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 .
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
Pete Giegerich
Grew up watching and eating Jodekager and Brunkager being made. Will now make some for Christmas 2015 and surprise the family with this wonderful find. I'm tempted to make some soon.
Louise Dam
I'm so glad we could help you with this recipe. Good luck with the baking. I say you should make some right ahead. Just to be ready for christmas :-)
Frida
Hej
Jeg synes det er nogle VILDT flotte billeder! Jeg vil derfor høre om det er muligt, at jeg må låne det til et skoleprojekt? Da jeg skal en opskrift. Det er det billede hvor du former kagerne med et glas :)
Louise Dam
Hej Frida
Du må gerne låne billedet :-)
Lado
Thanks for the recipes they came out amazing
Louise Dam
Sounds great! :-)
Robin
How thick do you roll the cookies out to, your directions say 1 inch but it looks more like an 1/8 inch from the pictures
Kim Nielsen
Hi Robin
Thanks for letting me know about this mistake. The correct thickness is about 1/10 inch. I've also updated the recipe. :-)
I hope you like the cookies
Regards Kim
Jennifer Sterne
I am going to try your recipe for Jødekage.
I hope I have better success.
Neil Sorensen
My favorite cookie for Christmas. My Grandmother's recipe called for Baker's ammonium (ammonium carbonate) for extra crispness.
Kim Nielsen
This is also one of my favorite Christmas cookies. I did not know this trick about the Baker's ammonium - thanks for sharing :-) regards Kim
Bo
Baker's ammonium = hjortetakssalt
theo
can you give us some more recipes
Kim Nielsen
Are there any specific recipes your are looking for?
theo
kids recipes so kids can make them
Birgit K Rogers
Can I freeze them , so many cookies to make this year and would like to get started?
Kim Nielsen
Actually, I have never tried to freeze them. However, it think that it is possible. I would do it before they are baked. Then you can bake a fresh batch whenever you feel for it.
Jenny sterne
I baked Jødekager from a different recipe. I measured meticulously.
My Danish granny used to bake them but I thought I would try a different flavour
So I did rum essence as well as the cinnamon and sugar etc.
The dough tasted amazing but the baked cookies not so much.
Quite disappointing actually. I made the dough into a roll for easy slicing
And chilled it well.
They taste sort of floury.
They are not crisp. I had no salts of hartshorn so I saw that I can use baking powder.
Jennifer Sterne
Should I reduce the oven heat slightly for a fan oven?
Kim Nielsen
Yes that would be a good idea. maybe just 15-20 degrees.
Leda Lewin Jessen
Hej Kim
Jeg underviser amerikanere i bagning og brugte din opskrift, da jeg tænkte, den var tilpasset/afprøvet på amerikansk vis. Men jødekagedejen bliver altså alt for våd, så jeg enten må tilføje mere mel eller mindre smør. Jeg nyder ellers dine opskrifter og deler altid din hjemmeside med folk, som gerne vil lave skandinavisk mad😉 Vh, Leda
Kim Nielsen
Hej Leda. Tak for din besked vedrørende Jødekagerne. Jeg har netop tjekket "oversættelsen" af ingredientslisten og umiddelbart ser den fin ud. Men jeg er da ked af at din kagedej blev for våd. Jeg må heller lige double tjekke opskriften endnu en gang. Igen, tak for at du har gjort mig opmærksom på dette. vh Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)