Here's a traditional recipe for Danish marble cookies, also known as Marmor Småkager. These delicate, marbled butter biscuits are very popular in Denmark and remind you of classic butter cookies with a hint of cocoa.
🇩🇰Recipe for Danish Marble Cookies (Marmor Småkager)
🧁Ingredients •250 g room temperature butter •125 g sugar •1 tsp vanilla sugar •350 g wheat flour •1 pinch of salt •2 tbsp baking cocoa •1 tsp ice-cold water •1 egg white (for brushing) •Sugar for rolling
👩🍳Preparation
1. Prepare the dough: •Cream the butter with sugar and vanilla sugar. •Add flour and salt and knead into a smooth dough. •Divide the dough in half. •Knead cocoa and ice-cold water into one half until an even dark dough forms. •Roughly knead both doughs together so that a marbled pattern forms.
2. Shape and chill the dough: •Divide the marbled dough into 4 equal pieces. •Shape each piece into a roll of approximately 3 cm diameter. •Wrap the rolls in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
3. Cut and bake the cookies: •Preheat the oven to 200°C with top and bottom heat. •Remove one dough roll from the refrigerator. •Brush the roll with egg white and roll in sugar. •Cut the roll into approximately 7 mm thick slices. •Place the slices with some space between them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. •Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes until lightly browned at the edges. •Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet as they are fragile when warm.
📝Tips •Store the marble cookies in an airtight container; they will keep for about two months. •For a special taste, you can roll the dough rolls in Danish pearl sugar (Perlesukker). •Vary the recipe by adding rum flavoring or instant coffee powder to the dark dough.
This recipe was inspired by herzelieb.de, a food blog specializing in Nordic baking traditions.
Have fun baking and enjoying this Danish specialty!
