Christmas is around the corner. I was thinking of baking some cookies as gifts for my son's playmates in church. So I randomly googled for an original Danish butter cookies recipe. I stumbled upon this site with lengthy explanation on how to make this simple five-ingredient cookie, together with the dos and don'ts meticulously listed. And I told myself, this is it. How else would a normal person knows so much about just butter cookies?
Needless to say, I used the recipe from this site.The recipe called for everything to be dumped together and mix. Easy eh? After mere minutes of preparation, I was ready to bake and eagerly waited for the results. The whole kitchen smelled of butter while I waited. 12 minutes it said. Alas! After the torturous 12, I found my cookies still under-cooked. So I turned the cookie over and baked for another 3 minutes. Perfect!
The colour came out slightly brown on the edges, just as I wanted it to be. The best thing is the shape still held together nicely. Looks like Danish butter cookie alright. Hey, I can turn pro already! Then came the disappointment. When I took my first bite, it tasted nothing like those that I imagined of the dainty lil' thing that came in blue tin. Do not misunderstand. It was delicious but it was just not the same butter cookie.
I decided I would go ahead with this recipe (with some adaptations) since it was delicious and simple to make. It doesn't have to be Danish butter cookies as long as it tasted good, right? So long Vanilijekranse. I promise I'll conquer you next time. And I'll make sure the recipe comes from a Danish! Right now this recipe is the one.
I test-baked this three times until I get my desired results:
First attempt - turned out a bit dense but liked the flavour
Second attempt - added different ingredients to give it variety. Also using different method of creaming the butter and icing sugar before adding the rest of the ingredients. Turned out lighter.
Third attempt - added ammonium bicarbonate. Managed to get desired texture - light and crunchy!
Ingredients
Adapted from Travellingfoodies
320g all purpose flour, sifted
110g icing sugar
200g butter
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract (original recipe 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp ammonia bicarbonate (I added this on my own)
Cooking Instruction
1. Cream butter with icing sugar until pale and creamy (original recipe calls for everything to be mix together only).
2. Add vanilla extract and egg. Mix until well incorporated.
3. Add in flour and mix until just incorporated (original recipe mixes flour with icing sugar).
4. Knead mixture until it forms a dough. Form dough into a log and wrap with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Dough can also be frozen to be used later.
5. Preheat oven at 180C. Slice dough into 1/4 inch thick and place on baking tray.
6. Bake for 14-18 minutes until the edges are slightly golden.
7. Remove and cool on rack completely before storing.
Note:
I like my cookies crunchy. Therefore, I turned the cookies and bake for a while longer to get that even crisps.
Variations
1. You can roll out the dough and press into various shapes.
2. You can put dough into cookie press or piping bag to create desire shapes.
3. You can sandwich cookies with the filling of your choice (make sure you cut thinner).
4. You can add glaze on cookies or just sprinkle with sugar.
5. You can dip cookies into chocolate to make chocolate coated cookies.
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