Kammerjunker

Kammerjunker (Danish Cinnamon Sugar Cookies)

Kammerjunker are crisp, buttery Danish cookies traditionally served warm with coffee or alongside a Christmas dessert. The dough is pressed through a piping tip to create ridged, rosette-shaped cookies that are baked until deep golden.

Prep

20 min

Cook

12 min

Total

32 min

Serves

20 cookies

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •125 g (1 stick + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• •100 g (¾ cup + 2 tsp) wheat flour, standard all-purpose/plain flour
• •60 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• •1 whole (1 large) egg, room temperature
• •1 tsp ground cardamom, or ground cinnamon, for a more traditional Danish flavor
• •1 pinch fine salt
• •50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar, for the cinnamon-sugar coating
• •1 tsp ground cinnamon, for the cinnamon-sugar coating

Steps

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. 2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom or cinnamon, and salt.
3. 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand), cream the cold butter and 60 g sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. 4 Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated and the mixture looks smooth.
5. 5 Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix on low just until a soft, pipeable dough forms. Do not overmix. If the dough feels too soft to hold its shape, chill for 10 minutes.
6. 6 Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip (1 cm / ½ in opening).
7. 7 Pipe small rosettes onto the prepared baking sheets, about 4 cm (1½ in) wide, leaving 3 cm (1¼ in) between them.
8. 8 Bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are deep golden brown at the edges and bottom. Pale cookies will be soft rather than crisp, so let them color properly.
9. 9 While the cookies bake, mix 50 g sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
10. 10 Let the cookies cool for 1 minute so they firm up just enough to handle, then toss warm cookies gently in the cinnamon-sugar to coat. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. 11 Store in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks; they are best eaten within the first few days for maximum crispness.