In summer we eat a lot of danish buttermilk soup, or koldskål as we call it. It is traditionally served with small double-baked biscuits called kammerjunkere. They are crunchy and sweet and perfect for desserts like buttermilk soup or at the bottom of a cheesecake. Read along here and get the recipe for the best danish kammerjunkere.
The taste of danish summer
The taste of summer is for most Danes a good bowl of buttermilk soup (koldskål). At home, we absolutely love Strawberry buttermilk soup. Of course, we serve kammerjunkere with it.
Many Danish people probably buy the ready-made kammerjunkere in the supermarket, but it is actually fun, fast, and much more delicious to bake your own. It does not take very long, and you always bake a double portion, so you have for a few weeks at a time
If you live abroad maybe you don’t have a choice, but you have to make your own.
Kammerjunkere is a Danish thing. They are small sliced double-baked cookies that we probably most often eat in buttermilk soup. They are also delicious in various other desserts, so you can easily use them elsewhere if they are not eaten when you serve the buttermilk soup.
I personally think you should double-bake kammerjunkere. Not everyone does, but they get a tiny amount better this way. Therefore, they must first be baked whole, then they are divided in the middle, and baked again until crunchy. Then they also get the real kammerjunke-shape that we love.
Ingredient notes
Vanilla – I think kammerjunkere should taste of vanilla. We almost always use vanilla paste when we bake. It’s easy and we always have it in the fridge. You can, of course, use vanilla beans or vanilla powder instead if you like.
In addition to vanilla, you can also use other flavorings in your kammerjunkere. Try, for example, with a teaspoon of crushed cardamom or finely grated lemon zest.
Butter – No cookies without butter. We use real butter, it gives the best taste.
All-purpose flour – As it is a kind of cookie we make, and they should preferably be crunchy, you do not need to choose wheat flour with high gluten percentage. You can use quite ordinary all-purpose flour from the supermarket or some of the different types of cake flour that are also sold in the supermarkets
How to make danish kammerjunkere?
Kammerjunkere are really easy to make yourself. First, the dough must be assembled. I always make it in a food processor. First, put all the ingredients except the egg in, and then run it until the butter is completely crumbled.
Then I pour the dough into a bowl and combine it with the egg using my hands or a wooden spoon. If the dough is very soft, it can be refrigerated a bit, but otherwise, it’s just a matter of starting to shape small balls.
I go for 2-3 cm in diameter, they rise a little in the oven too.
Then they need to be baked first, and when they are cold enough for cutting, they are cut over and put back in the oven. Here they have to bake until they are crunchy and delicious.
Find the full recipe further down this page.
Frequently asked questions
Homemade kammerjunkere can last a long time if they are not eaten. We like to store them in a jar or in a cookie tin in a dark and cool room. Just like you would store other cookies or biscuits.
The finished kammerjunkere can not be frozen, but you can freeze the dough for kammerjunkere. It may be a good idea to make a double portion and freeze half down. Then you have easy kammerjunkere for another day.
If they are stored in an airtight container, they can easily be kept for at least a couple of weeks. Probably longer too, but we always eat them pretty quickly.
Other danish recipes you might like
- Danish vanilla cream pudding (fløderand)
- Danish red berry pudding (rødgrød med fløde)
- Old-fashioned Danish Apple Cake
- Danish lemon mousse – Citronfromage
- Danish Cinnamon Rolls – Snails (kanelsnegle)
Recipe for danish bisquits for cold buttermilk soup
Here you get our recipe for easy and delicious homemade kammerjunkere. They are absolutely perfect in a homemade or pre-bought buttermilk soup, and then they just taste better than the ones you can buy in the stores.
Remember to make a double portion, because they disappear very quickly when the weather is good and you need to serve cold buttermilk soup for your family.
Danish kammerjunkere
Ingredients
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g butter cold
- 40 g sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius convection heat.
- Rub the butter into the flour. You can do it by hand or on a machine. I always do it in a food processor, it's easy and fast.
- Then add sugar, baking powder, and vanilla and mix well.
- Quickly combine the dough with the egg. The dough should not be kneaded!
- If the dough is very soft, it can be put in the fridge before the kammerjunkere is formed, but if you can work with the dough as it is, it is not needed.
- Divide the dough in half, and roll each piece into a long shape on a floured board. Cut each dough stick into about 25 pieces, and roll the pieces into round balls.
- Place the kammerjunkere on a baking sheet lined with baking paper with little space between them. Give the kammerjunkere a light pressure so that they become slightly flat.
- Bake the biscuits for the first time for 8 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius convection heat.
- Take out the kammerjunkere and turn the oven down to 160 degrees Celcius convection heat.
- Allow the baked kammerjunkere to cool slightly. When you can touch them, divide them in the middle with a serrated knife. Then place them back on the baking tray with the cutting surface facing up.
- Bake the kammerjunkere a second time for 10-15 minutes at 160 degrees Celcius convection heat until crisp and golden.
- Allow the finished kammerjunkere to cool completely on a rack before packing in an airtight container.
Nutrition
How do you like the recipe?
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Note: This recipe is a translation of our danish recipe “Kammerjunkere” which can be found on our danish food blog.
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