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      Serinakaker ~ a popular Scandinavian Christmas biscuit

      December 4th 2018

      Serinakaker:  If you really want uniform cookies,
      then each dough ball should weigh 15g
      Along with pepperkaker , serinakaker are my favourite Christmas cookie.  Scandinavians like to add spice to their cookies and this one uses vanilla.  Although we only bake these at Christmas, they are really perfect for any time of the year, they truly are scrumptious.  Very quick to make and melt in the mouth, what is not to like?


      Not only is this a favourite in our household but throughout Scandinavia too.  I blogged about these cookies exactly four years ago to the day, see the post here.  I possess 10 slightly different variations of this cookie recipe but my latest find may possibly be my favourite.  Written by the talented Dane, Brontë Aurell and featured in her latest book  Scandinavian Christmas, a book whose introduction pulled at my heartstrings and made me shed a tear has not been far away from me in the kitchen since I purchased it back in October.  If you are keen on trying new foods and are interested in Scandinavian Christmas food, then this is a book for you.


      Serinakaker:  Bakers sugar compromises of very large sugar grains
      that do not melt entirely when baked, if unavailable, use chopped almonds

      Serinakaker


      You will need:

      300 g plain flour
      1 tablespoon baking powder
      pinch of salt
      200g of cold butter, cubed
      125g icing sugar
      2 teaspoons vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
      1 egg
      1 egg white
      bakers sugar or chopped almonds

      Lined baking trays




      Serinakaker:  Brush with egg whites
      and sprinkle with Bakers sugar
      ♥  Mixing flour, baking powder and salt add the cubed butter and mix until breadcrumb like.

      ♥  Next, mix in the icing sugar and vanilla sugar/extract.

      ♥  Add the whole egg and mix until the dough just comes together.

      ♥  Wrap the dough in cling film and leave in the fridge for minimum an hour, I left it overnight.

      ♥  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

      ♥  Divide dough into quarters, leaving 3/4 in the fridge and working with a quarter at a time, the dough softens fairly quickly. Each quarter should make about 10 cookies.  Roll each quarter into 10 balls of similar size.  If you want the cookies to be exact then measure each ball on scales at 15g each.

      Serinaker:  Flaten the cookies
      with the bottom of a flat glass
      ♥  Place the balls evenly spaced on the lined baking trays, remembering they will spread a little in the oven.  Press each ball gently to squash it a bit, I used the base of a drinking glass to go this to produce a level surface.


      ♥  Brush each cookie with egg white and sprinkle with either the bakers' sugar or chopped almonds, don't be shy give a good sprinkling.

      ♥  Bake for about 10 minutes or until just golden.

      ♥  Cool on a wire rack and then store in an airtight container.

      These cookies will last for several days but do occasionally become a tad soft, if this is the case, I often pop them in a preheated oven of 150 degrees Celcius again for about 5 minutes making sure to allow them to cool completely to crisp up before eating.



      These are Moorishly delicious, you have been warned

      Do let me know if you bake them and thank you to everyone who has commented here, on Facebook, on Instagram, emailed me directly and to those silent readers too.  
      It's lovely having you back my friends.

      Serinakaker















      19 comments:

      1. I haven't tried these before, they sound delicious! Where do you get bakers sugar from? (Professor Google has not been helpful!)

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        Replies
        1. Tjhey really are a melt in the mouth, another name for this type of sugar is called course sugar, a well known upper class super market, beginning with Wait and ending in Rose sell it as pearl nibs, fabulous name! If you cannot get hold of any, just use any sugar you have, pile it on high though, to add the sweetness and help some remain during baking! Enjoy x

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      2. These sound yummy - you're in danger of becoming a bad influence! "don't be shy give a good sprinkling" made me laugh - you're my kind of cook! ;)

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        Replies
        1. Glad to have made you laugh Shelagh, think you will like these too x

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      3. You can always pop over, just excuse the chaos, feeding this blog takes up my house work time!!!

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      4. They look delicious. I'm a big fan of nuts so I bet they're delicious with the almonds added too.

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        Replies
        1. They really are tasty Jo. My blog post from four years ago,linked in the above post shows them with the chopped nuts on, they are great either way, with the nuts you get that extra crunch of texture too! Quick and easy to make, they do not last long in our house!

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        2. I made some! Trying to work out how to post you a picture! Might have to do so via FB. Smell is heavenly...

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        3. Ooh now there's a thought, if you figure it out how to publish a photo here do let me know, may look into that myself. Saw your photo you posted on the eclectichhomelife Fb page, wonderful, thank you for sharing Beth x

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      5. Lovely to be back adventing and christmassing with you too!

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        Replies
        1. So happy to see you here Amy, sending you warm Christmassy Advent wishes x

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        2. I thought about you this morning Amy when I blogged about my mantel. Hope all is well with you, wishing you a wonderful festive season.

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        3. Hello

          yes thanks all is well, I loved your mantel, it is very pretty! Happy Christmas!! xx

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      6. Those looked delicious, I like the idea of nuts too.

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      7. Mmmmm . . . . . more Christmassy goodness! I'm saving all your recipes for when I have a place of my own again, but may try to make a couple of recipes this year anyway! These look scrumptious! If I really wanted them uniform in size, not having a kitchen scale (we use cups and spoons over here), I'd buy a melon baller and use that to scoop the dough. But I'm not bad with just a teaspoon, either. Don't know if we have the large sugar here, but we do have almonds . . . now I'm drooling . . . lol

        No snow here yet, it's much like the West Coast or southern England so far. But soon, I think. It's creeping down the mountainsides. Have you had any yet? I love it for Christmas! Stay warm, Selma. Much love to you and your family. ~ Linne

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        Replies
        1. Ooh Linne what a great idea about the melon baller. No snow here, only rain, rain and more rain the past 3 days, but they say there is a possible blast coming our way. Stay warm you too Linne x

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        2. We are meant to have some snow beginning Sunday night (which will be Monday morning for you, of course). Not a lot, though. I'm still stubbornly wearing my hand-knitted socks and my beloved Jysk sandals (one pair indoors and the other outdoors). I'll shift back to my trainers when I absolutely have to . . . We haven't had much rain, though when I lived on Vancouver Island we had weather just like yours. And big rain and wind storms most every November. Better than ice and falling down, though. :-) Now I'm off to read the latest posts. Hugs ~ Linne

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      I will always read all comments and will try to reply but it may take me a couple of days, do please pop back and lets get a conversation going...