Brunkager - Danish gingerbread and almond bikkies

Name: Brunkager - Danish gingerbread and almond bikkies
Total time: 600 s
Yield: 30 - 40 biscuits
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 125 g butter; 70 g golden or maple syrup; 125 g dark soft brown sugar; 75 g almonds, blanched (see how to blanch in the steps); 250 g plain flour; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp ground allspice; 1/2 tsp ground cloves; 1 tsp potash OR 1/2 tsp baking soda; zest of half an orange (optional)

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

Denmark at Christmastime is a joy to behold. I have friends on the mainland but was often in the capital Copenhagen back in the day when I worked for a Danish bank. Tivoli Gardens is so magical in the evenings and after a stroll to Nyhavn to grab a glass of gløgg, nothing beats going to one of the many pølsevogns for a Danish rød pølser (a pork sausage with a red casing) served in a bread roll and covered in remoulade sauce, pickled cucumber and crispy fried onions - they are for me the best hotdogs in the world. I want to get on a plane now just thinking about them.

During the festivities many speciality biscuits are served. My favourite is Brunkager (brown cake) a dark, thin, crisp and buttery biscuit with almonds and gingerbread spices, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves.

The history of Brunkager dates back to medieval times when in celebration of the winter Holy Days, newly arrived spices from the Far East embellished rye bread. In 1835, new fangled cooking stoves with regulated heat permitted a refinement of the recipe to its present biscuit form from hit and miss cookery in a wood stove.

Originally potash (also known as Indian saltpetre, Chinese snow), which has its roots in Mesoamerican cooking, was used to make them crisp and impart a distinct ash flavour but as it’s not readily available, it can be replaced with bicarb of soda which has a slightly salty, alkaline taste.

I’ve added orange zest for an extra Christmassy zing.

Laura @FeelBetter

Milton Keynes, England

I’ve added orange zest for an extra Christmassy zing.

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Ingredients

6 - 10 minutes

30 - 40 biscuits

125 gbutter
70 ggolden or maple syrup
125 gdark soft brown sugar
75 galmonds, blanched (see how to blanch in the steps)
250 gplain flour
2 tspground cinnamon
1 tspground ginger
1/2 tspground allspice
1/2 tspground cloves
1 tsppotash OR 1/2 tsp baking soda
zest of half an orange (optional)

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Steps

6 - 10 minutes

1

To blanch to the almonds: Place in a boiling water for a minute then plunge into cold water and peel off the papery skin. Set aside to dry then roughly chop. The skins don't go to waste, I add them to a batch of granola.
2

Add the butter, syrup and brown sugar to a small saucepan and let it melt over a gentle heat. Set aside to cool.
3

Add the blanched almonds to a mixing bowl with the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, orange zest and the potash (or baking soda).
Once the butter mixture has cooled to luke warm, add to the dry ingredients, mixing first with a spoon and then kneading the dough together with your hands. Roll the dough into a long sausage and tamp in the ends. Wrap the dough in baking parchment or clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or overnight to firm up.
4

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C fan (180 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
Slice the cookie dough into thin slices and place on a baking sheet. The biscuits won’t spread very much but leave a small space between each. Bake for 6 minutes if super thin and 8 – 10 minutes if slightly thicker, then leave to cool.
Cool on a wire rack. The cookies will harden as they cool. Store the biscuits in a tin.