French word Riz à l'amande, which directly translated means rice with almonds. There are many different ways of spelling the word, Ris a la mande, Ris à l'amande and Ris ala mande just to name some, however, we have been told that the most correct way should be Risalamande so that's the way we spell it.
See also: Recipe for normal Danish Rice Pudding
Risalamande is more or less only served as a Christmas dessert right after the dinner on Christmas eve. In Denmark, and most of the Nordic and European countries, we celebrate Christmas at Christmas eve and not at Christmas day like in the US. The typical way of spending Christmas eve is getting together with family, have a nice Christmas dinner and exchange presents. The typical Danish Christmas Eve dinner consist of roasted pork or duck served with boiled and glazed potatoes, braised red cabbage and brown sauce, and for dessert Risalamande.
Mandelgaven (the Almond Present) inside Risalamande
When the Risalamande is serve it's both a very delicious dessert and a funny game. The Risalamande contains a lot of chopped almonds. It's a great tradition that the person who make the dessert leave one almond unchopped. This extra whole almond is now mixed into the Risalamande. When the dessert is served the person who gets the whole almond in his/hers serving wins a prize.
See also: What is the rice pudding leftover used for?
The prize is typically a smaller present worth about 15-20$. Because the whole almond is hidden in the dessert this will often result in a lot of very full stomachs. If the almond is in the bottom of the bowl people normally keep eating until they have found the almond and won this prize - but that's just a funny part of the game.
How to make the original Risalamande from Denmark
Start by making a portion of traditional Danish rice pudding. You can eat the traditional Danish rice pudding as it is, therefore we have made a separate recipe for rice pudding - however, you can also just follow the instructions below which is slightly changes because it's used to make Risalamande.
The only difference between the two recipes for rice pudding is that the Risalamande version of the rice pudding has vanilla in it and no salt. However, you can use both versions of the rice pudding recipes to make the Risalamande, we have done that many times.
When the rice pudding is ready then add sugar, whipped cream and chopped almonds. The dessert is normally served with warm cherry sauce and it's super delicious. Some people make the rice pudding the day before Christmas Eve and eat some of it for dinner - on the day of Christmas Eve the leftovers, of the rice pudding, is mixed with sugar, whipped cream and almonds and served as the dessert after the Christmas dinner.
This is a smart way to save some time in the kitchen on the busy Christmas eve because you don't have to spend an hour boiling and preparing the rice pudding. This is properly the most traditional Danish Christmas dessert you can have. Enjoy!
Risalamande - Danish Rice Dessert for Christmas
Ingredients
Rice pudding
- 2.25 dl short-grained white rice (pudding rice)
- 1 dl water
- 1 l milk
- 2 vanilla beans (the seeds)
Risalamande
- 150 g almonds
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 5 dl heavy cream
- 1 can cherry sauce (for topping)
Instructions
Danish rice pudding (The Risalamande version)
- In a saucepan; add rice and water. Heat up and let it boil for about 2 minutes.
- Add the milk to the pudding and heat up until boiling under constantly stirring.
- Add the seeds from the vanilla beans. This is done by slicing the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds using a knife. Mix the vanilla with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Also, add the empty vanilla beans to the pudding (they still have a lot of flavor).
- Let the pudding simmer under a lid at low heat. The rice has a tendency to burn to the saucepan so remember to stir regularly. Let it simmer for about 35 minutes.
- Remove the empty vanilla beans. The rice pudding is now done. Let it cool in the fridge before you proceed to make the Risalamande. You can with advantage make this rice pudding the day in advance.
Risalamande
- Heat some water until boiling point and pour it in a small bowl. Add the almonds and let them soak in the hot water for about 5-7 minutes. One-by-one take the almonds up and press them between two fingers so that the peel separates from the almond. Add more hot water if needed. It should be easy to skin the almonds.
- Coarsely chop the almonds and mix them with the cold rice pudding.
