by fiveandspice
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Expand4 cups sifted all-purpose flour Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup plus 6 Tbs. softened butter Ask a question about this ingredient
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
1 egg, lightly beaten Ask a question about this ingredient
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract if you have no vanilla sugar) Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon baking powder Ask a question about this ingredient
1 egg white, for brushing the cookies with Ask a question about this ingredient
pearl sugar, for sprinkling Ask a question about this ingredient
Blend the flour, baking soda, and butter together in a bowl until it looks kind of like sand, using your fingers to rub the butter into the flour. Next blend in the sugar with your fingers. Finally, add the egg and vanilla, still with your hands, and mush, smash, rub, and stir the dough together. (Yes, you use your hands for the whole process. It's fun!)
Ask a question about this stepWhen it is thoroughly mixed, form it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator over night. When you are ready to bake, let the dough warm up a bit, otherwise it will be nearly impossible to work with.
Ask a question about this stepBreak off pieces of the dough, and roll them into balls that are about 1 to 1 ½ inches across, and put on cookie sheets. Once all the dough is made into balls, press your thumb into each to make an indentation. Most of the cookies will crack around the edges as you press into them. If they totally fall apart, just smash them up and roll them into new balls, but if there are just some cracks, that’s part of the look.
Ask a question about this stepBrush the tops of the cookies with the egg white to glaze. Then sprinkle some pearl sugar into each indentation. Pearl sugar is a special type of sugar for decoration that looks like tiny white rocks, or something of the sort. If you can’t find any, you can also use finely chopped almonds, or sprinkles that you like to decorate with (though I wouldn’t recommend using flavored sprinkles).
Ask a question about this stepBake the cookies at 350˚F for 15 minutes until golden. Move to a cooling rack and allow to cool. These cookies are delicious with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, or a mug of hot spiced wine. However, they are the absolute very best as a snack while you’re out on the cross-country ski trails, if you happen to be a cross-country skier. They keep for a week or two sealed in cookie tins, and they also freeze and defrost well, if you want to make them ahead.
Ask a question about this stepHi Greenstuff, sorry to be slow to get back to you! Somehow I missed your comment. I never have used hartshorn, but I would like to give it a try sometime! That's a great idea. That type of historical cooking and the changes in ingredients over time are so fascinating to me.
I am still mulling this one over. We're thinking of adding some Norwegian recipes to our usual repertoire this year, and we are all cross-country skiers. So it seems like Serinakaker are a must! I've looked at a lot of recipes, and most seem to call for baking powder or hartshorn, not the baking soda your family uses. Any thoughts from the School of Nutrition part of you? Thanks!
You know that's a great question. Looking at the recipe and actually giving it some thought instead of just doing it as we always have without questioning, I think it probably should be baking powder rather than soda. It makes a lot more sense. Also, in Norway we almost always seem to use baking powder not soda anyway. I have a feeling that the scribbled recipe from my mom's notebook was from her watching her mom make them and jotting notes about what she saw and it might have been that she miswrote, or that that time her mom subbed because of missing ingredients or something. I'm going to ask my mom and get back t o you about it.
Ok, I've looked into it some, and it seems like the recipe should have baking powder and it had just been miswritten in my mom's notebook. Obviously, it works ok with soda, but I think it'll be better with powder, and I'm going to try it and make the change!
Thanks! I've been thinking about this issue off and on and had pretty much decided that they'd be really good cookies even if I forget to add any leavening at all! Especially if your mom meant just a half a teaspoon of baking powder. The baking powder recipe I use for Swedish dreams (drömmer), for example, calls for 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. But let us know! (And I'm still thinking about maybe making some with hartshorn.)
Congratulations on the CP! These do sound utterly addicting, and I'd love to see the original recipe written in Norwegian someday!
Thank you wssmom! Addicting is exactly the right word for them. Next time I'm around a scanner, I'll have to scan the Norwegian recipe and add it as a photo. It's one of those great recipes that tells you do things like "blend all ingredients in the proper order" and just "shape the cookies" (with no further instruction about how...)
Congratulations on the CP! These do sound utterly addicting, and I'd love to see the original recipe written in Norwegian someday!
Looks like a lovely recipe, and what a great story. Congrats on the CP!
Thanks Ms. T! It's a favorite!
Love a good butter cookies and I really love the simplicity of the recipe.. Perfect for the holidays.
Thank you sdebrango! I completely agree about butter cookies. My holidays are all about family, love, good cheer, and high fat dairy products! hehe.
These look so good fiveandspice! I used to be a xc-skier, but will settle for having these during a hike or long walk!
Thanks Bevi! And you know, I think they'll be equally good on a hike or long walk. :)
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I'm definitely adding these to my repertoire.
Have you made them with hartshorn instead of the baking soda? Years ago, I did a comparison of one of our favorite Swedish Christmas cookies--baking powder vs. hartshorn. I've pretty much stuck with the modern leavening, but sometimes it's fun to go back in time.