Jødekager
These cookies were developed by Jewish bakers in Copenhagen in the 1800’s at some point. They are part of the Danish Christmas cookie pantheon. If you ask most of my family they are the best part. This version is my family’s recipe but I have also found two old ones. I am not sure where my mom got it, but it is her recipe.
The cookies are really tasty but they are fiddly to make. We always use cookie cutters for them but they are not actually very suitable for them, as the dough is kind of fragile. We tend to need to add more flour than the recipe calls for and it is a really good idea to keep the dough cool while working with it. You can just roll it to a thick sausage and cut 3 mm slices off it and add the topping. But my sister would not be happy with you.
This recipe is a bit fiddly and is not all that easy to work with as it need to be cool to work.
Jewish Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 250 grams flour and some more
- 175 grams butter cold
- 125 grams brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ammonium bicarbonate or baking soda
- 1 egg
Topping
- 1 egg to brush the cookies with
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 50 grams almonds blanched & chopped
Instructions
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Mix flour and ammonium bicarbonate
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Chop the flour and butter together - like you do for a pie crust.
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Add the rest of the ingrediens and knead it together. You will probably need to add more flour. The dough shouldn't be very sticky.
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The dough will need more flour than the recipe says. It should not be sticky or it will be very hard to work with.
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Put it somewhere cold until the dough is completely cool. This will take a few hours
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Roll it thinly (3 mm) and use the cookie cutters to cut thin cookies - like with gingerbread cookies.
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Brush them with egg and add a topping of chopped almonds, sugar and cinnamon
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Bake for about 8 minutes at 200 C in convection oven or 225 C in a regular oven. Or until the edges turn golden.