An epicurean adventure to: Sweden
Hallongrottor are buttery, melt-in-the-mouth Swedish thumbprint cookies.
The name very aptly means 'Raspberry cave' in Swedish, referring to the signature thumbprint indentation filled with raspberry jam in the centre of the cookie.
They are a classic snack in Sweden and it's also believed this is where thumbprint cookies originated from.
These cookies are often enjoyed during a 'fika', the social institution in Sweden of taking a coffee break with a snack or pastry. It is seen as a way to take a moment to relax, recharge and build relationships.
So, why not gather your friends, have your own Swedish fika, and savour some freshly baked Hallongrottor?
Jump to:
Sweden - Fast facts
| Location | Northern Europe, bordered by Norway to the west and Finland to the east. |
| Language | Swedish. English is also widely spoken as a second language. |
| Population | Circa 10.4 million people. |
| Trivia | In Sweden, the concept of "lagom" is highly valued, meaning "just the right amount," and influences many aspects of Swedish culture, such as work-life balance and interior design, promoting a sustainable and harmonious lifestyle. |
What's to love about this recipe
- These Swedish cookies are feather light and buttery.
- Very quick and simple to make.
- Great fun to get the kids involved with.
- Customise and use your favourite jam.
- Scalable recipe.
Key ingredient notes and substitutions
**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.
Unsalted butter
In our experience, unsalted butter works best for these cookies because they are so delicately flavoured. You can use salted butter if you'd prefer it more salty.
The butter needs to be quite soft, so that if you pressed on it, your finger would leave an indentation quite easily.
Speed up the softening process by heating a glass bowl with an inch of water in the microwave, until the water boils. Throw the water out and turn the bowl upside down over the butter for a few minutes.
Caster sugar
Can we replaced with granulated sugar.
You can easily make your own caster sugar by whizzing granulated sugar in a food processor until it's somewhere between the consistency of icing sugar and granulated sugar.
Vanilla extract
We use quite a bit of vanilla in this recipe, so use the best quality vanilla extract, or paste, you have available to you. It can also be replaced with a teaspoon of vanilla sugar.
Cornflour
Or corn starch, helps to make the cookies soft and tender. It also provides structure to the cookies, preventing them from spreading too much when baking.
Raspberry jam
Raspberry jam is the original jam flavour for Hallongrottor in Sweden. It is in the name after all - 'Raspberry caves'! Don't let this stop you from trying other jams like strawberry jam, apricot jam or blackberry jam.
If you don't like the seeds in the jam, either buy seedless, or warm up the jam ever so slightly before straining it through a sieve.
How to make Hallongrottor
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Don't preheat the oven just yet.
- Add the butter and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl.
- Beat together the softened butter and caster sugar until light and creamy. About 2-3 minutes. You can use a stand mixer, electric hand mixer or a hand whisk for this step.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the all purpose flour, cornflour and baking power by hand (use a small whisk or a fork).
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture.
- Beat on a low speed just until the dough comes together. It will look crumbly at first, but keep beating.
- Break off portions of dough equal in size and role into balls. If you want to be precise, you can weigh each portion.
25g gives you a good sized cookie and this recipe will yield 15 cookies of that weight.
- Space the dough balls out on the prepared baking sheet, allowing enough space between each cookie. About 6-7cm/2.5".
- With your thumb, or the back of a small measuring spoon, push down on each dough ball to form a hollow in the centre of the ball.
If small cracks appear on the sides of the cookies as you push down onto it, don't worry, just smooth them over with your fingertip.
- Fill each hollow with about ½ teaspoon of raspberry jam. This will depend on how big you made the hollow. Just fill it enough to be ever so slightly higher than the cookie itself. The jam will melt during baking and drop down a little.
- Place the baking sheet with prepared cookies in the fridge whilst you wait for the oven to pre-heat. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much whilst baking.
- Preheat the oven to 170℃/340℉/gas mark 3.
- When the oven is ready, remove the cookies from the fridge and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start turning a light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Top tips
- Don't overmix the dough, stop as soon as all the ingredients come together. Overmixing can lead to tougher cookies.