- If you used the original recipe for rice pudding (and not the one in this recipe) and boiled the rice pudding without the vanilla beans, then add the seeds of the beans to the pudding now. Add it to the cold rice pudding and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the heavy cream into whipped cream and gently mix the it with the rice pudding. The Risalamande is now done. Put it in the fridge until serving.
Notes
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Jewish cookies is a very popular and delicious small Christmas cookies. We both remember having had these cookies when we were kids and today it's one of our great Christmas traditions to make these cookies. When they are in the oven they spread out the most wonderful scent of Christmas - which is one of the reasons we love to make them. We have read that this cookie got the name, Jewish cookie, because it was made and sold by Jews bakeries back in the 1700 century. A Jewish cookie, or Jødekager as it's called in Danish, is a small and simple cookie sprinkled with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and chopped almonds.
So simple but also so delicious!
See also: Recipe for original Nordic Christmas butter cookies
The recipe for these cookies are very easy to make and the step where the cookies are shaped using a glass cup or jar is especially a lot of fun for the kids - we both remember that we loved to make these cookies when we were kids. You can easily make the dough for these cookies a day in advance if you just keep it refrigerated.
If you are interested in more traditional Nordic Christmas recipes then I have an entire section here on my blog dedicated - Find it by browsing the menu .
Jewish Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 150 g butter
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g sugar
- 1 egg
Topping
- 1 egg
- 50 g almonds (chopped)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl; add the flour and butter. Use your hands to crumble/mix the butter with the flour. Add the sugar and mix again.
- Add one egg and assemble the dough.
- Cover the bowl with some plastic foil and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Use a rolling pin and roll the dough into a sheet with a thickness of about 2-3 mm (~1/10 inch).
- Use a small glass with a diameter of about 5-6 cm (~2 inch) to cutout the cookies.
- Place the cookies on an oven tray lined with parchment/baking paper.
- Brush the cookies with a beaten egg.
- For the topping. Chop the almonds and mix them with sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture over the cookies.
- Bake the cookies at 200 C (400 F) for about 6-8 minutes.
- Keep the cookies in a glass or cookie jar with some baking paper at the bottom so that they stay crisp.
Notes
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This recipe for Danish butter cookies is another traditional and very popular Danish Christmas recipe. In Danish this cookie is called Vaniljekranse which directly translated means vanilla wreaths.
Read also: Recipe for Danish Butter Cake (Dagmar Tart)
A Vaniljekrans is basically a small round cookie with a crisp crust and a delicious taste of vanilla. We think that these Vaniljekranse is one of the best Christmas desserts/snacks that you can make in the weeks leading up to Christmas. As said, Vaniljekranse is a very traditional cookie and it goes way back, and we both remember having made these cookies with our moms when we were kids - shaping the small round cookies are just really fun, especially for kids.
See also: How to make traditional Danish Christmas Pancake Balls
The dough for these cookies is actually really easy to make. The recipe is based on simple ingredients which is mixed together into a soft and sticky dough. The dough is then extruded in strips and then formed into small round cookies. The extrusion process can be done using a piping bag with a star nozzle, which however require some muscle strength - this is the way we normally do it. However, if you own a meat grinder and have a star nozzle this will ease this process very much.
If you are interesting in other traditional Danish Christmas recipes you can take a look at our Christmas section.
Danish Butter Cookies (Vaniljekranse)
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean
- 175 g sugar
- 200 g soft butter
- 1 egg
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 75 g almonds
Instructions
- Use a food processor or a blender to ground the almonds into an almond flour.
- Open the vanilla bean and scrape out the vanilla seeds. I have made a simple guide how to do this - find it here on my blog.
- Mix sugar, vanilla seeds, the soft butter, all-purpose flour and the almond flour together in a bowl.
- Add the egg and mix it all together into a soggy and soft dough.
- Pour the dough into a piping bag and use the star nozzle.
- Extrude the dough into small circles with a diameter of about 4-5 cm (1.5-2 inch). If you have a meat grinder use the star attachment and extrude the dough into long strips. Cut the strips into smaller pieces and put them together in circles.
- Place the vanilla cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place them with a distance of 4 cm apart (1.5 inch).
