Swedish Rye Cookies

Swedish Rye Cookies

Recipe and photo by 101 cookbooks

1 cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup fine grain natural cane sugar, sifted

large grain sugar (for sprinkling)
organic powdered sugar (for snow)

Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the flours and salt. Set aside. With an electric mixer (or by hand) beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, add the butter and do the same, mixing until the two are well combined. Beat in the sugar and mix until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only long enough to combine the two. The dough should no longer be dusty looking. Turn the dough out onto the counter, knead once or twice to bring it together, shape into a ball, flatten, wrap in plastic and chill it in a refrigerator.

Heat your oven to 350F degrees, and arrange the racks in the top and bottom thirds. When you are ready to roll out your cookies do so on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness, and cut into shapes with the cookie cutter of your choice. Place on the prepared baking sheets an inch apart, and sprinkle each cookie with a bit of large-grain sugar. Bake for six or seven minutes, just until cookies are fragrant, and getting a bit golden at the edges - avoid over-baking or they will come out on the dry side. Allow to cool, and dust cookies with a bit of powdered sugar.

* These cookies make delicious sandwich cookies. Once baked sandwich two cookies together with strawberry jam!

Rum Balls

Rum Balls

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (6 bakers chocolate squares) - melted
1/3 cup almond paste
1/2 cup sour cream
A pinch of salt
4 cups (or 1 1/2 boxes) Nilla Crackers or vanilla wafers
3/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup dark or spiced rum
3 cups chocolate sprinkles

Combine melted chocolate, sour cream, almond paste and salt with spatula. Cream well and set aside. In food processor blend wafers. Once the wafers have been blended to create aprox 4 cups of fine crumbs add butter, cocoa and rum to food processor and blend until combined and crumbs hold their shape. Add crumb mixture to chocolate-sour cream mixture and knead with your hands until blended and soft. Refrigerate dough until firm (overnight).  Once firm form small rum-filled balls then roll in chocolate sprinkles and put in sealed container lined with wax paper. Keep them refrigerated until you eat every single last one of them.

Brown sugar shortbread

Brown Sugar Walnut Shortbread

*recipe adapted from Lottie + Doof

*Picture by/from Lottie + Doof

1 lb (2 cups) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/8 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

3 cup all purpose flour

1 1/3 cup spelt flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper. Allow a two-inch overhang on the long sides of the pan to help release the shortbread later after they have been baked.

Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until combined, then mix in dry ingredients. Combine completely.

Spread dough evenly on to prepared cookie sheet, spreading smooth and level (aprox 1/2 inch thick). Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake at 325° until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.

Let cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut into squares. 

These keep well at room temperature for at least a week!

***This recipe makes a lot of cookies. Depending on how you cut them, anywhere from 3-5 dozen.