Let’s talk about kammerjunker (Danish double-baked lemon and cardamom biscuits recipe)!

What are kammerjunker and why should I make them?

Following on from my last post about koldskål, a Danish summer pudding made with buttermilk, these are the little cookies that are traditionally served scrunched over the top, along with a handful of berries. Please don’t worry too much about the uniformity of the biscuits while you are rolling the dough; as they are going to be crumbled over the top of the buttermilk it doesn’t matter if they’re not perfect, it’s the taste that matters!

The dough can be prepared up to 48 hours before you plan to make the cookies, or you can make a double batch and pop the raw dough in the freezer; and as I mentioned in the koldskål buttermilk soup recipe, if it is just too hot to put the oven on, we think gingernuts taste delicious too!

As ever, I’d like to point out that my stove is both elderly and distinctly non-fan; if your oven runs hot, please keep an eye on the biscuits and check them a couple of minutes early! The spare juice from the lemon can be frozen until you need it 🙂

How do I pronounce kammerjunker?

Tricky, but kammer-yuunger is my best suggestion!

Ingredients

250g plain flour

100g butter, softened (not normally a problem, as one is usually making them in the height of summer)

75g caster sugar

50ml milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

Zest of 1 lemon

The seeds scraped from half a vanilla pod (or ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract)

½ teasp cardamom, freshly ground (the seeds from about 4 or 5 pods I reckon, but please feel free to leave the cardamom out if you don’t have any, the cookies will still taste great)

1. There is absolutely no finesse in the way I make these biscuits. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and bring together to make a soft dough.
2. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour (or overnight), while you line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
3. Cut the dough in half and roll into two sausages, then cut each sausage into 15 pieces. Roll the pieces into little balls and lay out on the prepared baking sheets (they shouldn’t spread too much at all).
4. Bake at 175 degrees for about 10 minutes until pale golden and dry on top.
5. Turn the oven down to 150 degrees. Leave the cookies to cool for a couple of minutes then slice each one horizontally and place back on the sheet, cut side up (I find a small serrated tomato knife the best tool for the job).
6. Bake again until dry, golden and crispy; this could be anything between 8 and 15 minutes, so keep checking!
7. Store in an airtight tin for up to a week. I would add that this is merely an estimate, and has never happened so far round our way; teenagers seem to like to snaffle them from the tin and make tiny scones with cream and jam 🙂
8. Serve on top of a bowl of chilled koldskål, along with a handful of fresh strawberries.