The Scandinavians bake or at least used to, from we think the 1800's onwards “syv slag”, meaning seven
sorts of cookies for the Christmas period. We do not really know why seven or indeed exactly how it came about. One theory is to do with coffee houses that sprung up in the late 1700s and the cookies they offered to accompany the coffee. This then they believe filtered through to ladies visiting each other in their homes and being offered something alongside the coffee. A housewife was thought of as mean and stingy if she offered fewer than seven cookies and showing off if she offered more! You just cannot win, can you!
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| Bondekjeks ~ Farmer biscuits |
sorts of cookies for the Christmas period. We do not really know why seven or indeed exactly how it came about. One theory is to do with coffee houses that sprung up in the late 1700s and the cookies they offered to accompany the coffee. This then they believe filtered through to ladies visiting each other in their homes and being offered something alongside the coffee. A housewife was thought of as mean and stingy if she offered fewer than seven cookies and showing off if she offered more! You just cannot win, can you!
That said in today's world many no longer bake seven varieties, after all, who has the time? Although for me it has become a part of the lead up to Christmas and something I find comforting and warming to do and has become important to me so I will continue.
The cookies I have chosen to showcase today has a very unpretentious name, that of Famer's Biscuit. It originated in Sweden and was apparently presented to the King of Sweden many many years ago as being one of the most unassuming sounding biscuits but one that surprisingly packs a real punch and hits all the right notes of a biscuit. It has almonds which add the all-important crunch to a good biscuit and golden syrup that adds a hint of caramel but allows the biscuit to also be a little chewy. A truly winning combination.
I really urge you to give these a go, they are soooooo moorish. To ensure the best bake, the dough needs chilling for a minimum of an hour.
Bondekjeks ~ Farmer Biscuits ~ Vanilla almond cookies
❤️ You will need:
190g softened butter
150g sugar
1-2 tbsp golden syrup, depending on taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
250g plain flour
150g chopped almonds (keep the chunks on the larger side)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
❤️ Mix together the butter and sugar until light.
Add the golden syrup, vanilla and almond extract. Stir thoroughly.
Add flour, baking soda and salt. This will form a crumbly dough but do not worry.
❤️ Roll the dough into small sausage-shaped logs, making the diameter the size of the desired cookies. I tend to roll mine out to somewhere between 4-6cm. With this mixture being a bit crumbly, I find if I roll the sausage log too long the middle becomes hollow. Therefore, I make about 6 small logs from this dough. See photograph.
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| Six logs from the cookie dough, notice that there are crumbs on the board indicating this is a crumbly dough |
❤️ Cover the dough logs in cling film or an airtight container and place in the fridge for an hour or preferably overnight.
❤️ Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Take out the number of logs desired, this mixture will keep in an airtight container for about a week.
Slice the log in to about half centimetre slices and place on a lined baking sheet. If you have rolled the same number of logs as I have (6) then I can get about 6-7 slices from each log. The cookies will spread a little so leave enough room between cookies on the baking sheet. See photograph.
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| I mark out how many biscuits I can slice before I cut. |
❤️ Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly coloured. Cool and eat.
❤️ These cookies will store for a few days if kept in an airtight container.
I like this recipe as I keep a few logs in the fridge and just slice them up and pop them in the oven if an
unexpected visitor arrives, lovely newly baked cookies made to order! Although here in the UK that is not likely to happen this December, but still who doesn’t like a freshly baked cookie? Perhaps this year we will have to just eat them ourselves or better still make a few local socially distanced deliveries to friends in the neighbourhood who we would otherwise have been spending an hour or two with over cookies and coffee.
unexpected visitor arrives, lovely newly baked cookies made to order! Although here in the UK that is not likely to happen this December, but still who doesn’t like a freshly baked cookie? Perhaps this year we will have to just eat them ourselves or better still make a few local socially distanced deliveries to friends in the neighbourhood who we would otherwise have been spending an hour or two with over cookies and coffee.
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| Bake a few Bondekjeks (Farmer biscuits) you won't regret it |
❤️ VARIATION: I know many cannot eat nuts so a good variation of this is to omit the almond extract altogether and replace the chopped almonds for dried cranberries. This makes then for a very Christmas type taste along with the vanilla of these cookies.
❤️ NOTE: You could freeze the dough logs if you wanted to make them ahead, just remember to allow to defrost thoroughly beforehand and then ensure they are chilled before slicing and baking.
So far we have baked two of the seven types of cookies for Christmas...
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| Bondekjeks to the left and pepperkake on the right |
♥ Will you be baking any cookies in December? ♥
