Havrekjeks: Nordic oatmeal cookies
Thin, crispy, and chewy, these oat cookies just might make you fall in love with them
Photo: Dianna Walla
Simple havrekjeks were good enough to keep Roald Amundsen going on his expedition to the South Pole. Imagine how much joy they could bring in less inclement conditions.
Dianna Walla
Tromsø, Norway
Since moving to Tromsø in August, I’ve been enjoying getting to know the local businesses. There’s a lot of fantastic food and drink in this city, and when visiting Oslo a few weeks ago, I realized there’s a lot of it that I can’t get even in other parts of Norway. I’ve fallen in love with the havrekjeks (oat cookies) that a certain local bakery makes, and since I probably won’t live here forever, I decided I would try to come up with a recipe for my own version. These aren’t a perfect recreation of those cookies, but I’m really happy with the end result: a thin, crisp but chewy cookie.
Havrekjeks
1 cup rolled oats, processed into a coarse mixture
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. honey or light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Photo: Dianna Walla
Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth. Add milk, egg, vanilla, and honey/syrup to the butter and sugar mixture and beat vigorously until well blended.
Gradually fold the dry ingredients (oats, flour, baking soda, salt) into the dough, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
At this stage, cover the dough and let chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. (Don’t skip this step! Your cookies may not hold together if you do.)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350ºF / 175ºC. After the dough has chilled, drop it by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least two inches between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden-brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Makes approximately 20 cookies.
Dianna Walla is a writer and knitwear designer living and studying in Tromsø, Norway. She writes about baking at cakeandvikings.com and about knitting at paper-tiger.net. Find her on Instagram at @cakeandvikings.
This article originally appeared in the March 11, 2016, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
