Cookbook watch: all about cookies

Cookies is a favorite for the holidays - or really, at any time of the year. I like baking cookies, and I especially like having a stash in the freezer for unexpected company. I'm happy to bake larger, American-style cookies as well as Swedish classics which are almost always smaller and crisper, but I find that the styles are melding a bit as time goes by.

In Claes Karlsson's Kakfrossa ("Cookie Gluttony", loosely translated), you'll find tons of classic cookies with a twist. The layout is also very pretty and with great photos - I like this book a lot. Some recipes I plan to try out soon are almond cookies rolled in cardamom sugar, shortbread thumbprint cookies with cloudberry jam, and mini meringue cookies with toasted walnuts.



The next cookie book isn't so much about recipes as it is about decorating. It's a follow-up to Cookie Craft, which I've written about before - and it's called Cookie Craft Christmas. The authors, Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer (website here), have done a very nice job collecting loads of different designs suitable for christmas cookies - anything from ornaments (using a simple round cookie cutter) to 3D-christmas trees, and intricately designed partridges. Very cute! I'm aching to host a cookie decorating party with all these ideas!

Creamy Latin Pasta Salad

One of my fave cookbooks to look through has been Ingrid Hoffman's "Simply Delicioso" - I've used it quite a bit this past summer. This pasta salad sounded so good, and so simple, I had to hunt down evaporated milk. Not an easy feat! Swedish stores now sell condensed milk, but that is sweetened and not what you need for this. I finally got lucky at an Asian supermarket, and scored a can of evaporated milk. (It's basically milk with half the water removed, so it's a much thicker milk.) Next time though.. I'll skip it. It wasn't all that great, and I think the dressing would be wonderful using crème frâiche instead - so feel free to try that.

The original recipe had celery, which I hate, red onions which I didn't eat this summer because of nursing, and ham which I just didn't want this time.

Creamy Latin Pasta Salad
(printable recipe)

400 g pasta shapes - I used fusili or rotelli
125 ml evaporated milk
50 ml olive oil
150 g feta cheese, crumbled
1 big bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
salt, pepper
1 orange bellpepper, finely diced
1 red bellpepper, finely diced
200 ml green peas (thawed if frozen)
150 ml green olives, de-stoned

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water, and drain.

Mix the evaporated milk with feta cheese, olive oil, coriander and lime in a food processor and run until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the pasta with bellpeppers, peas and olives. Add the dressing and toss well.

Leave it for at least an hour before serving, so the flavors get a chance to marry.

Recipe in Swedish:
Krämig pastasallad från Latinamerika

Cookie galore

We had a special "fika" at work today. I'm still on maternity leave,
but had to come in for this - everyone was asked to bake something,
and about ren people did. Lovely!

Cherry Apricot Preserves

You just saw that photo, I know - but I don't have one of just the jam. I find it really hard to take decent photos of jam, marmalades and preserves by the way - I don't want to waste any for just a photo, and I never seem to manage anything that really showcases the jam.. Oh well, you'll have to make it for yourself and see how pretty it is!

I had some fresh cherries but not enough to just make cherry jam. I added fresh apricots, and some of the apricot stones for that subtle almond-y flavor. I removed them after cooking, but you can leave them in for a stronger hint of almond. I also added a lot of fresh vanilla, since I placed a massive Ebay order not so long ago, but feel free to omit it or to use less.

Cherry Apricot Preserves
(printable recipe)

300 g fresh apricots, de-stoned and cut into small wedges
500 g fresh cherries, de-stoned
8 apricot stones
2 vanilla beans
600 g jam sugar (with added pectin)
2 tbsp water

Mix everything in a large, wide pot and bring to a boil. Boil on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, use a skimmer to remove any scum. Remove the apricot stones if you want. Pour into clean, sterilized jars.

Recipe in Swedish:
Körsbärs- och aprikosmarmelad

And the winners are...

The results of the superfood sandwich contest are in! A great big thank you to all who participated and help spread the word - it was a lot of fun! Sandwiches are somewhat a "superfood" in itself - in that it's so easy and quick to make - and combined with actual superfoods, it can also be really healthy and good for you. I thought all entries were excellent, and thus I decided on a random drawing of the winners.