- Bake the cookies at 200 C (400 F) for about 6 minutes or until they have a light-brown color.
- Let the cookies cool off on an oven grid. When cooled off, keep the cookies in a cookie jar.
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]]>The post Original Recipe for Danish Aebleskiver (Pancake balls) appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.
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Danish Pancake Balls (Aebleskiver)
In Denmark we have so many cooking traditions and especially in the month of December we basically live in our kitchen. There are just so many great Christmas recipes we have to make during Christmas. This recipe for traditional Danish pancake balls is probably one of the most famous Christmas desserts that the Danes love and eat during Christmas.
In danish we call this dessert Aebleskiver which directly translated means Apple Slices although there aren't any apples in this recipe.
Read also: Traditional recipe for Danish Butter Cookies
An Aebleskive is like a spherical pancake, it's solid but still fluffy and light. If we should 'translate' the taste of an Aebleskive into an international standard it should be the taste of a donut mixed with pancakes.
As said, these pancake balls are extremely popular in Denmark during the Christmas holidays and these are to be found in almost every supermarket starting from November until after Christmas. However, the ones you can buy at the supermarket does not compare at all to the homemade ones. The ones you make yourself are just way more delicious.
See also: Original recipe for Danish Dream Cake (Droemmekage)
If you are looking for other great Nordic recipes then I can recommend taking a look at the Nordic section here on my blog - find it in the menu above.
The Old and Original Recipe for Aebleskiver
This recipe for Aebleskiver is the one my parents used to make homemade Aebleskiver when I was a child, and it's the one I use today.
The first Aebleskiver were originally cooked with small pieces of apples or sometimes applesauce as filling, from there they got their name. However, in the modern Danish kitchen these filling are not included anymore and haven't been for the past many year. For us this is the most original recipe for Aebleskiver, it's super delicious and relatively easy to make.
Read also: Delicious recipe for Danish Butter Cake (Dagmar tart)
This is one of our best Christmas traditions and we always makes them several times during the Christmas holidays. Most of the times we stick with our traditional recipe but sometimes we add different kinds of filling inside the Aebleskiver. This filling is added during the frying process.
As filling, we have used chocolate chips, small apple pieces or different variations of jam.
The Aebleskive Frying Pan
The frying of the Aebleskiver are done in a special Aebleskive frying pan. The old and traditional pans are made of cast iron. In Denmark these pans can be bought everywhere in the months of November to December. Internationally, these pans can be bought online or sometimes at a local kitchen store.
Original Recipe for Danish Aebleskiver (Pancake balls)
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Natron (baking soda)
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 4 dl buttermilk
- 100 g butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
The Aebleskive Batter
- Separate the egg whites and yolks in separate bowls.
- Whisk the sugar, vanilla sugar and egg whites fluffy and stiff. The bowl must be completely clean and dry. A tiny bit of water will make the eggs whites impossible to whisk stiff. Set aside.
- Mix the egg yolks, all-purpose flour, natron (baking soda), salt and vanilla sugar together in a separate bowl.
- Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients while gradually adding the buttermilk. Keep mixing until the batter is uniform.
- Melt the butter and let it cool off a bit. Slowly add the cooled butter to the buttermilk mixture while whisking.
- Use a wooden spoon or similar to slowly mix the stiff eggs whites in the batter.
The Cooking of Aebleskiver
- You need a special Aebleskive pan for frying. You can get one online or maybe at your local kitchen store.
- Heat up the Aebleskive pan at medium heat and add a small piece of butter in each hole. Fill the holes 3/4 with the Aebleskive batter.
- When the batter starts to get firm and you can turn them over without cracking, then turn the Aebleskiver 90 degrees (using a wooden stick or similar) and let the batter flow into the pan.
- At this point there is a hole in the side of the Aebleskive. Pour a little extra batter into the hole and turn the Aebleskive another 90 degrees so that the hole gets closed.
- When the Aebleskiver have a solid surface turn them regularly so they get an even and light-brown crust.
Notes
Original Recipe for Danish Aebleskiver (Pancake balls) appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.
