Norwegian Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, softened + 6 tablespoons
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg white for brushing cookies
- pearl sugar or sliced almonds for topping
Instructions
The Day Before
- Add the flour, butter and baking powder to a large bowl and combine using your hands until it' crumbly and soft (like sand).
- Add in the sugar and continue to combine using your hands.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and combine using your hands or a spoon (it gets a little messy here!).
- Form the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap.
- Store in the refrigerator overnight .
The Day Of
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit for a few minutes to warm up slightly.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheets about 2 inches apart from each other.
- Once all the balls are on the baking sheet, use your thumb to place small indents in each cookie (it's normal for them to crack along the edges).
- Brush the top of each cookie with egg white to glaze then sprinkle with pearl sugar or almonds.
- Bake for 16 minutes, until slightly golden.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool before storing and/or serving.
- They can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or they can be frozen if you're making them further ahead .
~Amanda~
This year I have put my focus on embracing more cultural holiday traditions. My husband and I did our DNA tests a while ago and found we both are mainly Scandinavian with Norwegian being the most common between the two of us. So I thought it was only fitting to try out a traditional Norwegian cookie this year that will hopefully become a family staple in the years to come!
These cookies are designed to be absolutely delicious (and not a bit healthy) with the main ingredient being butter and I was immediately drawn to them because they look very similar to one of our family favorite holiday cookies, Thumbprints! They are a little messy to make and you have to split the work over 2 days because the dough needs to chill in the fridge overnight, but the time and waiting are totally worth it. These sweet, buttery cookies are absolutely divine. We are hooked!