Top prize, a six month supply of Fazer Frökusar bread, goes to Laura! You can see her sandwich above - it has a spread made from edamame, avocado, coriander, garlic, lime juice, and greek yogurt. That sounds absolutely brilliant - and when it's combined with some red pepper, even better. Definitely something I will be trying out soon!



The runners-up are Clarissa and Kari and they both win a three month supply of bread. Clarissa's sandwich has, intriguingly, SPAM on it! Now, that's something I wouldn't have tried on my own - but combined like this, with hard-boiled eggs, homemade mayo, alfalfa sprouts and cheese, I'm sure it's delicious.



Kari (who lovingly calls himself and his family for the Family Crocodile Butt - I had to include that!) went for a hearty sandwich on homemade sunflower-linseed bread, with butter, alfalfa sprouts, grated carrots and a homemade hamburger. Yummy! Those of you who read Swedish should check out his great blog, by the way!



In the international category, the winner of the book "In Grandma's Arbor" is Virginie! (She's Canadian, her husband is Finnish, and they live in Norway - quite a mix!) Just look at that gorgeous sandwich! It has red bell peppers, grated carrots, ground flax seeds, Dijon mustard, a fried egg, greens and the magical ingredient - bacon. Sounds like heaven indeed!

Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thanks to Fazer for helping me host this fun contest! I have a very different giveaway/contest coming up in a few days, so check back soon!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons

I think these are my favorite, from all the macarons I've tried. Chocolate and peanuts are a classic combination, and this is definitely a good place to combine the two. They went down a storm when I served them, so I think most people would tend to agree with me here!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons
about 20 cookies

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp salted peanuts, chopped

filling:
75 g unsalted butter
85 g creamy peanut butter
powdered sugar, to taste

Combine powdered sugar, almonds and cocoa powder in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Sprinkle half of them with salted peanuts. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and 15 minutes was perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

For the filling, beat butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar to taste - start with a few spoonfuls and keep going until you find it sufficiently sweet, and sturdy enough to spread. Spread onto half of the shells - the ones without peanut sprinkles - and top with the other shells.

Recipe in Swedish:
Choklad- och jordnötsmacarons

Underwater baby!

Obviously not about food, but so cool I have to show you! We go to baby swimming classes with Titus, and have just completed our first eight-week course. It's been so much fun, and he just loves it. He gets excited when he sees the pool, and he loves water so much he even tried to swim in the shower yesterday! He really *does* swim, too - he can't hold his balance or float properly, but he'll definitely propel himself forward. It's impressive indeed, and I really recommend this to those of you with small babies. It's so much fun! We'll be doing a course until christmas, and we'll probably get a second set of photos a bit later on. These are taken by an underwater photographer, and we have more that'll be up on Titus' blog a bit later.

Happy 5th birthday!

It's that time of year again - blogaversary! My blog turns five years old today - I can't believe how time flies!

I really wanted to make a proper cake, but it didn't go so well. I tried creating something from scratch - a crispy peanut layer with apple mousse and cinnamon jelly - but it didn't work all that great. Tasty, but ugly - I'll show you eventually, but not today. So, I opted for the ever-simple jelly roll, topped with whipped cream. It tasted great, and took just a few minutes to put together! I added a whole vanilla bean to make it a bit more luxurious - but that's just because I have a lot of it at the moment. (Ebay score!)

I used home made cherry apricot jam, which obviously made things a lot tastier but also less instant - but use whatever you happen to have!

Vanilla Bean Jelly Roll
(printable recipe)

3 eggs
150 ml sugar
200 ml flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp water
1 vanilla bean

sugar for sprinkling
jam for filling

Beat the eggs and sugar until very fluffy. Fold in the baking powder, flour and water, and the seeds of the vanilla bean.

Spread in a lined rimmed baking sheets, and bake at 250°C for five minutes. Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with sugar, and immediately turn the cake up side down onto a second baking sheet, lined with paper. Peel off the first paper, and place the rimmed baking sheet on top to preserve the cake's moistness while it cools.

When cool, spread with your favorite jam, and roll up tightly. Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge until you need it.

Recipe in Swedish:
Rulltårta med vaniljstång

Last year - a Swedish version of the Black Forest Gateau.

Finally!!

Readers of my blog know that I have a shameful obsession with Starbucks. Well, it's finally happening - they're opening in Sweden! At least almost... they'll open at Arlanda airport, just like they have done in Denmark. At least this means I can get a frappuccino if I fly somewhere - or with lots of luck they'll open outside of the security check, and I can go there all the time. (I would, too.)

