poppy seed<\/a>. Every one was eye popping. Apricot, cherry, sweet cheese, and others will follow in turn. No stone unturned, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut that simple description doesn’t do this cookie justice, because the whole is exponentially better than the sum of those very delicious parts. Consider: We have a Czech friend named Barbora who bakes an array of holiday cookies that puts even our efforts to shame. We hold our own on variety and flavor. Heck, we may even win on those fronts. But appearance? Not a chance. Barbora and her mom are sensational decorators as well as great bakers, and Barbora could earn a good living on her photography alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The point being, she’s as tough an audience as you could ever find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barbora happened to be in town when I finished up our final H\u00e1lfm\u00e1nar test batches, so I brought a pair over (plum and rhubarb) and asked her to test the cookies out. She rolled her eyes a bit, and promised that she’d get to them later. But I insisted on seeing her reaction, so she sighed and took a small bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHer eyes got wide, and a second bite followed immediately. Both samples were gone within a minute, and she was literally licking her fingers at the end – a thing that Czechs simply do not do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her verdict? “My mom will say they’re too big for Christmas cookies, but I want that recipe! V\u00e1noce isn’t the only time we’re allowed to bake. Wow. I mean, like, WOW. Those were g.o.o.d.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nA Perfect Balance Of Flavors.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\nThere’s a lot of cookies that gild the lily in an effort to be special. Most of the time that’s a mistake. And to be honest, we thought the cardamom in H\u00e1lfm\u00e1nar dough would be yet another example. Think about it. You’re starting with a soft, buttery dough wrapped around densely flavored fruit butter! Why mess around in a search for something “extra?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Man, were we ever wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freshly ground cardamom has a historic love affair with fruit of all kinds. This recipe includes the perfect amount to add some Scandinavian culture to the cookie, while simultaneously elevating the whole into something that glitters as much as it glows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do Not Overfill.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou’ll be tempted, but this is a case where balance adds more than you’d get from the extra filling. Trust us on this. Scott graduated summa cum laude from the school of More-Is-Better, and even he agrees. We call for a rounded teaspoon inside a 3″ diameter circle. You could<\/em> fit in more, but don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKate’s homemade rhubarb filling on a plate she made herself.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAny Filling Will Do.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\nPrune butter (povidla a\/k\/a lekvar) is the most traditional filling across the recipes we researched. We adore it, and we happen to have several jars in the pantry. So we tried that first, and… wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we couldn’t stop there! A friend hooked us up with a rhubarb farmer this spring, which led to jars of strawberry\/rhubarb pie filling for the pantry. That went into test batch #2. Wow and wow again. Finger licking fabulous. (Just ask Barbora, lol).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott: “We’ve got to try this with apple butter!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nKate: “Go ahead. But I’m going to test out poppy seed filling!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nCheck. And check. And so it went. Take your fruit filling, cook it down to a dense fruit butter, and proceed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOTE FROM KATE: This was my first time putting up rhubarb strawberry pie filling for the winter. We used a half-pint jar for half of the dough. If you’re working with a pie filling, blend it first (I used an immersion blender in a Pyrex cup), and then cook it down. Adjust with a small amount of starch or ClearJel as needed. Then put a bit on a plate and quick-cool to test. If it’s too thick, add extra fruit. If it’s still too loose, simmer it down a bit more. This adjustment can be done while your dough is resting in the fridge. (The poppy seed was canned, and it worked out great!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nANOTHER NOTE FROM KATE: We brought these cookies to a camping trip and shared them out. One of the lucky recipients had been to Iceland, and said that bakeries sell them in a variety of flavors. Thus, let your imagination take flight! Personally, I just might make extra cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving and cook down the leftovers for H\u00e1lfm\u00e1nar. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAbout The Size. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is a full, three-bite cookie because making them smaller would multiply the effort. 3″ circles – a standard biscuit cutter – already seems fussy for someone with full-sized fingers. Feel free to shrink them if you can, but for us, the extra cookies weren’t worth the extra effort. It’s up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOTE FROM KATE: Scott also tried the Asian dumpling crimper, which usually leaves a decorative edge. These cookies baked up into little football shapes, and their edge decorations didn’t hold up with this dough. It was, however, a lot faster. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n[ADMISSION FROM SCOTT. I might have overfilled. Slavish instinct and long training being a thing.] <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n[KATE CONTINUING] The advantage of filling the cookies by hand is being able to shape them to a true half-moon, as their name indicates. The fork-tine edges aren’t much different from the dumpling crimper. We found that it helped to squeeze the middle of the circle first, and work toward the edges. The elasticity of the dough allowed us to make moon-shapes with better curves. It also made extra space for the filling. FYI, it’s faster in a team of two.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nWe do note that this particular size also fits the Icelandic tradition. We care about that kind of thing. Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shouldn’t I Cream The Butter?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\nConfession time. Scott made a big deal about this being an ancient, ‘just mix it all together’<\/em> recipe in the initial test version… and then promptly forgot about that instruction when the butter came out of the fridge. That first batch used the standard creaming method by force of habit. Batch #2 followed the actual rules. [Sigh]<\/em>. But at least this gave us a chance to compare!<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe creamed-butter batch spread a bit more and might have been a tiny bit lighter, but no one would have noticed if they weren’t looking to find a problem. Dump-and-stir works every bit as well so long as your butter is soft enough to mix in without lumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texture is the Persian flaw. Refresh Before Serving.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nLegend says that ancient carpet weavers deliberately put small flaws in all their products because only God should make something perfect. Half-moons are darned close to perfect, but they do have that Persian flaw. The crust has a faint, utterly delightful crispiness on baking day, but humidity will kill that in a day or two. Three days at the very most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make no mistake. Softened H\u00e1lfm\u00e1nar are still delicious, and no one would even dream of complaining. But this is one of those cases where “delicious” amounts to faint praise compared to what they’re like on the first day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kate discovered an easy fix. Pop the cookies back in a 250\u00b0 F (120\u00b0 C) oven for 5 minutes before putting them on the table. The gentle crispiness will return, and all will be scrumdiddlyumptious. That isn’t enough time to get the filling hot or to cause more browning. It merely refreshes the crust.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is the best cooked-fruit cookie that either of us has ever had. Full stop. And that includes traditional favorites like filled gingerbreads, hamentaschen, and other famous cookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s described as the<\/em> great Christmas cookie of Iceland. And it deserves to be. But Barbora is probably right for cookie arrays the size of ours. Three biters are definitely on the large size for a holiday tray that emphasizes variety as well as quality. That said, something this delicious is worth some extra space on the tray! <\/p>\n\n\n\nIt should also be said that H\u00e1lfm\u00e1nar are so very, truly awesome that it’s a shame to limit their use to the holiday season alone. These cookies are down in our family code as a year-round, fall back dessert for any season with an excess amount of fruit. Considering a pie? Keep H\u00e1lfm\u00e1nar in mind as an elegant, just-as-easy alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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