Klassiske Vaniljekranse – Danish Butter Cookies
I’m sure a lot of folks are like me, who loves to eat Danish butter cookies by Kjeldsens. This was long before we have Famous Amos and Mrs Fields cookies in the malls, and even longer before Betty Crocker premixes made it to the shelves of supermarkets. I love Kjeldsens since I was a small boy, and became so addicted to them after sampling a few pieces in our very first tin given by a family friend. Precious they were, my sister and I were only allowed 2 pieces each day. And we often bickered on which to choose. The oblongish ones studded with granluated sugar was an obvious favorite. We would also be looking out for these round blue tins filled with crumbly morsels of buttery goodness whenever my mother brought us to departmental stores like Yaohan or Oriental Emporium, pestering her to buy them for us. But they were so expensive then, and personally I feel they still are! Those retail joints no longer exist, becoming ghosts of the yesteryears, but Kjeldsens is still going strong, becoming a household name and often benchmark to other Danish butter cookies that became available later.
Recently in my cyber circle of baking afficionadoes, there was a little hype over baking Danish butter cookies. That sparked a desire and brought me back to my childhood, to recreate these delicious cookies we used to enjoy so much. There were a few recipes floating around but I wasn’t exactly keen. I was more interested in Danish butter cookies made by the Danish themselves! Surely nothing can be more authentic than that? After some searching around, I found this really lovely video published on youtube, of whom I presume to be a local pastry chef demonstrating how Danish butter cookies, better known as “Vaniljekranse” in their native tongue are made. The recipe is incredibly simple, with everything being thrown into the mixer all at once. I love the French track “Le Festin” by Camille playing the background. It is from the soundtrack of one of my favorite Disney productions “Ratatouille” by the way! I love her gigantic mixer, and I love the whole “mood” of the video to show how leisurely and relaxed it can be done. Most of all, I love love love her swift and sharply executed piping skills, which I tried to replicate with my own batch of cookies 
Klassiske Vaniljekranse (Danish Butter Cookies)
adapted from here (IMPORTANT UPDATE – Do remember to click on the link under “related posts” for a more updated discussion on this cookie)
Ingredients
1 egg (60g)
200g butter
130g icing sugar
320g flour
2 tbsp of vanilla paste (appro. 30g)
Method
Place everything in a mixing bowl and mix evenly using a paddle attachment on the lowest speed possible.
Pipe wreaths onto greased cookie sheet or baking tray using an open star tip. I used Wilton 1M but I think the lady in the video used a smaller one
Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 7-8 min
Leave to cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.
Transfer cookies into airtight container after cookies are at room temperature.
It is very important to ensure all ingredients at room temperature. Using softend butter helps the ingredients to amalgamate very quickly. Do not be tempted to heat the butter over the stove to melt it. That would create a messy cookie dough that oozes butter all the time.
Using the lowest speed possible helps one to monitor the progress of the cookie dough formation so as not to overwork it. Having said that the recipe is very forgiving, with little fear of the starch glutening. If one doesn’t have a stand mixer, mix the ingredients by hand with the aid of a hard spatula. Avoid using a hand blender.
The video, vanilla/vanilin powder was used. I used vanilla paste from Nielsen Massey vanilla paste which is far more fluid. Thus, I’d increased the flour and icing sugar amount slightly to compensate. If scraped seeds from vanilla beans are used, I think it is ok to stick to the original recipe. I’d also noticed that the baked cookies could hold their shape better with the slightly increased ratio of dry to wet ingredients. But be assured that they are no less crumbly and buttery.
Having said that using good butter is very important of course. I’d used Elle et Vire Gastronomique Doux, which is essentially unsalted butter used specifically for culinary purposes and not as as a spread. It is good enough for me. One could of course go that extra mile to use Lurpark butter for a truly authentic Danish experience, but I felt that French butters do the job really well, if not better
No creaming of butter, no chilling of dough, no waiting time at all, this must surely be the easiest cookie recipe I’d attempted to date! And I must say that its one of the most delicious one too!
Have a lovely weekend ahead and if you have the time, do give this recipe a try!
Related post
wow… looks so good! I believe everybody will start trying this out and I’m definitely one of them! Lol!
December 8, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Hi Wendy! these are so easy to make I hope that everyone would try them too!
December 8, 2012 at 2:15 pm
aiyoh, when my mom buy those tin biscuits when we were kids, me and my siblings always fight for this shape one…..haha…now can make at home. Looks doable enough but what sort of special butter you using in the pic?