Superfood Sandwich Contest - let's give it a few more days

You guys don't seem to be very competitive! :) Let's give it a few more days - you have until Sunday to send me your ideas and photos for superfood sandwiches!

Details are here.

Baked Macaroni

I sometimes find myself hankering for the favorite dishes of my childhood. This is definitey one of them. It's somewhat like a pie, with an egg filling poured on top of the macaroni, but it's called a "Makaronipudding" in Swedish. You can add other veggies as you see fit, and you don't have to use plain elbow macaroni - but that's how I do it. I like it baked in a pretty big pan so that it comes out more shallow and crunchy - if you use a smaller, deeper dish, you might have to cook it for a few more minutes.

I had some "kryddost" to use up - a cheese studded with cloves, quite unusual but popular in Sweden. It was definitely nice here - but go ahead and use any flavorful cheese you'd like. A strong cheddar is great. Serve with some lingonberry jam on the side.

Baked Macaroni
(printable recipe)
serves 6

500 g elbow macaroni
200 g smoked ham, diced
100 ml thinly sliced leek
5 eggs
500 ml milk
200 ml grated cheese
salt, pepper

Boil the macaroni until al dente. Mix eggs, milk, cheese and spices in a bowl. Mix macaroni, ham and leeks in a baking dish, I use a rimmed cookie sheet. Add the egg mixture.

Bake at 200°C for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Makaronipudding

Wallenberg Burgers

Here's a classical Swedish dish! They're named for the Wallenberg family, which is as close to Swedish noblesse as they come.

It's a very fluffy, lightly browned meat patty, made from veal mince, egg yolks and heavy cream. It's always served with a potato purée, small green peas and usually also with lingonberry jam. We had a few left over burgers the next day with a chanterelle sauce and rice - that was great too.

It's really delicious - but make sure your veal is freshly ground, and if you can't get good mince, grind it yourself. And make sure that all of your ingredients are really cold when you start mixing, to keep the mixture from separating.

I used my Kitchen-Aid for this, but you can use a food processor or blend by hand, but be quick.

Wallenberg Burgers
(printable recipe)
Serves 5-6

500 g veal mince
4 egg yolks
300 ml heavy cream
salt
white pepper, ground
grated white bread, from about two-three slices of bread (crust cut off)

Make sure all ingredients are well chilled, and if you're making it on a warm day, chill the bowl as well. Add the egg yolks, salt and white pepper to the mince, and then slowly add the cream. It will be a very loose mixture.

Spread half of the breadcrumbs on a plate. Spoon the meat mixture into twelve mounds. Top them with the rest of the breadcrumbs, and very lightly shape them into thick burgers. Fry in a medium warm pan with plenty of butter - they shouldn't get a lot of color.

Recipe in Swedish:
Wallenbergare

Pancakes

I know, it's definitely time for some proper blogging. It's just a
little hard to find the time - time to plan out meals, time to cook
them, time to sit at the computer. Or to be honest, the baby is more
fun! :)

I have some great stuff coming though! A fall cake, since my
blogaversary is coming up soon (five years!). Lots of cookbook
reviews. Swedish "limpa" bread. And a close look at Bosch MUM86 - a
big stand mixer that I'm trying out.

The photo? My sister's pancakes. Delicious. I think I ate six. With
whipped cream and blueberry jam. Heaven.

Superfood sandwich contest - one week left!

Just one week left - send in your best superfood sandwich, and you can win loads of bread!

Details are here.

Colorful!

My sister always makes colorful food. This is a creamy lamb sauce over
blueberry rice, and cabbage salad.

Monday pretty

Me and Titus were at a professional photo shoot yesterday! It was so much fun I really have to share some of the photos with you!

Sourdough Tea Cakes

I'll be going away for a few days to visit my sister and family in Östersund in Northern Sweden. Titus and mý mom are going, too, but Per will be left at home. I'll do some blogging by iPhone, but I thought I'd leave you with a nice bread recipe until I get back home again!

Here's a recipe from a blogging friend, Carolina at Sisterfood. It's really easy - you can use rye or wheat sourdough starter, or fresh yeast (50 g) if you prefer that. (That will probably not need to rise for the same amount of time though, so watch it!)

