Recipe: Swedish raspberry shortbread cookies // hallongrottor 

It’s the beginning of January, and as I write this it is pouring with freezing cold rain outside. Just the sort of weather that warrants a little treat with your morning cuppa, because frankly just getting out of the house in that sort of weather deserves a reward!

These little biscuits absolutely typify what I love about Swedish baking – they are very simple and rely on great ingredients. The better the ingredients, the better the cookie. When we were over in Sweden in September I was all about these biscuits and had one in almost every bakery and café that we visited! They’re the perfect amount of sweetness, and not so big that you feel you need a lie down afterwards.

Hallongrottor / Swedish raspberry shortbread cookies

• 200g plain flour
• 100g butter
• 60g sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
• A few tablespoons of really good quality raspberry (or other fruit) jam

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Mix together the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar (or vanilla essence), and butter. Rub the mixture between your fingers as if making a crumble, and it will eventually come together into a dough.

Take walnut sized pieces (about 30g) of the dough and roll them between the palms of your hands, before flattening them slightly and putting them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Use your thumb to make a hollow on the top, and then use a teaspoon to pop a little jam in each of the indentations.

Bake in the oven for approximately ten minutes, rotating halfway through. You don’t really want these to colour too much, so be careful not to brown them.

Place on a rack to cool, and sprinkle with a little extra vanilla sugar (or icing sugar). However tempting it may be, do not eat these when they first come out of the oven as the jam will burn you! Let them cool and then tuck in.

P.S. the plate is from the Teema range by Iittala.