Swedish Christmas Cookies Food

KRINGLA

Steps:

• Start the night before by mixing together the heavy cream and sour cream in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth, then cover with cling film and refrigerate.
• When ready to start, set the cream mixture out to room temperature. Next, preheat your oven to 475°F (246°C) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• In a large bowl cream together the sugar, shortening, and egg yolk.
• Stir in the vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the cream mixture then transfer the wet ingredients into the creamed sugar. Mix until well combined. Add the flour until completely incorporated into the dough, which should be sticky when done. *You can chill the dough for an hour before handling it to make the next step easier if desired.
• Since the dough is sticky, use a well-floured surface to roll the dough out onto. Pull off roughly 1 1/2-inch ball-shaped portions of the dough and roll them in the flour to coat all sides. Then move them to the side of your working surface where there is less flour and roll them out to a rope shape (approximately 8-9 inches long). Shape the rope into an '8' or 'infinity sign' or fold over like a pretzel shape, or you can also shape them into round coils - but these take longer to bake.
• Place each shaped dough piece onto your prepared baking sheets then bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the bottom just begins to turn a light golden color. *Depending on the thickness of the 'ropes', the cooking time can be longer.
• Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

SWEDISH CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, cardamom, and salt in a bowl.
• Put the butter and confectioners' sugar in a food processor, and process until smooth.
• Pulse in the egg, vanilla, and lemon zest until combined. Add the flour mixture and process to make a soft buttery dough.
• Divide dough in half onto 2 (12-inch long) sheets of plastic wrap, using the plastic, shape into rough logs.
• Refrigerate the dough logs for 30 minutes until just firm enough to shape into uniform logs, 8-inches long by 2-inches in diameter. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Scatter either the sanding sugars or toasted nuts on a work surface and roll the logs until completely coated.
• Cut into 1/4-inch thick cookies and space about 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

SWEDISH CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg yolks and almond extract.
• Add salt. Sift in 2-1/2 cups flour. Mix. Add just enough additional flour to make a pliable dough. (Or see variation in description above.) Chill for 30 minutes.
• To shape, divide dough into 6 equal portions. Roll out each to make a rope about 24 inches long.
• Cut dough into 2-inch strips. Place on cookie sheets. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining sugar.
• Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes until cookies feel firm and are lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.