These are very yummy toasted, and I prefer them with a sharp cheese and orange marmalade. A cup of tea is the perfect companion. In fact, these are called "tekakor" in Swedish, which translates into "tea cakes". And yes, they'll keep very well in the freezer!

Sourdough Tea Cakes
(printable recipe)
16-20

300 ml rolled oats
50 ml whole buckwheat
50 ml crushed linseed
600 ml water
200 ml sourdough starter (active, bubbling)
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp neutral cooking oil
1 tsp salt
700 g strong bread flour

Mix oats, linseed, buckwheat and water to a porridge. Bring to a boil, and simmerfor about ten minutes, until nice and thick. Let it cool to room temperature.

Mix the porridge with sourdough starter, oil, honey and salt. Gradually add the flour and work for about 10 minutes in a stand mixer, or 20 minutes by hand. Leave to rise for 3-4 hours.

Shape into small balls and flatten slightly. Place on a baking sheet to rise for about an hour. Prick all over with a fork, before baking at 225°C for about 6 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Tekakor på surdeg

Great, great dessert!

Pears poached in red wine and spices, with the liquid reduced into a
syrup. And what you don't see is the filling - mascarpone, vanilla and
pistachios. All this was made by Dagmar, who as always made us a
fantastic dinner.

White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Compote

I know, I know - rhubarb isn't in season anymore, but I can actually still find it at my grocery store! I plan to make a big batch of compote and freeze, because it's incredibly delicious. The pannacotta is pretty basic - but nonetheless yummy.

White Chocolate Pannacotta with Rhubarb Compote
(printable recipe)
serves 2
(rhubarb compote serves more)

White Chocolate Pannacotta:
1,5 gelatin leaves
250 ml cream
100 g white chocolate, finely chopped

Soak the gelatin in cold water for five minutes. Bring the cream to a boil, and stir in the gelatin. Pour over the chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth. Pour into serving dishes or glasses, and place in the fridge to set for at least two hours.

Rhubarb Compote:
500 g rhubarb
100-150 ml sugar
1-2 vanilla beans

Heat the oven to 200°C.

Peel the rhubarb and cut into smaller pieces. Place in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with the sugar - if your rhubarb is on the tart side, use the larger amount. Split the vanilla beans and scrape the seeds into the dish - add the beans themselves, too. (Use two if you're feeling luxurious or happen to have a lot of vanilla!)

Cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake for 25-30 minutes. The rhubarb should be really soft. Let the compote cool completely and then spoon it over the pannacotta glasses.

The remaining rhubarb compote can be refrigerated for a few days and served on vanilla ice cream, or frozen.

Recept på svenska:
Vit chokladpannacotta med rabarberkompott

Yummy sandwich!

Prosciutto, pesto and feta cheese on freshly baked - still warm! - ciabatta bread. You have to visit Bönor & Bakat if you're near St. Eriksplan. Their sandwiches are great, and their fruit crumbles come in deep bowls with tons of vanilla custard. Highly recommended!

Bönor & Bakat
Sankt Eriksgatan 81
Stockholm

Golden Sunshine Quinoa Salad

Sorry for not posting the recipe for the meatballs, yesterday. I did a quick sketch in the comments, but I was so tired last night when I posted... besides, meatballs is one of those things that I never, ever measure - I have to really try next time, to give you guys a more accurate recipe.

Today is a very nice sunny autumn day - it's a bit windy and cold, but the sky is clear and blue. Baby Titus is still asleep (yes, at 10 am!), but we have a nice walk planned for later.

I know most of us are gearing up for heavier, heartier meals, but I have a few late-summery ideas to share so bear with me. This quinoa salad comes from Ingrid Hoffman's book Simply Delicioso which is a really fun latin-style cookbook. We served this along with some other salads (more recipes to come, I promise) and a selection of grilled sausages. Perfect for a family celebration!

Golden Sunshine Quinoa Salad
(printable recipe)

500 ml quinoa
4 spring onions, sliced
150 ml yellow raisins
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp orange zest
150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2-1 tsp cumin
1 cucumber - peeled, seeded and diced
100 ml flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt, pepper

Rinse the quinoa very well in cold water. Then boil it in plenty of lightly salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add the spring onions, raisins, rice vinegar, orange zest and orange juice, olive oil, cumin, cucumber and parsley.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Recipe in Swedish:
Solig Quinoasallad

Very Swedish

This is very, very Swedish food. Meatballs - made from minced beef, and spiced with cloves and allspice - with boiled potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam. Delicious!