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This recipe for Danish Red cabbage is a traditional and very popular side dish for many different dishes. Red cabbage is served all year around, however, it's very popular at Christmas where it's served together with the traditional Christmas eve dinner the 24th of December. In Danish we call this side dish Rødkål which translated simple means Red cabbage. We have used this recipe several times and its way better than the red cabbage you can buy at the super market. It's really simple to make and you only need five different ingredients, red cabbage, vinegar, currant juice, sugar and salt. You can easily change this recipe into a more personal dish by adding different spices according to your taste.
Normally we would use currant juice in this red cabbage, however, we have sometimes used elderberry juice instead which is just as good. Besides currant and elderberry juice I have also hear from one of my readers that you can use cranberry juice with good results. However, I have not had the time to try this myself yet. You can make this Danish red cabbage in due time you just have to store it in jars which have been cleaned using boiling water. This will kill all the different bacteria and extend the shelf life. If you have some extra fat from the traditional roasted Christmas duck you can add some of it to the red cabbage, this gives a delicious taste and makes the cabbage shine.
Danish Red Cabbage (Rødkål)
Ingredients
- 1 kg red cabbage (2.2 lb)
- 2 dl vinegar (3/4 cup)
- 1.5 dl currant juice or elderberry juice (2/3 cup)
- 150 g sugar (5 oz)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Step 1: Finely shred the red cabbage and make sure that the pieces are not too long. Put the shredded red cabbage in a large sauce pan.
- Step 2: Pour the vinegar in the sauce pan, turn on the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir in the cabbage regularly so that it doesn't burn to the bottom of the sauce pan.
- Step 3: Add the juice, sugar and salt to the sauce pan and let it simmer for another 30 minutes or until it has the right consistency. The consistency is basically up to you - the longer you cook it the softer you will get the red cabbage.
- Step 4: Clean some glass jars using boiling water. This will kill all bacteria so that the red cabbage will last longer. Pour the red cabbage onto the jars and seal them right away. Keep the jars refrigerated.
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This recipe for Danish rice pudding is a very traditional and famous dish in Denmark. In Denmark we call this dish Risengrød which directly translated simply means Rice pudding. Risengrød is mostly served in the month of December and especially in the time around the Christmas days. In many families a large batch of rice pudding is made the 23rd of December where some of it is eaten for dinner and the rest is saved for the 24th. On the day of Christmas eve the rice pudding is mixed with vanilla, whipped cream and almonds and it's served as the famous and very delicious Christmas dessert Risalamande.
See also: Christmas Recipe for traditional Danish Butter Cookies
There are slightly different ways of making this rice pudding, however, this is the recipe my mother always used when I was a kid and it's the one we use today. Risengroed is very easy to make, you only need four different ingredients, rice, milk, water and some salt - all the ingredients are pouring into a large sauce pan and boiled for about 35 minutes. However, you do have to remember to stir in the pudding once in a while so that the rice don't burn to the bottom of the sauce pan. Personally we prefer to eat the rice pudding with cinnamon sugar and a tablespoon of butter as topping. Cinnamon sugar is simply just sugar and cinnamon mixed in the ratio of 4:1.
If you are making this rice pudding for the Danish dessert Risalamande we suggest that you add the vanilla from 1-2 vanilla beans and the empty bean to the rice pudding while boiling it. Also leave out the salt.
Danish Rice Pudding (Risengrød)
Ingredients
- 2.25 dl short-grained white rice pudding rice
- 1 dl water
- 1 liter milk
- 1 tsp salt
Cinnamon-Sugar
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Pour the water and the rice in a large sauce pan. Add salt, heat it up and let it boil for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the milk into the sauce pan and let it boil while stirring.
- Let the rice pudding boil lightly/simmer for about 35 minutes under a lid. Remember to stir in the pudding regularly so that the rice does not burn to the bottom of the sauce pan.
- Make some cinnamon sugar by mixing the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Notes
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]]>The post Top 4 Best Nordic Christmas Recipes appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.
