Swedish Caramel Cookies

Crisp, chewy Scandinavian treats

You can always tell when I’m considering a book project: I start stockpiling butter—and sugar and flour—especially when I find it on sale. I am not one of those people who wants to freeze everything, mostly because I don’t have room in my freezer—but I occasionally consider buying a chest freezer just for storing butter. But I know the drill; at first I’d be thrilled to have all that extra room. But soon, that freezer would be filled to the brim too.

Butter on sale at my local supermarché. But not sure I should fall for it…

The problem with butter on sale isn’t necessarily the storage, but that the cash registers at the supermarchés don’t always ring it up at the sale price, and it can be a challenge to get the cashiers* to believe you that it’s actually on sale. They have to stop what they’re doing and call the manager, and wait, while the people behind you in line start huffing and sighing loudly, rolling their eyes, etc., so I just pay the extra few euros to be done with it, kicking myself on the way home for not standing my ground and getting my discount. Sometimes I suspect the supermarkets do it on purpose because they know that people will just pay it and not put up a fuss. If so, its a strategy that’s working on me.

If I do buy something on sale, now I take a photo of the sale price on the store shelf to show it to them, to bolster my case.

When I go back to the U.S., I’m always surprised when the sale price doesn’t ring up at the register but they just believe you and manually enter in whatever price you tell them it is. And, get this: I’ve often had them apologize too. Crazy…

When I was back in San Francisco earlier this year, I had to return an article of clothing, and the sales clerk apologized for that, even though it was my fault that I changed my mind. She was genuinely sorry that I had to come back. I also had a cashier at another store give me a “Senior discount” without my even asking for it, or showing my proof of age…which thrilled me a little less.

When I was in San Francisco, I was happy to visit Kantine bakery and meet owner/pastry chef Nichole Accettola. I tasted everything she made during a podcast with her:

I loved everything I tasted there. So much so, that I think I went back every day for more. But when I told her my favorites were the kolasnittar, the caramel cookies, she nodded in agreement. Most professional bakers, which I was myself, often go to a bakery and choose the simplest thing. If it’s good, that’s often a good indication of the quality of the bakery.

I was happy to see the recipe in Scandinavian from Scratch, a book of recipes from the bakery and café, everything from buttery, flaky cinnamon knots and cardamom morning buns to knåckebröd (rye crispbreads) and rugbrød (sprouted rye bread), and a variety of toppings to put on slices of it to make smørrebrod, the open-faced sandwiches that are popular in Denmark, where Nichole lived for sixteen years with her Danish husband and kids before returning to the States and opening what would soon be a popular Scandinavian bakery and café in San Francisco.

There’s no caramel in these cookies, per se, but the cookies caramelize in the oven, thanks to a bit of corn syrup. (FYI: The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not high-fructose corn syrup. More info here.) In Sweden**, Nichole explains in Scandinavian from Scratch, granulated sugar used to be costly so they used a liquid sweetener called lys sirop, made from beets, not corn. It’s important for the crisp/chewy texture of these cookies.

I used to bring it back from the U.S. rather than pay the high prices for Karo syrup in Paris. But glucose is similar and sold in stores that cater to professional bakers, such as G. Detou in Paris.

But thanks to shopping a lot in Asian markets, I learned that Ace Mart in Paris, as well as Asian food stores, carry chungjungone (corn syrup) since it’s used in Korean cooking, and it costs less than €3 a bottle. So don’t tell them I told you this, but you don’t have to pay €11,20 ($12) for Karo syrup at La Grande Épicerie anymore.

But these cookies are worth it, even if you do.

Swedish Caramel Cookies (Kolasnittar)

Makes 32 cookies

Adapted from Scandinavian from Scratch by Nichole Accettola

I brought a batch of these to a friend last night who used to work with a Swedish baker. When he took a bite of one, he looked like he was having a Proustian moment, then he nodded in approval, telling me the flavor was just right. At first bite (and at first glance) you might not expect much of these cookies, but they have a wonderful cooked sugar flavor and a snappy, buttery texture.

In Nichole’s book, there are chocolate (chokladsnittar) and black licorice (lakritssnittar) variations of this cookie.

7 ounces (200g/14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (200g) sugar

1/3 cup (100g) light corn syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups (300g) flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt

1. Line two baking sheets (approximately 13x17 inches, 33x46cm) with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla together on medium speed, beating it until it’s soft and creamy, about 3 minutes, stopping the mixer midway to scrape down the sides.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until it’s well combined.

4. Lightly flour the countertop and scrape the dough onto the counter, kneading it gently until it’s smooth. Divide the dough into four equal parts.

5. Roll each portion into a log that’s 12 inches (30cm) long. If the dough cracks lengthwise while you’re rolling it, roll the dough a little toward you and use your thumbs to coerce the dough into the crack, then finish rolling the log, easing dough back into the crack as you go. Don’t worry if the logs are not perfectly smooth. They’re going to spread quite a bit when baked.

6. Place the four logs of dough evenly spaced apart on the baking sheets, then press the logs of dough down to flatten them so they’re about 1/2-inch (1cm) thick and 1 1/2 inches (3,5cm) wide. Make sure there’s at least 2 inches (5cm) of space between each log and they’re at least an inch (2,5cm) away from the edges of the pan***.

7. Refrigerate the dough on the baking sheets for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and adjust the racks in the oven to the top and bottom third of the oven. (If you want to bake them later, cover them with kitchen towels and keep them in the refrigerator.)

8. Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets as well as switching them on the racks, from top to bottom, midway during baking. Bake until the dough is golden brown across the top with browned edges, 16 to 18 minutes.

9. While the cookies are still warm, use a metal pastry scraper, or a knife that you don’t really care too much about (since you’re cutting on metal), and cut the flat, former cookie logs diagonally and crosswise (rather than lengthwise) in half, then cut each half diagonally into four cookies, so you get 8 cookies per log. Transfer the cookies from the baking sheets to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Storage: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

Swedish Caramel Cookie Recipe

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*In their defense, being a supermarket cashier is a thankless job here, and I haven’t heard of any movement to save their jobs from automation.

**Sweden has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, at number 12. France is number 16 and the U.S. is number 47. I doubt it’s the use of corn syrup, but they’re doing something right.

***Technically, 1 inch = 2.54cm, but those are approximations. No need to be hyper-exact, but until everyone decides on one system of measurement to use, we’re all doing our best to explain things for a global audience…as well as keeping our sanity/persnicketiness at a manageable level, myself included.