Why must the dough rest for 2 hours?

Resting lets the flour swell and the baking soda distribute, so the dough becomes firmer and easier to roll out. After resting, the dough is worked well before it is rolled to barely 1/2 cm thickness.

What gives the cookies their flavor?

2 tablespoons of ginger, 1 teaspoon of pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon essence, along with syrup and sugar. Heavy cream is whipped stiff as the base.

Why are the cookies brushed with water?

Brushing with water gives the cookies a fine, glossy surface. It should be done right before the sheet goes into the oven, and the cookies are baked a nice brown.

How many cookies does the recipe make?

About 80 small round cookies, cut with a small round cutter. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 553.

Brown Spice Cookies II (Brune Kaker)

Name: Brown Spice Cookies II (Brune Kaker)
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 2 h 10 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 80 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 3 dl heavy cream (whipped stiff); 450 g sugar (granulated); 3 dl syrup; 2 tsp baking soda; 2 tbsp ginger (ground); 0.5 tsp lemon essence (can be substituted with grated lemon zest); 1 tsp pepper; 1,000 g all-purpose flour (approx.); water (for brushing)

Erken's Brune Kaker II (1914), a Norwegian brown spice cookie: stiffly whipped heavy cream is stirred with 450 g sugar, 3 dl syrup, baking soda, ginger, lemon essence and pepper for 20 minutes, then about 1 kg flour. The dough rests 2 hours, is rolled barely 1/2 cm thick, cut out, brushed with water and baked brown.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 553 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

A second variant of brown cookies in the "Baking" chapter of "Stor kokebok" (1914). Here stiffly whipped heavy cream and baking soda are used instead of butter and baker's ammonia, and the dough is rolled very thin.

How to make it

1
Whip the cream
Whip the heavy cream until completely stiff.
2
Stir in sugar, syrup and spices
Stir in the sugar, syrup, baking soda, ginger, lemon essence and pepper, and stir the mixture for 20 minutes.
3
Flour and resting time
Sift in the flour last. Let the dough rest in a cool place for 2 hours.
4
Roll out and cut
Work the dough well, roll it out to barely 1/2 cm thickness and cut out small round cookies.
5
Baking
Place the cookies on a greased sheet and brush them with water just before they go in. Bake them a nice brown at 190–200 °C (390 °F) for 6–8 minutes.

Changes from the original

Measures converted to modern units (dl, tsp, tbsp). "Farin" kept as ordinary granulated sugar. The baking temperature, not given in the original, has been specified.

In stores now

Clean, minimally processed groceries matched to the ingredients — approximate prices.

Kremfløte

Product data and prices via Kassalapp. Prices are updated daily and may vary.

Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From1914 1949 Modernised

To1914 1949 Modernised

Modernised → 1914 (proofread, p. 553)~83% of the text changedremovedadded

3 dl del. kremfløte ~~(vispes stiv).~~ 450 ~~g sukker (farin).~~ gr. farin 3 ~~dl sirup.~~ del. sirup 2 ~~ts natron.~~ teskeer natron 2 ss spiseskeer ingefær ~~(malt). 0,5 ts sitronessens (kan erstattes med revet sitronskall).~~ ½ teske citronessens 1 ~~ts pepper.~~ teske pepper ca. 1 ~~000 g hvetemel (ca.). vann (til pensling). Visp kremfløten helt stiv.. Rør inn~~ kg. hvetemel. Fløten vispes aldeles stiv, irøres sukker, sirup, natron, ~~ingefær, sitronessens og pepper,~~ ingefær og ~~rør blandingen~~ citronessens, røres i 20 ~~minutter.. Sikt inn melet til sist. La~~ minutter. Det sigtede mel røres i tilsidst, og deigen ~~hvile kjølig~~ hviler i 2 ~~timer.. Arbeid deigen~~ timer. Deigen arbeides godt, ~~kjevle den ut~~ utkjevles i knapt ½ ~~cm tykkelse og stikk~~ cm.s tykkelse, stikkes ut ~~små, runde kaker.. Legg kakene på~~ med et litet, rundt jern, lægges paa smurt ~~plate og pensle dem~~ plate, pensles med ~~vann rett~~ vand, umiddelbart før de ~~settes inn. Stek dem pent brune ved 190–200 °C~~ sættes i ~~6–8 minutter.~~ ovnen. Stekes pent brune.

Note on Modernised

Mål omregnet til moderne enheter (dl, ts, ss). «Farin» beholdt som vanlig sukker. Presisert steketemperatur, som ikke er oppgitt i originalen.

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Frequently asked questions

Why must the dough rest for 2 hours?: Resting lets the flour swell and the baking soda distribute, so the dough becomes firmer and easier to roll out. After resting, the dough is worked well before it is rolled to barely 1/2 cm thickness.
What gives the cookies their flavor?: 2 tablespoons of ginger, 1 teaspoon of pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon essence, along with syrup and sugar. Heavy cream is whipped stiff as the base.
Why are the cookies brushed with water?: Brushing with water gives the cookies a fine, glossy surface. It should be done right before the sheet goes into the oven, and the cookies are baked a nice brown.
How many cookies does the recipe make?: About 80 small round cookies, cut with a small round cutter. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 553.

Equipment for this dish

Stand mixer →Erken kneaded and whisked by hand for ages – a stand mixer does the work for you.Engrospris.no

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