Swedish Spice Cookies (Muskotsnittar)

These buttery spice cookies may be the closest I’ve come to replicating my favorite Biscoff cookies. They were especially wonderful warm. Known as Muskotsnittar in Sweden, or nutmeg slices, they are also very easy to make. Freshly ground nutmeg is essential.

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart, via Martha Bakes on PBS. I weighed the flour, refrigerated the dough, modified the baking time, and trimmed the edges after baking. Yum.

Yield: Makes about 48 cookies

• 240 g (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine.
4. Divide dough evenly into quarters, about 155 g each.
5. On two pieces of parchment paper (each the size of a rimmed baking sheet), roll each quarter into a 14-inch-long rope, 2 per sheet, about 4 inches apart.
6. Flatten ropes to 2 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick.
7. Transfer parchment to baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes or overnight.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, preferably on convection.
9. Using the back of the tines of a fork, make crosswise lines across the surface of each flattened portion of dough.
10. Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edges and dry on top, 15 to 18 minutes.
11. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool 5 minutes.
12. While still warm, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch-thick slices. (I also trimmed the edges to make them more clean.)
13. Let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Danish Butter Cookies

Happy New Year! I have many recipes to share- beginning with the recipes for the holiday cookies that were new to my assortment this year.

My husband could eat Danish butter cookies on a daily basis. 😉 I decided to add them to my Christmas cookie assortment this year after seeing and episode about Scandinavian cookies on Martha Bakes.

This simple and pure version from Martha Stewart is most successful when using high-quality ingredients. I used King Arthur Flour and Plugra European-style butter. I adapted the recipe by weighing the flour and by using a cookie press to make the cookies instead of piping them. Nice.

Yield: about 40 cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) best-quality salted butter, room temperature (I used Plugra)
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 300 g (2 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add vanilla and egg, and beat to combine.
4. Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time, and beat until well incorporated.
5. Transfer dough to a cookie press, I used the wreath disc, or into a pastry bag fitted with a 7/16-inch star tip (such as Ateco #825 or Wilton #4B).
6. Spritz cookie shapes or pipe dough into 2 1/2-inch rings onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart.
7. Bake, rotating halfway through, until lightly golden around edges but still light on top, about 12 to 14 minutes for spritz cookies or up to 20 minutes for piped cookies.
8. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.

Avocado-Lime Pasta

When I saw this recipe on Krumkaker I fell in love. So simple, fresh, and different. A Scandinavian pasta dish inspired by a Swedish blog named Pickipicki. This dish could be made year-round but it is a perfect summer meal because it requires so little cooking. I only modified it slightly by adding more garlic and drizzling the finished dish with olive oil. We ate it with fresh Italian orecchiette. Creamy, quick, and GREAT!

• 3/4 pound dry or fresh pasta (I used fresh orecchiette)
• 2 large, ripe avocados, diced
• Juice of one lime
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Pinch of red chili flakes
• coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• handful of basil, chiffonade
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, grated, or more to taste
• olive oil, drizzled over the top of the dish

1. Boil the pasta in salted water and cook according to package directions.
2. In the interim, peel, stone and dice the avocados. Toss diced avocado in a bowl with lime juice, salt, pepper and some chili flakes.
3. Drain pasta, and toss with ingredients, including basil and grated cheese. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve warm or cold.