- Use kitchen scales for precise measuring. If you don't have any, add it to your Christmas wish list!
- Using the back of a small measuring spoon, like a half teaspoon measure, will give you a perfect hollow. You can of course use your thumb, but some people have long nails and that just doesn't work in this instance.
- If you find the dough is too soft to roll, as it may be warm where you are, place the bowl with the cookie dough in the fridge for 10-15 minutes and try again.
- When putting the baking tray in the oven, make sure it's straight and not laying at a slight angle. If the tray is skew, the jam will start pooling towards one side of the hollow.
- If you find that after baking, some cookies' jam have sunk down too far (happens when not enough jam was added), just fill it up with a tiny bit more jam. It won't be as sticky as the baked jam, but adding a small amount of fresh jam won't be that noticeable.
Do it whilst the cookies are still very hot from the oven, then new jam will 'marry up' with the baked jam.
- When stacking Hallongrottor in a tin without damaging the jam portion, stack them like below, slightly overlapping but not touching the jam.
Variations on Hallongrottor
- Lingonberry or Blueberry jam - Instead of raspberry jam, try lingonberry or blueberry jam.
- Make it nutty - Add ground almonds, hazelnuts or pecans to the cookie dough.
- Chocolate - Add cocoa powder to the cookie dough or place a chocolate kiss on top after baking.
- Citrus - Add lemon or orange zest to the dough.
- Spiced - Add warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cardamom.
- Almond - Swap vanilla for almond extract.
- Lemon filling - Fill the cookies with lemon curd.
- Hazelnut chocolate - Fill the cookies with Nutella
Storage
Hallongrottor cookies will keep well at room temperature for a week, in the fridge for two weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. Store them in an airtight container in every instance.
More sweet treats from Europe
Tinginys - Lithuanian lazy cookies
Tarte aux Fruit - Fruit tart from France
Toscakaka - Swedish Tosca cake with almond praline
More Christmas recipes
The best pigs in blankets with a whisky and honey glaze
Easy Parmentier potatoes (mini roast potatoes)
Roasted tenderstem broccoli with parmesan and pine nuts
The best honey-roasted carrots and parsnips
Recipe
Hallongrottor - Swedish thumbprint cookies
Equipment
- 1 large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 150 grams unsalted butter - softened, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 180 grams all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons raspberry jam
Instructions
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Don't preheat the oven just yet.
- In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and caster sugar until light and creamy. About 2-3 minutes. You can use a stand mixer, electric hand mixer or a hand whisk for this step.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
- In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the all purpose flour, cornflour and baking power by hand (use a small whisk or a fork).
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat on a low speed just until the dough comes together. It will look crumbly at first, but keep beating.
- Break off portions of dough equal in size and role into balls. If you want to be precise, you can weigh each portion. 25g gives you a good sized cookie and this recipe will yield 15 cookies of that weight.
- Space the dough balls out on the prepared baking sheet, allowing enough space between each cookie. About 6-7cm/2.5".
- With your thumb, or the back of a small measuring spoon, push down on each dough ball to form a hollow. If small cracks appear on the sides of the cookies as you push down onto it, don't worry, just smooth them over with your fingertip.
- Fill each hollow with about ½ teaspoon of raspberry jam. This will depend on how big you made the hollow. Just fill it enough to be ever so slightly higher than the cookie itself. The jam will melt during baking and drop down a little.
- Place the baking sheet with prepared cookies in the fridge whilst you wait for the oven to pre-heat. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much whilst baking.
- Preheat the oven to 170℃/340℉/gas mark 3.
- When the oven is ready, remove the cookies from the fridge and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start turning a light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
**Nutritional data disclaimer**
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is calculated by a third party and we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We try our best to give you the most accurate information, but we do not take responsibility for errors that may be present. Also, the nutritional value of the recipe may change depending on the exact brands and products used. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian for personalised advice on your dietary needs.
Nutrition
For food safety advice, including guidance on food allergies
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