One of the Norse winter Seven – the oldest and most traditional of biscuits. Short and buttery with a sugar and almond crunch…
Biscuit
- 150g soft salted butter
- 125g golden caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
- 1 egg
- 225g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 15-20 almonds, slivered or finely chopped
- granulated sugar for dusting
In a bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add lightly beaten egg little at a time until fully incorporated. Sift the flour and baking powder and add spoonfuls until you have a smooth dough. Gather the dough into a ball, cover (cling film or container) and place in the fridge for a few hours. The dough can be made days in advance if needed. Just remember to take out a few hours in advance of baking.
Preheat the oven to 200°c. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and roll out sausages. Cut off pieces of around 10-12g each (I weigh mine as it assures even sized biscuits) and lightly roll into balls. Place onto a lined baking tray with space between each. Flatten each ball lightly with a floured fork, brush with some beaten egg white and sprinkle on almonds and sugar. Place in oven on a middle shelf and set the timer for 8 minutes They should bake for around 10 minutes in total but please check after 8 minutes. They should be lightly coloured around the edges and lighter on top.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Turn the oven to its lowest setting and place the biscuits back in the oven (still on the wire racks) to dry out slowly for around 40 minutes, leaving the oven door open a little. The biscuits are only supposed to dry out not bake further. When done, take out and cool completely on the wire racks and store in airtight tins.
For a chocolate version simply replace 25g of the plain flour with cacao powder.
Recipes, styling, props and photography by Rune Wold
