Berlinerkranser
Happy Syttende Mai, everyone! This week, in honor of Norwegian Constitution Day, I decided to try one of the many Norwegian recipes found in my church cookbooks. Many of the recipes require special equipment that I do not have (krumkake, sandbakkels, rosettes, etc.) so I settled on the berlinerkranser, which translates to "Berlin wreaths." As with so many Norwegian recipes in my books, these cookies are usually made around Christmas.
This recipe comes from the St. John Lutheran Cookbook, but I made a couple modifications and had to reference a similar recipe online to fill in a bit of missing info (like oven temperature). Sometimes these recipes are abbreviated because the originator assumes reader has a basic understanding of how to make it already.
Berlinerkranser
4 1/2 cups flour
1 lb. soft butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 hard-cooked eggs (use only egg yolks)
6 raw egg yolks
Pinch of salt (more if you used unsalted butter)
Rub 6 cooked egg yolks through a sieve. Add sugar and mix well - like a paste. Add 6 raw egg yolks, butter, flour and salt. Mix all together well with a pastry cutter, cover and place in the fridge to cool. (Optional: add zest and juice from one small lemon) Take small chunks of the dough and roll into ropes the size of a pencil. Pinch off 6-inch pieces and twist them into a wreath shape. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 375° oven for 10 minutes until you see a little bit of golden brown around the edges. Keep an eye on them because they burn easily.
The thing that most sparked my interest in this recipe was the use of cooked eggs yolks. The dough was a nice texture as a result. After my first batch came out of the oven, I decided the dough needed a little something extra, so I added lemon zest and juice, which was a subtle but pleasant addition.
I've never made these before, nor do I recall eating them, but they're very close to a sugar cookie and therefore pretty tasty. My twisting skills are lacking and they could really use a more coarse sugar coating, but overall they're a solid little bite-sized cookie.