We often share recipes that mean a lot to us or have sentimental value. Whether it’s something we ate a lot growing up, or a recipe that has been passed down through our family, we love being able to post those recipes. But sometimes, we just have to share a recipe because it’s funny and creative! And what’s funnier than a pastry, or cookie, shaped like a short French emperor’s hat? So today, we bring you this recipe for napoleonshatte…
As we’ve already established, these Napoleon hat cookies are cute and funny, but they are also incredible in terms of flavor. They are made of a shortcrust pastry filled with marzipan, then dipped in chocolate. The balance of almond flavor and chocolate, as well as the crisp pastry on the outside, is just beautiful. You can find them in most bakeries in Denmark, and they are many people’s favorite treat – for good reason!
The recipe is pretty straightforward. It starts with a basic shortcrust cookie dough, the same as we use for our jødekager, which you roll out and shape into circles. Then you add a marzipan ball, and press the sides inwards, in the shape of a Napoleon hat. You could bake them immediately, but we would highly recommend freezing the dough briefly before baking. This helps prevent them from losing their hat shape, which is a pretty essential part of the final cookie. When they’ve cooled, dip them in melted chocolate. That’s it! We hope you try the recipe, whether you’re a history buff or just a fan of almond and chocolate 🙂
Napoleonshatte (Marzipan Napoleon Hats)
Ingredients
Dough
- 250 grams (2 cups) all purpose flour
- 150 grams (10.5 tbsp) butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
Filling
- 1 portion homemade marzipan or 250g store-bought marzipan
Topping
- Melted chocolate
Instructions
- Begin by making the dough. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse just a few times to combine. Add your cold butter and pulse until it resembles sand. If combining by hand, crumble the butter in with your fingers until there are no big lumps and it resembles the texture of sand.
- Add your egg and pulse until dough comes together into one mass. If doing it by hand, just mix together with your hands or a spoon until the dough comes together.
- Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, if not using store-bought marzipan, make your homemade marzipan.
- Preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C).
- Once your dough has chilled, roll out to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cut out circles about 3.25 inches in diameter.
- Roll your marzipan into about 1 inch balls and place on each dough circle.
- Pinch together three sides of the dough to create the napoleon hat shape. Make sure to press really well to create a seal between the dough and the marzipan!
- Place prepared cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Before baking, place your cookies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This will help your cookies keep their shape in the oven!
- Take the cookies out of the freezer and bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden around the edges.
- Dip the bottom of the cookies in melted chocolate once they have fully cooled. Enjoy!
