Danish butter cookies

Although butter cookies in general originated in Europe (with Scottish and British influences) centuries ago, the Danish version became established as its own specialty during the 19th century.

Mass production of these cookies began to grow in the 1930s, and in 1933 the Kelsen group was formed, which would become the world leader in sales of this product.

The brand Royal Dansk, founded in 1966, popularized the use of metal tins for exporting the cookies. These tins were designed to keep them fresh and prevent them from breaking, eventually becoming an icon.

In Denmark, they are considered a traditional dessert, especially during the Christmas holidays, and in Danish they are known as smørkager, which literally means “butter cookie.”

Today I’m sharing with you the original recipe for these cookies. You can shape them just like the ones from the “Royal Dansk” brand, but you’ll need a piping bag. Since I had some trouble with mine, I ended up making them in a simpler way.

Ingredients:

- 225 g unsalted butter.

- 115 g granulated white sugar.

- 1 egg at room temperature.

- 1/4 teaspoon Salt.

- Half a vanilla beam.

- 284 g all-purpose flour.

- 2 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling.

Preparation:

1- Use butter that has been out of the fridge for a couple of hours so it’s slightly soft.

2- In a bowl, add the butter, sugar, vanilla, and the room‑temperature egg. Mix well until you get a fluffy texture. I ended up using a hand mixer. If you have a stand mixer, it will be even easier.

3- Add the salt and sifted flour. Mix until the dough becomes fluffy again; you can use the mixer to help.

4- To shape the cookies, you can use a piping bag, but to make it easier you can simply form them by hand. Make them small, as they expand in the oven. Place them on parchment paper, sprinkle a little sugar on each cookie, and refrigerate them for 30 minutes so they don’t spread too much in the oven.

5- Preheat the oven for 5 minutes, then bake the cookies at 150°C for 15 minutes with heat from top and bottom. If you see the edges turning golden sooner, take them out.

6- Let them cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!, They keep for 4 days in a tin, but you can also freeze them. When you want one, just pop it in the microwave and it will taste freshly baked.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Denmark

Frikadeller - Recipe from Denmark

Frikadeller are traditional meatballs from Germany, Denmark, the Nordic countries, and Poland.

The term Frikadelle (German) or Frikadeller (Danish) comes from the French fricandeau and the Latin frīgere, meaning to roast or fry.

The oldest known Frikadelle recipe appears in Maria Sophia Schellhammer’s cookbook from the late 17th century. It is believed that the Germans inherited the tradition from the Dutch, and it later spread throughout Northern Europe. Americans, for their part, claim that hamburgers are derived from this dish.

Frikadeller are a national dish in Denmark, often served with caramelized potatoes and red cabbage. This is the recipe I’m sharing today—the Danish version of these meatballs.

Ingredients:

- 250 grams minced pork meat.

- 250 grams minced beef meat. 

- 2 teaspoon Salt.

- 1 chopped onion.

- 1 egg.

- 3 tablespoons flour.

- 200 ml milk.

- Black pepper.

- 100 grams butter.

Preparation:

1- Finely chop the onion into small pieces.

2- Put the onion, meat, and salt into a bowl, mix well, and knead for 5 minutes. The key to this recipe is the kneading time and the resting periods, which help achieve a tender, smooth texture.

3- Add the egg and knead for 2 more minutes.

4- Add the flour and pepper, then knead for 3 more minutes.

5- Add the milk step by step ,mixing and kneading after every step.

6- Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours, but every 30 minutes knead the meat for a few minutes.

7- Put the butter in a pan, and once it’s hot, add each meatball to fry. To shape the meatballs, use two teaspoons to scoop the mixture and form them into small rounded shapes.

Fry the meatballs on both sides until the meat looks fully cooked.

Now you have this classic Danish dish, which you can serve with caramelized potatoes and red cabbage—recipes I shared in previous weeks.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Denmark

Cabezotes from Cuba (soaked sponge cake)

Cabezotes are an old traditional Cuban dessert. Today, due to economic difficulties, they are hard to find, as they require expensive ingredients.