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In this blog post I will go through my suggestions for the Top 4 Best Nordic Christmas recipes. What is the best time of the year? - for me it is differently the Christmas time and that should of course be celebrated with delicious food.
Maybe you have some Nordic roots or maybe you are just looking for some new recipes for some delicious Nordic Christmas food. No matter why you are here I am sure you will be able to find some fantastic recipe for some great Nordic Christmas food.
Also see: Complete Christmas recipe overview
Christmas is just all about getting together with friends and family, eating delicious Christmas food (sometimes maybe a little too much) - It is simply all about having a good time. This is exactly what we here in the Nordic countries call "Hygge".
Christmas and Hygge are two words which goes hand in hand. The word Hygge is simply just describing a feeling of great comfort. It is very similar to the english word "cozy".
I know that Christmas is celebrated in many different ways around the globe. My idea with this blog post is to give you an idea how we celebrate Christmas in Denmark and what kind of Christmas food we cook and eat. This time it will be a focus on Christmas desserts.
Read more: The best Danish recipes
This time I have browsed through my list of Christmas recipes and picked, what I think is, the Top 4 Best Danish Christmas recipes. Some of them are very popular in Denmark and you might already know them.
If you are interested in reading more about the recipes shown below - simply just click the picture and you are tranfered directly to the recipe page.
Let me know what you think. What is the best Nordic Christmas recipe?
1. Risalamande
Why not start with the best dessert? This recipe for Danish Risalamande is probably the most popular dessert which is eaten on Christmas eve just after the Christmas dinner.
The main course at the Christmas eve dinner is often either roasted duck or roasted pork with cracklings. However, it is very depended on what the traditions are in the family. Sometimes both duck and pork is served. The dessert is almost ten out of ten times this Risalamande dessert.
Risalamande is very easy to make. It is made from a few and simple ingredients where the three main ingredients are milk, rice and heavy cream.
Risalamande is super creamy and typically served with warm cherry sauce.
This is simply just a fantastic Danish Christmas dessert.
It is absolutely my most favorite dessert recipe. I hope that you like just as much as I do.
2. Danish Vanilla cookies (Vaniljekranse)
We started this Top 4 Christmas Recipe post with an all-time delicious Christmas dessert. Why not continue with some super delicious and very traditional Nordic Christmas cookies.
My second pick on this Top 4 list will be these Danish Vanilla Cookies also known as Vaniljekranse. These Danish Vaniljekranse is one of the best and most traditional Danish Christmas cookies you can make. This is a crisp cookie which has a sweet and delicious taste of vanilla.
The seeds from the fresh vanilla bean just gives these cookies a wonderful feeling of Christmas. And the smell when the are in the oven - Wauu!
I really love this recipe for Vaniljekranse. If Christmas has a taste - this is it!
3. Danish Pan Cake balls (Aebleskiver)
Let us continue this list with another wonderful Christmas recipe.
This recipe for Danish Pan Cake Balls is by far one of the most popular recipes here on Nordic Food & Living.
Danish Pan Cake Balls or Aebleskriver which they are called in Danish is made by frying a nice batter in a special Aebleskive-pan. Go to the full recipe and read much more about this special frying pan. Normally this pan has seven holes, where you pour in the batter. The result are some small and delicious crisp pan cake balls.
They are typically served with jam and icing sugar.
4. Danish Brown Cookies (Brunkager)
Finally this last recipe. Of course, it is not possible to have a Top Best Nordic Dessert List without these Danish Brown Cookies.
Danish Brown Cookies or Brunkager as they are called in Denmark is probably one of the best and most popular cookies around Christmas time. They are relatively easy to make and contains ingredients like ground cloves, ground allspice, ground cinnamon and ground ginger.
It sounds special, and it is!
They are super delicious and just the perfect treat when looking for some real Nordic Hygge.
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]]>The post Danish Roast Pork with Crackling (Flæskesteg) appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.
