Finsk Brød (Danish Shortbread Cookies)
These buttery shortbread cookies are so rich and delicious, and would make a great addition to a cookie box gift. Or, you can just enjoy them yourself with a cup of coffee!
Ingredients
- 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 180 grams (13 tbsp) butter, unsalted
- 80 grams (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg for egg wash
- Turbinado or pearl sugar (regular white sugar is fine too)
- Finely chopped unsalted almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Crumble butter into flour until the butter is very finely incorporated. You can use your fingers - I just use this pastry blender because my (Emma's) hands are very warm (lol).
- Add the sugar and a pinch of salt and continue to mix/gently knead the dough by hand until it sticks together when you press a handful of it together in your fist (it will still be crumbly!). You will need the warmth of your hands to get it to come together at this point, since we are not adding any other liquid to this dough!
- At this stage, you can either wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for an hour or two, or you can immediately roll out and cut the cookies. I prefer to refrigerate, just because the final cookies hold their shape a bit better and don't spread.
- Preheat your oven to 390 F (200 C).
- Remove the dough from the fridge. We find the easiest way to shape these cookies is to gently roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle about the thickness of your finger (~1/2 inch) and divide using a dough scraper or a knife into rectangular pieces, about 3/4 in by 1.5in. If it still falls apart too easily, continue pressing/kneading it together with your hands until it is manageable.
- Alternatively, you can roll the dough into a log about the width of a finger, and cut into small pieces (1.5in in length) and press those pieces into rectangles.
- Transfer the rectangles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Brush the rectangles with egg wash and sprinkle with chopped almonds (optional) and sugar.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Let cool and store in an airtight cookie container (they should keep for a few weeks at room temperature).