They were a dessert of Cuban high society, an adaptation of the soaked sponge cakes from Spain, with the addition of local ingredients such as rum.

The recipe needs a lot of egg yolks, if you do not know what to do with the egg whites, here you have another spectacular dessert : Pavlova

Ingredients:

- 12 egg yolks.

- 1 egg.

- 40 grams of Sugar.

- 1/2 vanilla beam.

- 18 grams of Flour.

- 60 grams of corn starch.

- a pinch of Salt.

For the Sirup:

- 1 cup of water.

- 1 cup of Sugar.

- 1 Cinnamon stick.

- Lemon zest.

- Vanilla.

- 3 star anises.

- 2 table spoons of rum.

Method:

1- Take 12 eggs, separate the yolks from the whites, keep the yolks in a bowl. Add one whole egg. The eggs must be at room temperature.

2- Whisk with the help of a hand mixer or stand mixer until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

3- Gradually add the sugar while continuing beating, then add the vanilla.

4- Add the sifted flour, cornstarch, and salt to the bowl.

5- Fold the mixture gently.

6- Place paper liners in each cup of a metal muffin tin, fill each cup about 3/4 full, and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes (top and bottom heat).

Take them out from the oven when they are golden on top.

7- Remove the paper liners and place all the cabezotes on a tray.

8- Make the syrup: pour the sugar, water, cinnamon, lemon zest, star anise, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of rum into a saucepan.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Strain the syrup, and while still hot, pour it over the cabezotes—now they’re ready!

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Cuba

Bandera:   Por Miguel Teurbe Tolón and Narciso López - Geometry and dimensions from Ley no 42 "de los Símbolos Nacionales".Its shape is rectangular, twice length than width, composed by five horizontal stripes having all the same width, three deep blue and two white, placed alternating. A red equilateral triangle, in one of its vertical extremes occupy all the height of the flag constituting its fixed edge. Such triangle bears in its center a five-pointed white star, within an imaginary circumference, whose diameter is a third of the flag´s height, having one of its points towards the free upper edge of the flag.— English translation of Law 42 from Symbols of the Cuban Nation, Dominio público, Enlace

Berlinas from Chile

Berlinas are a dessert typical from Berlin and North Germany.

Due to the migration of german people all over the world, this kind of dessert has reached other countries like Spain where this is called  'bombas' ,it also reached South America, specially Chile where the dessert has become a National dish.

The Berlinas are filled with custard cream, caramel spread or jam. The most common filling is the custard cream.

They can be cooked in the oven or fried in a pan, the most traditional way is to fry them, that is the recipe I present today.

Ingredients for the dough:


- 500 grams flour.
- 1 tablespoon baker's yeast. (20 grams).
- 75 grams butter.
- 60 grams sugar.
- 200 cc milk.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- 2 eggs.

Method:

1- Put the dry ingredients in a bowl; sifted flour, sugar , a pinch of vanilla sugar, salt and yeast. Mix well.

2- Add soft butter and mix well.

3- Add milk at room temperature.

4- Add the eggs and mix well.

5- knead using your hands:

6- Until the dough has this consistency:

7- Cover with cling film and let stand for a couple of hours until it doubles its size. My dough took 3 hours.

8- This was the dough after 3 hours:

9- Make a cilinder with the dough and divide it in pieces that weight 60 grams.

10- Smash every piece of dough and roll it until you get a ball.

11- Put the balls on baking parchment, cover with cling film and let stand for 45 minutes.

12- Fill a pan with oil, the amount of oil should be enough to let the balls float.

Heat the oil until 170ºC, if you do not have a thermometer you know that the oil is ready when you put in the oil a little amount of dough and you see bubbles in the oil.

Fry 3 minutes for every side.

13- Put the berlinas on absorbent paper to get rid of the excess of oil.

14- Let the berlinas get cool, make a little cut in the middle and fill the berlina with custard cream.

The custard cream must be cold , you should prepare it time before.

15- Sprinkle some powder sugar , and There you have the berlinas!.

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Chile