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This is the recipe for a traditional Danish roasted pork with a crisp rind. In Denmark this roast is called a Flæskesteg which translated simply means a pork roast and it is typically served during Christmas. However, many people also have it for dinner all year around. In many countries, a pork roast is normally prepared without the rind. In this Danish version the rind is always left on and then it is cooked into crisp and salty cracklings. In Denmark, you can get this piece of meat in every grocery stores. Outside Denmark, you properly need to contact you local butcher to get a cut where the rind is left on the meat.
See also: How to make Danish Sugar Browned Potatoes for Christmas
In the following we have collected three important tips how to get a very delicious Flæsesteg.
Tip 1; When preparing this pork roast you need to cut deep grooves in the rind about 5mm (1/5 inch) apart. In this step it is important that the grooves are deep but do not goes all the way down to the actual meat.
Tip 2; It is also important the you add plenty of salt on the rind and down in-between the grooves. If you do not add enough salt you risk that the rind do not get nice and crisp.
See also: The TOP 4 BEST Nordic Christmas recipes
Tip 3; finally, is important that the roast is lying in a horizontal position when cooking it in the oven. This makes sure that the rind is cooking evenly, so you do not risk that one end is burned and the other is under cooked.
If you are looking for other traditional Danish recipes you can take a look at our Danish archive section.
Danish Roast Pork with Crackling
Ingredients
- 1 kg Boneless pork roast with rind
- coarse salt
- 5 dried bay leaves (can be omitted)
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to cut long deep grooves in the rind of the pork roast. The grooves should be about 5 mm (1/5 inch) apart. Make sure to make deep grooves in the rind but do not cut into the actually meat.
- Rub the entire roast thoroughly with coarse salt. Especially, make sure that you get lots of salt in the grooves.
- Place 3-6 dried bay leaves in the grooves - this can be omitted if you do not have any.
- Place the roast on a rack with a roasting pan underneath. In the roasting pan; add 1/2 liter (2 cups) of water and some sliced carrots and onions. This water with the vegetables can later be used to make a nice gravy. Make sure that the roast is lying in a horizontal position. You can use a ball of aluminium foil under the roast to level it. If you do not do this you risk that the rind gets an uneven color or get burned.
- Preheat the oven to 225 C (440 F) and cook the roast for 15 minutes.
- Turn down the heat to 200 C (400 F) and continue cooking.
- When the core temperature is 57 C (135 F) turn on the grill function in the oven. This make sure that the rind gets nice and crisp. Keep an eye on the roast so that you don't burn it.
- The roast is done when the core temperature is 65 C (150 F). It takes about 1.5 hours to reach this temperature. If the water evaporates during the cooking, you should add some extra.
- When the roast is done; take it out of the oven. Let it rest for about 15 minutes or eat it right away. Cut the roast in slices at each groove.
- If you want to make a nice gravy; drain the vegetables form the water and pour it in a sauce pan. Add some heavy cream and some brown gravy coloring. Add salt to taste.
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No Christmas without klejner! Klejner is an old and very traditional Danish Christmas snack served throughout the month of December. A klejne is a small piece of dough shaped/twisted like a small knot or diamond and then deep-fried until it is crisp and golden.
See also: Original recipe for famous Danish Butter Cookies
In Denmark it is possible to buy klejner at almost every super market at Christmas. However, we always make our klejner ourselves. We believe that the homemade version is way better compared to the klejner from the super market. Some people think it is difficult to make them yourselves but actually it is pretty easy. It does take some time, though.
We normally estimate about 2-3 hours to make a batch of klejner. The dough is really easy and simple to put together. However, the dough must rest for about 1 hour and then it takes about 1 hour to shape/twist all the klejner. The twisting of the klejner can actually be quite fun especially if you have kids that can help. As said, a traditional klejne is twisted like a small knot but you can also try make all kind of different shapes like circles and squares - it is basically only your imagination that is the limit. When you have made klejner out of the dough they need to be deep-fried. In this step it is important to keep a high temperature on the oil. A deep-fryer is the best option. However, you can also just use a sauce pan and heat the oil on your stove.
We think that the klejner are best when they are freshly cooked and still a little warm. However, they are also good the days after. If you are interesting in other traditional Danish Christmas recipes you can find some in our archive.
