Cookie making number 6

18th December


You can tell Christmas is almost upon us when you are about to make the sixth of the the seven 'smakaker' for Christmas.  Today's make are Brune kaker, (Brown cakes). As with many of the Norwegian Christmas bakes, spices feature strongly  and this one is no exception.  Today's main spice  however has not been used in any great strength so far and it is...cloves, ground cloves.  The smell when you make these cookies is just phenomenal, really Christmassy.  The cookies need to be made in advance, just like the pepperkake and need to rest in the fridge for at least two days!  Yes, you read that right, two days minimum, but longer if you can.  The dough will last if wrapped well in clingfilm for up to a month,so is a great one to have in the fridge and then just bake when you have unexpected visitors, as they cook in about 7 minutes and you can serve up warm cookies creating a beautiful smell within the house at the same time, how welcoming is that?





These cookies leave a real warmth in the tummy,
almost like gløgg (mulled wine)

Brune kaker makes about 100
Oven:  175C/350F

250g salted butter
125g golden syrup
250g dark muscovado sugar
50g blanched almonds
100g mixed candid peel
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
500g plain flour




Place almonds in boiling water, once cooled a bit,
POP the shells off!

♥  Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup, stir til smooth and dissolved.  Cool.

♥  Chop almonds, but blanch first if necessary.  (To blanch almonds, boil water and place almonds in a bowl and cover with boiled water.  Leave for 5 mins and then take out an almonds and pinch the end of it, the almond, should just POP out of it's shell.  For us as a family, this is a Christmas chore a little like crossing the bottoms of Brussel sprouts!)  Once the mixture is cooled a little, add the spices, chopped almonds and candid peel.

♥  Add in flour and knead till a smooth dough.

♥  Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and form 4 rolled sausage shapes, approx, 4cm in diameter.  Cover each sausage dough with clingfilm and place in fridge til needed.

♥  Preheat oven and remove dough from fridge.  Slice each sausage very thinly with a sharp knife.

♥  Place cookies on a greased and lined baking tray, they bake for about 6-7 minutes.  These cookies burn very easily, so watch them carefully.

♥  Cool and enjoy.  These can be kept for about 4 weeks in an air tight tin.

♥  Hope you enjoy your Christmas baking.  ♥