Hallongrottor (meaning “raspberry caves” in Swedish) are delicious little cookies, buttery and crumbly with a jewel-like filling of fruit jam. Although traditionally often flavoured with just a hint of vanilla, here I have added a little almond extract and a touch of lemon zest; during the festive season I often add half a teaspoon of mixed spice too, so they almost have the flavour of a mini linzertorte.
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can prepare a batch and then freeze half, packing the uncooked biscuits in between sheets of baking paper; they make the ideal little snack for after school or an unexpected guest when popped in the airfryer on a small square of baking paper and baked at 180 degrees for roughly 8-9 minutes.
Ingredients (makes 24)
200g salted butter (softened)
200g caster sugar
320g plain flour
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
Zest of 1 lemon
100g good quality raspberry jam
A tablespoon of icing sugar, to serve (optional, but it does look pretty at Christmas)
Method
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment if you have one, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Add the egg, lemon zest, baking powder, vanilla/almond extract, and a couple of tablespoons of flour and mix gently to break up the egg.
- Tip in the rest of the flour and stir carefully until the ingredients come together to form a soft dough.
- Roll the dough into 24 equal balls (they should be roughly the size of a large walnut).
- Lay the balls on a tray lined with greaseproof paper and gently make an indentation in the top of each one; although the name suggests pressing your thumb into the cookie, I actually find using a bottle cap or tiny measuring spoon gives a more regular shape!
- Add half a teaspoon of raspberry jam into each little hole, then pop the tray in the fridge for at least an hour to chill the cookies.
- To bake, preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper (I find six or eight to a sheet works very well as they will spread a little) and then cook in the centre of the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden.
- Allow to cool and then dust on a little icing sugar to serve.
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