Vaniljkakor (Swedish Vanilla Cookies)

"This is one of my favorite cookies. It's from my Swedish Grandma. They are very simple, but I think that's what I like about them. Very tender and rich."
 
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photo by Leahs Kitchen photo by Leahs Kitchen
photo by Leahs Kitchen
photo by River Q. photo by River Q.
photo by River Q. photo by River Q.
photo by River Q. photo by River Q.
photo by Pumpkie photo by Pumpkie
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
7
Yields:
2 1/2 dozen
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ingredients

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directions

  • Cream butter and sugar well.
  • Gradually add sugar, and cream until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and flour, blend thoroughly.
  • Roll into walnut-sized balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
  • Make a nice indentation in top of each cookie, I use the end (the handle end)of a wooden spoon for this.
  • Put a little bit of jelly or jam into each indentation.
  • Bake in 350º oven for at least 15 minutes or til pale golden yellow.
  • Cool, then sift powdered sugar over them.
  • *Tips for measuring four!
  • When recipes say "flour, sifted", it means to measure the flour into a sifter, then sift into the rest of the ingredients.
  • When a recipe says "sifted flour", that means that you sift flour into a separate bowl first, then measure it, then add to the rest of the ingredients. In this recipe, if you don't sift the flour first, you will be adding too much, and your dough will be a little dry and hard to work with.
  • Also, lightly spoon your flour into your measuring cup, don't scoop it from the bag or your bowl. Scooping it compacts the flour and you will be adding too much whether it has been sifted first or not. (Then always level it off with the straight edge of a knife.).
  • Some recipes are "forgiving", but baking recipes aren't always that forgiving! Correct measuring can be extremely important.
  • Hope this helps! :).

Questions & Replies

  1. Hi! What sort of flour does this use specifically? Is it plain flour or self raising?
     
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Reviews

  1. A wonderful treat! They were so simple to make but look and are delicious! I found it easy to just pipe the raspberry jam into the indentation with a little plastic bag. They would be great to serve for company with different jams in them! I like them also because they weren't very sweet, they took more of the sweetness from the jam itself than the cookie. Thank you Wildflour for posting your Grandma's recipe!
     
  2. Yummy yummy, if you love cookies that aren’t packed with sugar you’ll love these!
     
    • Review photo by River Q.
  3. I was looking for a similar recipe to what my Scandinavian grandmother used to use. This is it, although the first two steps of the recipe are redundant. I halved the vanilla measurement and substituted the more potent Mexican Vanilla for regular. Also substituted the traditional raspberry jelly with cherry preserves (personal preference)- but no additional alterations. These were light, buttery, soft, and vanilla-packed with a perfect tartness from the cherry preserves. I'm planning on renovating the recipe for summer by substituting a nice strawberry/ strawberry-rhubarb jelly or orange marmalade with some light chocolate drizzle on top. Definitely a re-discovered family favorite!
     
  4. These cookies are perfect!My grandma used to make cookies like these too.Nothing feeds a cooks soul like finding recipes from your childhood and making them for your family.I followed the recipe exactly and used Leah's great tip on piping the jam into the cookies.I'm so glad I found this recipe, I will definitely be making lots at christmas.Beautiful cookies!Thanks for posting wildflour:)
     
  5. Perfect, simple, delicious cookies. Daughter works at IKEA, and brought me Lingonberry jam and the highly prized Cloudberry jam! How could I not use the Swedish jams in your vaniljkakor recipe?! I sent 3 dozen with daughter to work. Huge props even from her Swedish bosses.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I used an substitute of margarine for butter and gluten free flour (Orgran) to substitute the flour therefore my comments are based on the changes I have made. I used the same amounts as called for in the recipe. The gluten free must require an extra egg or perhaps more margarine as it was a bit dry and crumbly. The next day they were starting to fall apart and after a couple of days they had to be thrown out. I am going to try with less sugar next time only because I think I'd be able to get away with it with the jam on the top. Great easy recipe. I will definately make them again with the gluten free flour and try a little more marg with them. I'll post again if it turns out good!
     
  2. I made these yesterday for a dinner my mom is having they are a wonderful cookie so simple. I think the key to them turning out right is to let your butter completely soften. I left mine on the counter for 3 hours in a bowl and then creamed it by itself. Then I added the powdered sugar and creamed it again. With the flour I measured it (2 1/4 cups), sifted it and then measured to get 2 1/4 cups again. I only used the 2 1/4 cups sifted, after sifting it you will have more than that. I think the other key is using a pure high quality vanilla. I make my own but if I did not I would definitely purchase a pure vanilla of good quality it will make a difference with all your cookies not just this one. A very simple cookie with an outstanding taste and a wonderful texture. My dough was moist and a little sticky but easy to work with, not dry or crumbly as others stated. I used a small cookie scoop to scoop it out and then just rounded it with my hands a little. Light, airy, melt in your mouth texture. To get your jam in the indents easier and cleaner, put the jam in a ziploc bag, snip off a small corner and pipe it into the indents. I will be using these for Christmas cookie trays for years to come, thank you for sharing an easy and wonderful cookie. I originally thought I would use almond extract in place of the vanilla and I'm so glad I did not. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Hello! Former caterer and restaurant owner taking life slower now and just enjoying photographing my food creations and blogging them! Pop on over to my blog to see over 800 of my recipes at Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen @ wildflourskitchen.com !
 
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