December 8, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Sharon, just get something really buttery! Lurpak is authentically Danish, but I used Elle et Vire which is french. I’m sure there would be be people using other brands too. I would recommend Emborg, President or any European butter you can find over there. Just don’t use the Australian ones like greenfields or worse still… butterspreads like buttercup.
December 8, 2012 at 2:17 pm
How lovely! I remember loving Danish butter cookies when I was a kid. Would definitely bookmark this recipe to try!
December 8, 2012 at 6:13 pm
we baked almost the same thing
saw your chocolate wreaths
December 8, 2012 at 11:33 pm
Vaniljekranse – I am sure you must have figured out. vanil –vanila, kranse=is the shape of the cookie. round. Kind of like the x-mas decoration one hangs on the door.
December 8, 2012 at 10:15 pm
yes, its like a wreath
but thanks for reminding!
December 8, 2012 at 11:34 pm
Looks beautiful and so authentic!
December 10, 2012 at 9:49 am
Lækker!
December 10, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Looks so buttery and good.
December 10, 2012 at 2:20 pm
thanks Chris!
December 12, 2012 at 1:04 am
Yum!!! I shall try making this using Lurpak!
December 10, 2012 at 3:27 pm
haha that would make it really authentic!
December 12, 2012 at 1:03 am
Wow, I’m gonna try this! Perfect for Xmas gifts for the tuition teachers & my friends, lol! Thanks ya!
December 10, 2012 at 11:48 pm
yes! very simple and yet so delicious!
December 12, 2012 at 1:03 am
Did your palms hurt after piping them out?
December 11, 2012 at 11:16 pm
no leh… the trick is to grasp the piping bag with one hand and to squeeze with the other near the base where the nozzle is. That way, the pressure required is much smaller
December 12, 2012 at 1:02 am
This cookie is my favorite of all types in the tin…very easy recipe indeed…bookmarking for future bake:D
December 11, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Thank you so much for putting this up! I’ve been looking for the recipe for making these for quite some time. I’m in childhood memory heaven now!
December 16, 2012 at 5:07 pm
My pleasure, Ivor! I think this is a childhood treat for many of us as well
But do look out for a post which I’ll be posting soon. Its an update to this cookie with some details on making it easier and hopefully better
December 16, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Looks really good. Am I right that the cookie batter can’t be cut into shapes using a cookie cutter? Was hoping to make into cute shapes for my kid
December 26, 2012 at 11:53 am
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Seasons greetings! Lovely cookies.. just like those from that classic lovely blue tin. <3 May I ask why do you recommend using spatula to hand mix instead of the hand held mixer? I'm new to baking.
December 31, 2012 at 12:49 am
Hi there and Happy New Year! The beaters on handmixers turn really fast, thus making it more prone to overworking the dough. This can result in really hard and compact cookies in the end. A spatula gives one greater control over speed and degree of mixing, as one can easily monitor the progress of the dough coming together, stopping when all the flour had JUST being incorporated. You can read more about the making of these cookies in a recipe “update” and analysis in the link below:
http://travellingfoodies.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/vaniljekranse-a-long-update/
January 2, 2013 at 6:38 am
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Hi, can I use vanilla essence? Do I still use 2tbsp? Thanks!
January 21, 2013 at 12:00 pm
hi Ai Li, vanilla essence can work too but it would probably not be as fragrant compared to real vanilla extract. If you use essence, increase the flour by another 15-20 g.
January 21, 2013 at 12:37 pm
Thank you and appreciate your prompt response!
January 23, 2013 at 2:49 pm
no problem! hope you have good results with this recipe!
January 23, 2013 at 5:35 pm
Thank you for the lovely post! Personally I lurve the oven in the video. Big, cool and it rotates! Bakers’ dream.
January 28, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Alan, I don’t have a paddle attachment. Does hand held mixer at the lowest speed work? You think its ok to just use a spatula and mix till no trace of flour? I intend to bake this tomorrow for Chinese New Year and am getting a little jittery now….Thanks for coming to my rescue!
February 6, 2013 at 9:20 am
sorry for replying so late. I would refrain from using a hand mixer. Use a spatula instead and mix until no more trace of flour is a good trick
February 7, 2013 at 12:36 am
Thank you, Alan! Appreciate you answering my query!
February 7, 2013 at 9:00 am
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