Danish Fried Twists (Klejner)
Equipment
- Deep fryer
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 150 g sugar
- 150 g butter soft
- grated lemon peel optional
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 l oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whip egg and sugar into a light and fluffy mixture.
- Add the soft butter and some grated lemon peel, whip well. Keep whipping until the mixture has an even consistency.
- In a separate bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, baking soda and cardamom. Add the flour mixture and the heavy cream to the butter mixture and knead it well together. The dough must have a uniform consistency.
- Leave the dough in the fridge for about 1 hour. This will make it a bit more firm.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it has a thickness of about 0.5 cm (1/5 inch).
- Cut the dough into long strips with a width of about 4-5 cm (1.6-2 inch).
- Then cut the dough into slightly tilted strips. The result should be small 5x5 cm (2x2 incdiamond/rhomboid shaped dough pieces (see the pictures on NordicFoodLiving.com).
- Cut a small 2 cm (4/5 inchole in each of the small dough pieces.
- The dough pieces are now ready to be folded. This is actually pretty easy once you have learned the technique. Take one of the sharp corners and fold it through the center hole and pull it a little (see picture and video guide below).
- In a deep-frier or sauce pan; heat up the oil to about 180 C (360 F).
- Fry the klejner for about 2-3 minutes or until they are nice and golden. Flip them over a couple of times.
- When the klejner are done; put them on a sheet of paper towel. This will absorb the excessive oil.
- Keep the klejner in a cookie jar or cake tin. They are best when they are still a little warm.
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Danish brown cookies, or Brunkager, as they are called in Danish are another very famous and traditional Danish Christmas cookie. They are eaten throughout the month of December either in the homemade version or the one you can buy at the super market. The Brunkager we can buy at the grocery stores in Denmark are actually not too bad, but the homemade version is still a winner.
Read also: Recipe for traditional Danish Butter Cookies (Vaniljekranse)
Brunkage recipe from Danish TV Celebrity Mette Blomsterberg
This recipe for Brunkager is based on the recipe by the Danish pastry chef Mette Blomsterbergs. Mette has been the host for several food TV-shows and known for her delicious food. The dough for these cookies are actually pretty easy to make, especially since you don't need to chop the almonds and pistachio nuts. When the dough is mixed together it's poured into an oven pan and then it must cool off on the kitchen table for the day after. Then the dough become solid and you can cut it into thin cookie slices using a sharp knife.
See also: Top 4 Best Nordic Christmas Recipes
Potash used in Brunkager
The ingredient list contains some special ingredients like four different spices and potash. Potash is a chemical leavening agent which is typical used to make Brunkager. We have never used it in other recipes than Brunkager and in Denmark it's hard to find outside the Christmas season. However, Potash can be substituted with baking soda but it might give a less crisp result.
If you are interested in other traditional Danish Christmas recipes you can see our recipe archive.
Danish Brown Cookies (Brunkager)
Ingredients
- 250 g butter
- 250 g brown sugar
- 125 g light syrup (made from cane sugar)
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 150 g whole almonds
- 25 g unsalted pistachio kernels
- 2 tsp potash (or baking soda)
- 1 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- In a sauce pan; heat up the butter, syrup and brown sugar at medium heat until the temperature is about 70 C (160 F). Set the pot aside.
- In a large bowl; mix cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice and all-purpose flour. Add the whole almonds and pistachio kernels.
- In a small bowl; dissolve the potash in the cold water.
- Pour the butter and potash mixture into the bowl with the flour and mix/knead it all well.
- Pour the batter into an oven pan (about 18x18 cm - 7x7 inch) lined with baking paper. Make sure the batter is in an even layer and cover the pan with a sheet of baking paper.
- Leave the pan, with the batter, on your kitchen table for the next day.
- The batter should now be a solid dough. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 5-6 logs and then into thin slices.
- Place the cookie slices on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake the cookies at 180 C (360 F) for about 8-12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool off. Keep them in an air tight box or jar.
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