Spoon Cookies Lusikkaleivat Finland Recipes

SPOON COOKIES: LUSIKKALEIVAT (FINLAND)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter browns lightly and smells slightly nutty, about 15 minutes. Transfer the butter to a medium bowl -- be sure to get all the tasty brown bits -- and cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in another medium bowl.
• Whisk the egg yolk, sugar and vanilla into the cooled browned butter.
• Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture to make a uniform but crumbly dough that looks like wet sand.
• Scoop out dough with a small teaspoon (the kind you set the table with, not the ones you measure with). Rock spoon gently back and forth against the side of the bowl, packing the dough into the spoon, then scrape/slide the spoon against the inside of the bowl to make spoon-shaped cookies. Trim excess dough with your fingers and slide out onto the prepared pans, preserving their shape. (Try to make sure you form an even number of cookies, since these sandwich together.).
• Bake cookies until just browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool almost completely on the baking sheets, and then transfer cookies to a rack to cool.
• When cool, spread 1/2 teaspoon jam on the flat side of a cookie, and then sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat until all cookies have met their match. Lightly dust the cookies with the confectioners' sugar. Serve.
• Busy baker's tips: The dough can be prepared several hours ahead and stored at room temperature. Freeze baked cookie halves wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil for up to 2 weeks. When ready to serve, defrost at room temperature and assemble as desired. Store sandwiches in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Do not store with crisp cookies, as moisture from the jam will soften the texture of other crisp cookies.

LUSIKKALEIVäT (FINNISH SPOON BISCUITS)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 195C/175C fan/gas 51/2 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and cook for 10 mins, stirring regularly, until it turns golden and smells slightly nutty. Keep an eye on the colour as the butter can burn quickly. Immediately pour the butter into a large bowl, add the sugar and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Leave to cool a little, then sieve in the flour and bicarb.
• Use a large teaspoon to scoop pieces of the mixture and mould them, pushing down slightly to flatten the tops and smoothing away the excess on the sides with a finger. Slide off the spoon and arrange on the prepared baking sheet, flat side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Bake for 10-12 mins until light golden. Leave to cool completely.
• Spread a small amount of jam on the flat side of each biscuit. Sandwich with another biscuit. Tip the sugar onto a plate, then roll each of the biscuits in it to coat.

SPOON COOKIES

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Fill kitchen sink with about 2 inches of cold water. Melt butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter turns golden with a nutlike fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a rich caramel brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (Butter will initially foam, then dissipate. A thicker foam will appear and cover the surface just before butter begins to brown; stir more frequently toward end of cooking.) Place pan in sink to stop cooking, then cool, stirring frequently, until butter starts to look opaque, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from sink and stir in sugar and vanilla.
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and stir into butter mixture until a dough forms. Shape into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let stand at cool room temperature 1 to 2 hours (to allow flavors to develop).
• Form and bake cookies:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Press a piece of dough into bowl of teaspoon, flattening top, then slide out and place, flat side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. (Dough will feel crumbly, but will become cohesive when pressed.) Continue forming cookies and arranging on sheet. Bake cookies until just pale golden, 8 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Assemble cookies:
• While cookies cool, heat preserves in a small saucepan over low heat until just runny, then pour through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on solids, and cool completely.
• Spread the flat side of a cookie with a thin layer of preserves. Sandwich with flat side of another cookie. Continue with remaining cookies and preserves, then let stand until set, about 45 minutes. Transfer cookies to an airtight container and wait 2 days before eating.