Don't forget about the Superfood Sandwich Contest!

National Cinnamon Bun Day!

It's that time of year again: October 4 is Sweden's National Cinnamon Bun day. I love that. Every opportunity to celebrate good food, right?

I haven't baked any buns this year (can't fit any in the freezer, due to all my bread!), but I'll re-post the recipe from two years ago. It really produces wonderful buns, so if you haven't tried it yet, I urge you to do so!




Swedish Cinnamon Buns
(printable recipe)
based on a recipe from Bara Bullar by Åsa Swanberg

Makes 40

80 g fresh yeast
2 eggs
500 ml finger-warm milk (2 cups)
1 kg wheat flour
200 g demerara or muscovado sugar
150 g butter, softened
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cardamom

Filling:
80 g butter, softened
demerara or muscovado sugar
cinnamon

Decoration:
1 egg, beaten with 1/2 tsp water, and a tiny pinch of salt
pearl sugar

Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Add some of the tepid milk, and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the rest of the milk, half of the flour and both of the eggs. Leave to proof, covered, for one hour.

Add the rest of the flour, the sugar, salt, cardamom and butter. Work into a smooth and silky dough. Here's when you might need a bit more flour. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into two. Roll out each part to a large rectangle. Spread with butter, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll each rectangle into a tight roll, starting at the long edge, and cut each roll into about 20 pieces. Place each piece in a paper cup on a baking sheet (covered with parchment paper so you won't end up with a mess), cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes.

Beat the egg with a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of water, and brush this carefully on the buns. Finish by a light sprinkling of pearl sugar.

Bake at 250°C for 6-8 minutes, until they're as golden as you like them.

Recipe in Swedish:
Bästa kanelbullarna

Lunch at Bosch

Had this lovely lunch at Bosch the other day - was there to look at
their large stand mixer, which I might be borrowing to review. Had fun
with the pasta attachment!

Perfect Hazelnut Cookies

These are quite popular in Sweden, often seen in bakeries and cafés. I've tried making my own before, but the recipes differ quite a bit, and I usually ended up with flat cookies - like this. I also tried a very different kind of Coffee Hazelnut cookies.

But this time, my cookies were perfect! I used a combination of almonds and hazelnuts, egg whites rather than whole eggs, a little bit of flour and baking powder. The coffee inclusion isn't traditional, and something I just decided on a whim, but I like it a lot. You have to grind your nuts for the best texture - a food processor would yield different results.

You can freeze the cookies, and they're great to nibble on frozen as well. (Well, yes, when the cookie craving sets in, you don't always have time to thaw...) I chose to make these quite large - about the size of a ping pong ball - and if you make yours smaller, remember to adjust the baking time.


Perfect Hazelnut Cookies
(printable recipe)
15-20 cookies

140 g hazelnuts
60 g almonds, blanched
190 g sugar
2 tsp ground coffee
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 egg whites (about 100 ml)
whole hazelnuts for decoration

Grind the hazelnuts and almonds in a nut mill. Mix with sugar, coffee, flour and baking powder.

Beat the egg whites until frothy, and mix with the other ingredients into a dough. Shape fairly large balls and flatten slightly on a lined baking sheet. Decorate with one whole hazelnut.

Bake at 175°C for about 15 minutes, watching carefully.

Recipe in Swedish:
Perfekta hasselnötskakor

Ridiculous!

This is really silly. I'm holding a jar of baby food, with banana and mango. For those of you who can't read Swedish, the jar says "organic"; and "locally produced" and that's just total bs.

Last time I checked, neither bananas or mangoes grow anywhere near Sweden, so clearly they have been shipped across the world. And how can something distributed in the whole (fairly long) country be marketed as local anyway? This really upsets me. Semper is one of the largest childrens food manufacturers and they really should do better than using cheap buzzwords to increase parents insecurities about what to feed their kids.

Want organic and local baby food? Go pick an apple.

And Semper should explain themselves.

Briska

It certainly isn't every day you wake up from a nap to find a flask of
hot, spiced cider on your doorstep! A very nice surprise, thanks
Spendrups!