Danish Brown Cookies

Danish Brown Cookies © kvalifood.com

Danish brown cookies are thin, crisp Christmas cookies made with syrup, cardamom, ginger, cloves and cinnamon — the most classic Danish Christmas cookie. The dough rests for 1–2 days and is sliced paper-thin before baking.

Ingredients

Makes 100 cookies

  • 125 g butter
  • 100 g sugar
  • ¾ dl golden syrup
  • 1 tsp potassium carbonate (potaske)
  • 2 tsp water
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • ½ tsp cloves
  • 1½ tsp cinnamon
  • 25 g finely chopped candied orange peel
  • 25 g blanched chopped almonds
  • 250 g flour

Directions

Make the dough

Heat the butter, sugar and syrup until boiling. Remove the pan from the heat. Dissolve the potassium carbonate in the cold water and stir it into the syrup mixture. Leave to cool until lukewarm.

Add the spices, candied orange peel, almonds and flour. Knead the dough well together. Roll it into logs about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. Refrigerate for 1–2 days.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 345°F (175°C). Slice the cookies very thin. Place them on a baking tray and bake on the top rack for 6–7 minutes.

Serving

Leave the cookies to cool on the tray — they are soft when they come out of the oven but become crisp as they cool.

Notes

  • Makes about 100 cookies.
  • The thinner the slices, the crispier the cookies.
  • The dough needs to rest for at least one day — it develops the flavour and makes the dough easier to slice.
  • Chopped nuts, nougat or chopped chocolate can be added to the dough for variations.
  • Store in an airtight tin for up to 4 weeks.