Build a festive cookie tree the Norwegian way
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree How lovely are thy cookies
That’s what went through my head when I saw baker and judge, Paul Hollywood, build a kransekake in a repeat segment of “The Great British Baking Show: Christmas Masterclass” on PBS last week.
The Scandinavian cookie tower didn’t look like one of those Christmas tree cookies on Pinterest. It wasn’t built with star-shaped sugar cookies. Nor were the cookies slathered with green icing and dotted with mini red candies. The tower wasn’t crowned with an edible gold star either.
But still, there was something rather Christmas tree-esque about Mr. Hollywood’s version. Maybe it was the towering triangular shape. Or it was how the cookie rings were decorated with royal icing in festive colors. Simply put, the stacked cookies looked lovely, just like a well-decorated holiday tree.
Kransekake (pronounced KRONS-uh-kok-uh) is a Norwegian “wreath cake” made for celebrations like Christmas, New Year’s Eve, weddings and birthdays. It is assembled with 18 layers of almond-flavored cookies, with the larger rings at the bottom and the smaller ones on top. As they are stacked, the cookies are piped with royal icing, which also acts like glue and holds the rings in place.
Traditionally, the cookies are baked in steel molds that come in a set of six with each mold having three rings.
What is amazing about it all is that the kransekake is not only a stunning showstopper but also a minimalist.
The gluten-free cookie dough calls for just three ingredients and a fourth if salt is included. Some bakers extend the list to five by adding almond or vanilla extract and to six by mixing in baking powder to make the cookies lighter.
Whole almonds are blanched and ground and then combined with powdered sugar and egg whites. Almond flour could be used if you are in a pinch. And there are no points off, if ground almonds are combined with almond flour.
After the dough is nicely chilled, it is rolled into ropes of even width that is about a finger thick. The ropes are fitted into the molds and baked until the cookies are lightly brown. The cookies should not be overbaked as they should be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.
If you are like me and don’t have kransekake molds, don’t despair and rush to order them online. Instead improvise.
After dusting the countertop with semolina, I rolled the dough with slightly greased hands into ropes ranging in lengths from 6 to 14 inches, connecting the ends to form a ring. I then placed the rings on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper before baking them in a 400-degree oven.
As the cookies are not baked in the molds, they do tend to spread a little and look flatter than the ones made by Mr. Hollywood..
Stacking the rings might be a little tricky as they might not be perfectly shaped after being baked free form. To avoid ending up with a leaning tower of kransekake on your hands, first assemble the stack without the icing to make sure it stands tall. Then reassemble the rings, but this time decorate them with royal icing in patterns of your choice as they are stacked.
When it is time to take a bite of the chewy, crisp and delightful kransekake, start with the topmost cookie — this is not a game of Jenga. Then remove the cookies carefully one by one from the stack as the royal icing does a really good job of gluing them together.
You could wish the others in Norwegian with God jul og godt nytt år! Or stick to saying Merry Christmas, Happy New Year in English.