Jødekager (Jewish Cakes)

Jødekager, or Jewish Cakes which is a literal translation, are one of my favorite cookies.   I've made them pretty much every year since I learned how to bake.   And helped out my mom and sisters for years before that.

I'm going to throw in a little teeny history lesson first though, before I get to the nitty gritty on how to make these cookies.   We Danes love to bake, OK, so I know that's a generalization, but many of us do.  And Danish bakers are famous for 'borrowing' recipes from other countries and cultures and making them their own.  But they do like to at least acknowledge where the original recipe came from.   Danish bakers brought home Weinerbrød from Vienna, which translates to Vienna Bread, took hamburgers home from Paris and called them Pariserbøf.   Which is probably how Jødekager came to be, a baker somewhere along the line tasted this cookies and brought them back to Denmark, where they are now one of the traditional cookies.   And made sure he acknowledged where he got them from, in the name.

 I made Jødekager and Fransk Vafler this year.  I was going to make Brunkager, but my social calendar got a little full, and I ran out of time.  I'm also making some Marzipan fruit,  and I have some Home made Caramels, Truffles and the fruitcake I made over a month ago.  I think I have enough goodies to take me to the New Year now.    And since I'm going to a party this weekend, I also have some goodies to take with me there as well.

Here's the recipe and the how to's on making Jødekager. 

The recipe I use is the one my mom used, and quite frankly I see no reason to try any other one.   When I bite into one of the cookies, I get transported back to my childhood, sigh. 
Christmas's past remembered are always the best.  
I can see my sister, my mother, my brother, sometimes my dad or one of my older sisters sitting at the kitchen table, and all of us having a hand in making the cookies.  Making Christmas cookies was a family affair and sometimes, it turned into a marathon cookie making session.  Now, I do it by myself so I've learned how to stream line the process a lot.  One essential thing I've found though, is I have to have Christmas music playing.  For some reason the cookies taste better that way.  Well, I think they do.

So many Danish cookies are rich in butter but short on sugar, we don't decorate cookies with frosting, we decorate them with chopped nuts and a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon in the case of Jødekager.   And that's OK with me.  I'm not too fond of overly frosted sugar cookies, but then again, I didn't grow up with them either.
The recipe follows, with the danish measurements in parentheses.

 

Take one of the disks of dough out of the fridge, and flour your board very lightly, you don't want to add more flour than you need to, this is a delicate dough.   Roll out thinly, then cut out circles with a small cookie cutter, or in my case a wine glass.  I've been using this glass for years, I don't know what I'd do if it ever broke, makes the perfect size cookie.

 Brush tops with a beaten egg white, and sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon and sugar or finely chopped nuts and sugar.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minute, checking the cookies for any that are browning fast 

Now since I'm a one man band when it comes to cookie making here, I prepare two or three pans full at a time, putting the cookies on parchment paper and then transferring them to the cookie sheets proper when it comes time to bake them.  

Now don't those look good enough to eat?

I need to go and finish off my Fransk Vafler now.    I'm making a new frosting to put inside this year.   I'm going to use my Best Ever Frosting instead of the Buttercream I usually use.   I think it will be good.   Of course I'm going to experiment on a couple of them first, make sure they taste OK.   If I can't experiment on myself, who can I experiment on?   

yield: 10 dozenAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from my mother's )print recipe

Jødekager

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 2 hour and 8 MINStotal time: 2 hours and 23 mins

These little cookies were always made at Christmas, and I make them to this day. They taste like Christmas to me. I've included the Danish measurements as well. If you have a scale to weigh out the ingredients, you'll be making them the Danish way.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups AP flour (1/2 kg)
• 3/4 cup sugar (180 grams sugar)
• 1/2 lb. butter or 2 quarters (1/2 kg. butter)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder (1 teaspoon Hjortetaksalt or Baking Ammonia)

Toppings

• 1 egg white, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon mixed with 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almond mixed with 1/2 cup sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To start with, cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy.  Very light and fluffy, then add the egg.   Last add the flour and baking powder, mix well. If using Baking Ammonia, omit the baking powder. The Baking Ammonia makes for a lighter, crisper cookie. 
2. Once the flour has been well mixed in, form the dough into two or three equal sized disks, wrap well and put into the fridge for a couple of hours.   You want the dough to rest and cool down otherwise it's very hard to roll out, this is a very soft dough due to all the butter in it.   Flatten the disks quite a bit before putting them in the fridge, they're much easier to roll out then.  Take one of the disks of dough out of the fridge, and flour your board very lightly, you don't want to add more flour than you need to, this is a delicate dough.   Roll out thinly, then cut out circles with a small cookie cutter, or in my case a small liqueur glass.    Brush tops with a beaten egg white, and sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon and sugar or finely chopped nuts and sugar.  
3. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes.   Check to make sure the cookies aren't browning too fast.   I check at the seven minute mark and take off the cookies which have browned just a little, returning the cookie pan to the oven again.  Sometimes, you'll put the same pan back in the oven two or three times for about 1 minute at a time.

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