Mormor Cookies
Mormor means grandma in Swedish and, happily, also lends itself to the sound I make after eating one of these cookies.
This is a recipe adapted from a genuine Swedish grandma. A second-generation Swedish grandma from Ohio, whose daughter, the magnifcent Amy Freitag, gifted me the recipe. Would Mormor be pleased that I changed it up a little to make it more nutritious? That I replaced regular chocolate chunks with shards of a Lindt Intense Orange bar? And chocolate chips?
Turns out Mormor was a big fan of all things orange, from Grand Marnier on down, so I like to think she’d taste one, still warm from the oven with the bits of orange peel from the chocolate bar still chewy, and exclaim “Härlig!”
Mormor and I should also tell you the cookies turn out thin, chewy and buttery. And the chocolate orange pushes it over the top. Don’t like chocolate orange? You can replace it with any (dark) chocolate bar you wish, but chunks of chocolate are key. Mormor insists.
These are also the base cookie for my ice cream “chipwiches.”
Ingredients
Yield: About 3 dozen large cookies
1 1/2 cups (194 grams) whole wheat flour
1 cup almond flour (96 grams)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup (150 grams) dark brown sugar (packed)
3/4 cup (145 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 to 4 Lindt Intense Orange chocolate bars, chunked into pieces
Chocolate chips (add as you see fit. or don’t.)
How to
Whisk the flours, salt and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
In a stand/hand mixer, blend the melted butter and both sugars together until it starts to lose the greasy appearance. This will take a few minutes. Breathe deeply over the bowl. Isn’t that relaxing? Doesn’t that smell good? Couldn’t you fall in and get lost forever?
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully blended. Add the vanilla and mix further. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes until the batter is lighter and richer looking. Scrape down the sides a few times during the process.
Add the flour and mix until just blended.
Fold in the chocolate by hand.
Refrigerate the mixture for an hour or more.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop large spoonfuls (about 1 1/2 tablespoons worth) onto the baking tray. These spread, so plan accordingly. I cooked 4 per sheet.
Place in the oven. After 6 minutes take the pan out and slam it on top of your stove to smoosh the batter down and make a flatter, wrinklier cookie. Do it again at about 10 minutes. Be sure to rearrange the cookie sheets from top to bottom to ensure even cooking. In total, the cookies will bake about 13 minutes until deep golden brown.
Let cool on the baking pan for 2 to 3 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Note: If you don’t like/want/have whole wheat flour and almond flour, you can do this recipe as Mormor intended with old-fashioned all-purpose white flour. Instead of the combined 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat and almond flour, replace that with 2 cups all-purpose flour.
