Swedish Cakes & Cookies for Momma

     Today would have been Bean's 85th Birthday! Bean, aka my Mom, Lill-Sie Knower,  loved this affectionate nickname and Grandma Bean especially. She was a self proclaimed 'cookie monster'. She loved her cookies in any way, shape or form. To have a cookie with a cup of hot, black coffee was sheer ambrosia to her. Oatmeal raisin was probably her favorite but she did not discriminate. If offered dessert at a restaurant her question was always the hopeful "do you have any cookies?" Why more restaurants don't offer a fancy cookie plate I do not understand but anyway... so assuredly for us kids it meant never finding the cookie jar empty. 

     Speaking of cookie jars I found a picture on-line of the one I grew up with. The classic 1960s log- look jar with fruit and vine...it held a lot of cookies. She had the matching cannister set. Eventually she found her favorite which graced the countertop evermore...the chubby monk, "Thou shalt not Steal cookies", but her motto was always "help yourself and while you are at it grab one for me!"

     So to celebrate her birthday I thought it would be apropos to bake cookies in her memory. I chose one of her favorite baking cookbooks to highlight in this post. For those not familiar with this blog I share one cookbook from my mothers vast collection that I inherited. I try a recipe I've never made before and share the results, good or bad, along with the recipe and information on the cookbook itself, along with my memories of her. My Moms idea of a perfect quiet afternoon was to sit with a stack of cookbooks and a pot of coffee happily perusing the pages for inspiration. Cookery books really can be a window into our changing society, into different cultures and traditions and how food can be a way for people to connect. To share a meal is to share in your heart.

     So the cookbook in the spotlight today is "Sju Sorters Kakor- Swedish Cakes and Cookies". Bean loved to bake; light-as-air cream puffs; coffee cakes bursting with fresh blueberries; lemon or spice cakes (her favorite); custard pies (for me); fruit pies-her crust was flakey and tender (apple was Dad's and my brother Bret's favorite); quick loaves of every flavor; cookies, so many cookies its hard to come up with a favorite but peanut butter cookies (brother Mark's favorite), chocolate chip (brother Bret's favorite) and thumbprints were my favorites,  which are butter cookies filled with jam and rolled in nuts; and pastry bars- she made an apple-filled bar by the sheet that everyone drooled over. This list could go on and on. 

     "Swedish Cakes and Cookies" was a collection of recipes published by ICA bokforlag, Vasteros, Sweden in 2006. It is a first edition an each recipe was made in their test kitchens. This english version was translated by Melody Favish.  It's a happy compact book of recipes, color pictures and each section begins with general special instructions on producing the very best baked goods. Sections include; Sweet Breads and Rolls; Rusks; Cakes; Rolled Cakes; Cookies; Other Baked Goods; Cakes and Tortes: and Baking without an Oven. Inside the front and back covers they picture treats from within the book, all with labels.      

     My mother was a first generation American of Swedish descent. Both of her parents came from Sweden in the early 1900s -1920s and actually met in New York City though they were from towns just 30 miles apart in Sweden. The only cookies I remember my grandmother Signe making were either huge sugar cookies or pepparkaker- a very thin and crisp ginger snap. My mother actually learned to cook and bake from her German next door neighbor in Long Island when she was a young child. This neighbor ran a boarding house for all of the towns teachers and my Mom would happily go over and pull a chair up to the table and help. That early education and experience, along with living in a neighborhood that was a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds and exotic tastes, filled Bean with a love for feeding people and the art of hospitality. Something she instilled in each of her children.

     I chose to make Frida's Jam Folds and oh my goodness they are "delish!" as Bean used to say, her highest compliment. I'm a sucker for a jam filled cookie I admit. This is a buttery cookie, the dough is crumbly, be gentle when handling, and I used a dab of Lingonberry preserves. They are dipped in chopped almonds and sugar before baking. They are not overtly sweet, my preference and melt in your mouth. These would be a wonderful cookie to make for the holidays as they are quite pretty. The recipe says it makes 40 cookies that are 1/4" thick...I got 26 cookies. Personally I don't think I would want them any thinner then I rolled them, which was close but perhaps a little thicker. If you adjust the thickness watch the baking time. 

Frida's Jam Fold Cookies

3/4 cup (1 and a half sticks-12 tablespoons) cold butter or margarine (I used butter)

1 2/3 cups flour

1/2 cup potato or corn starch

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 egg beaten for brushing

2 tablespoons chopped almonds (I used 4 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons pearl sugar

preserves of your choice-lingonberry, strawberry, raspberry, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

     Put all dry ingredients in a bowl. Dice the butter and add to the flour mixture. Cut in until small crumbs form. Then knead the dough gently until it holds together. It takes a while. It will be crumbly. Roll into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for an hour. Combine the chopped almonds and pearl sugar in a small shallow bowl.

     Between plastic wrap or parchment roll the dough out until it is 1/4" thickness. Using a round cookie cutter 2" or 2 1/4" cut into circles. Dab each round with jam in the center. Gently fold almost over in half, you want to leave a small lip. Brush with egg wash and then dip each cookie top in the chopped almonds and sugar mixture. Place on the sheet pan and bake in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes, until just lightly browned. Move to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

     Happy Birthday Mom. Not a day goes by that I don't miss you. It's hard to believe you've been gone 8 years now. I feel blessed to have had you for my Mom, for all of the adventures we shared...(catering together was always an adventure), for all that you taught and instilled in me, for your care, for your laughter, for your love. Your legacy lives on...love you forever.