A few years ago, when I was living in the housing co-op and looking for a quick cookie recipe, I came across a blog post for something called “Norwegian Christmas butter squares.” I’d never found anything like it before: it created rich, buttery and chewy cookies, like a vastly superior version of the holiday sugar cookies I’d eaten growing up. About a year ago I went looking for the recipe again, and failed to find it. The blog had been taken down, and it sent me into momentary panic.
Luckily, I remembered enough to find it on the Wayback Machine, and quickly copied it into a file that I’ve saved ever since. I probably make these cookies about once a month, and they last about five days around my voracious husband - they’re fantastic with a cup of bitter coffee or tea. I’m skeptical that there is something distinctively Norwegian about these cookies, but they do seem like the perfect thing to eat on a cold day.
Norwegian Christmas Butter Squares
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg 1 cup sugar 2 cups flour 1 tsp vanilla ½ tsp salt Turbinado/ Raw Sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chill a 9x13″ baking pan in the freezer. Do not grease the pan.
Using a mixer, blend the butter, egg, sugar, and salt together until it is creamy. Add the flour and vanilla and mix using your hands until the mixture holds together in large clumps. If it seems overly soft, add a little extra flour.
Using your hands, press the dough out onto the chilled and ungreased baking sheet until it is even and ¼ inch thick. Dust the top of the cookies evenly with raw sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees until the edges turn a golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let cool for about five minutes before cutting the cooked dough into squares. Remove the squares from the warm pan using a spatula.
So I tried this recipe.
And it is GREAT.
It basically makes the platonic ideal of commercial sugar cookies, only in bar form. When I give them to people (which I do a lot, because this is one of those simple recipes where the results seem very impressive), I just tell them they’re sugar cookie bars.
Life hack: add white chocolate chips and sea salt
I made these today for the equinox with sea salt caramel chips and they are simply amazing. Let’s see how long they last with six people in the house!
Noting for later (as we need more butter for this, and probably won’t do a grocery shopping till the weekend).
The OP version of this has become my go-to cookie for basically all things and I have a whole cohort of friends and colleagues who would murder each other to get them. Haven’t tried any add ons yet, since the base recipe is SO GOOD.
I’ve reblogged this before and I’m reblogging it again because I’m about to make it again tomorrow and I wanted to add my own tale of just how amazingly delicious it. it was SO incredibly simple to bake and with an extra dusting of brown sugar on top and served warm and soft they gift you with the taste of the nectar of the gods when paired with a small glass of milk. this image is from when I first made them a couple years ago:
GO. MAKE THESE !!!!
Needed to make a dessert in a hurry to bring to Thanksgiving, and this recipe worked excellently. I did not have the right kind of sugar for the topping, so instead I used a packet of lemonade powder, which gave it a nice citrusy zing.
Making these for myself as a reward for doing the no fun thing I’ve been putting off. Added half a lemon of lemon juice and a bit more flour. Let’s see how it turns out. >:3
Verdict: tasty.
…These were very, very good. :) (Baked them in the “All Edges” Masterclass brownie pan.)
Confirming the goodness, though not quite yet the past-tenseness, since there are a couple left in the biscuit tin.
That’s not going to last because, airtight though that tin is, the butter squares have dried out somewhat in the couple of days since they were made. I had one and, while the taste was as good as ever, the texture was starting to approach that of shortbread.
So, make ‘em, admire ‘em and eat ‘em. That’s what we’re about to do… :->
I’m also wondering, since these are meant for Christmas (not that it stopped us making them in August) how some spices - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and maybe even a pinch of white pepper - would work in this recipe.
every time i see those posts like ‘what food from a show did YOU always wanna try’ i go lol none? but i just remembered im a liar
i always wanted the fucking soup brock made in the pokemon anime
Hello OP, i don’t have anyway to prove this is the same recipe they make in the shows but i make this to calm my inner kid from wanting the fictional soup:
300gr bacon, beef or chicken. A meat of your choice. These go specially well. I prefer chicken tights. Diced
1 medium onion, diced.
Garlic minced (i used 2-4 pieces depending on size)
300gr carrot, cleaned, peeled and diced.
3 sticks of celery, washed and diced.
800gr potato. Washed, peeled diced in quarters.
1 head of broccoli.
8 cups of stock of your preference. I recommend using the bones of the beef or chicken, but veggies stock works too for a vegetarian or vegan version.
3 tablespoons all purpose flour.
1 cup whole milk. (Almond or rice milk work fine for a vegan option)
½ cup heavy cream. (Skip it for a vegan option)
Salt and black pepper to taste.
½ teaspoon paprika, use the spicy one to get the warmth up a notch in winter.
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander. Optional.
1 cup diced gouda or manchego cheese. Optional but really ties all together.
Make sure you have all your ingredients ready and at hand for this one to make sure it comes out nice and tasty!!!
In a pot put water and the bones to prepare your stock (chicken, beef, veggie) You can use premade or bouillon cubes, just make sure its 8 cups worth of broth. In a different pot boil the potatoes until soft.
In a big pot put some butter or olive oil to fry the onion, when it turns a little transparent add the garlic, move constantly.
Add the celery and diced carrots, moving constantly.
The carrot will get a little brighter in color, add the diced meat. Salt and pepper to your taste.
Meanwhile, blend the potatoes with enough stock so your blender wont have trouble blending. If you have a food processor, it’ll be easier.
Ad the remaining stock to you big pot with the veggies and meat, add the broccoli chopped in bite size pieces. Add the paprika and taste for salt and pepper. Let over a medium fire for 10 min.
Separate 3 tbsp of the stock to mix with the flour, set aside. This will be a thickening agent.
Pour the potato mix on the big pot, move to integrate and taste for salt and pepper.
Add the milk and heavy cream. Move with a laddle. Have a final taste and let over low fire for 5 min.
Serve hot and decorate with a pinch of coriander and some cubes of cheese.
ENJOY!
Notes:
I personally prefer to use chicken, love how it goes with potatoes and veggies. Also the tight is very tender and flavorful. With beef you have to be careful not to overcook it or it’ll get gummy and hard to bite, so make adjustments.
VEGAN: could also skip the meat, cheese and heavy cream for a vegan option.
I make it for my younger sister and she loves it. Instead of meat i add some diced, toasted nuts when served. Cashew, pecan and pistachios work nicely.
You’ll have to use 5 tbsp of flour to thicken up the broth a tid bit more without the heavy cream but you can still use a vegan milk.
You can totally skip the coriander, but it adds another dept of flavor.
Do try it with the cheese tho, i promise it’s GODLY. Gouda and manchego are my fave, the melt nicely and have a strong after taste, but i guess any cheese that melts could work.
Finally, if you are like me and like spicy food you can add chopped chili. Serrano and arbol chiles are my go to’s, freshly chopped sprinkled just after serving my bowl.
Hope y'all give it a try and if you have any doubts do ask!
Provecho!
this is literally the best addition i’ve ever gotten to any of my posts thank you so much
Hey I tried this recipe out and I can confirm that it tastes heavenly!!
