We are gathered here today to make fried cookies. Klejner (sometimes spelled Kleyner), a classic Danish cookie, that's served at Christmas. Little fried knots of dough for ringing in the holiday season in Denmark.
I should probably make it clear that I am not in Denmark. I'm in Canada, but I'm of Danish descent. And Irish. But I didn't know I was Irish until I started to research my ancestry because of the high potato levels in my blood steam.
How Danish am I you ask? Well I'm Danish enough to be able to say thank you, you're welcome and pass the klejner in Danish. And truthfully I can't really say "pass the" so I just use a waving hand motion to represent "pass the"
I inherited this recipe for Klejner from my farmor (Danish for paternal grandmother) Agnes.
Klejner
Klejner are really just twisted fried donuts and they're popular in a ton of other countries as well. The shape may be a little different, the name will definitely be different, but it's basically the same thing. Fried cookie dough.
And it's SIMPLE cookie dough at that. Flour, sugar, baking soda, vanilla, eggs, milk, butter. That's it.
You just add your dry ingredients to your handy, dandy mixer and mix. If you don't have a handy, dandy mixer ... mix by hand.
Throw in your wet ingredients: the vanilla, butter and milk and mix everything up until combined. You're creating a dough.
If the dough is too sticky and really sticks to your work surface knead in some flour.
Just sprinkle it over your dough and knead away. If you're using a stand mixer, mix away.
You want the dough to be dry enough so it isn't sticky, but not so floury that it'll crack when you roll it out.
It will look like the ball up above. Except your pastry board might be different. You might not even have a pastry board. Just be prepared for a few differences when you look down at your blob of dough.
As long as it doesn't crack or stick when you roll it out, you're good.
The dough gets rolled out to ¼" thick (or even a little thinner) and then cut into 1" wide strips.
Once the strips are cut you cut them again into 3" lengths then use a paring knife cut a small hole, just off-centre in each strip.
NOW is the fun part. You turn every little strip of dough into a knot by pushing one end through the hole.
Repeat with all the dough until you have a big pile of uncooked knotty looking things.
Now whip out that deep fryer and heat it to its highest setting. If you don't have a deep fryer you can fry them in a pot. Yup. Like I said, they're fried cookies. The best kind of cookie as far as I'm concerned.
Carefully drop your cookies into the fryer. You can do about 10 or 12 at a time. Once the cookies have browned on one side, flip them over with a fork or whatever you have on hand, so the other side gets browned. They only take a couple of minutes to cook so keep an eye on them.
The cookies will be golden brown. Like you'd expect a fried cookie to be. Drain them on a paper towel.
Just before serving them, sprinkle them with powdered sugar. At this point you can either admire them or eat them. Or give them away. Or eat them.
And that my friends is how you make a Danish Christmas Cookie.
Klejner
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 4 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- .25 lb butter softened
- ½ teaspoon cardamon (optional)
Instructions
- Mix together dry ingredients reserving ½ of flour
- Add in remaining ingredients and mix well until dough smooth.
- If needed, add the reserved ½ cup of flour to the dough.
- Roll dough out to a scant ¼" thick.
- Cut dough into 3" x 1" strips. I use a pizza wheel for this.
- Cut a slit in the centre of each strip of dough. The direction of the slit should run the length of the strip, not across it.
- For each strip of dough, pull one end through the centre cut slit and pull through to the other side. This will form a sort of knot.
- Deep fry until the dough begins to form a golden colour.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
They're one of my favourite cookies, because I grew up on them and we all have a soft spot for something we grew up on don't we? I mean how else do you explain your lingering love of macaroni and cheese made with powdered cheese? Also these cookies aren't overly sweet. In fact they aren't very sweet at all. If you want them sweeter add a little bit more sugar.
If you don't like sweet stuff at all, then just stick with potatoes.
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kasia
OMG! I LOVE the falling snowflakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Karen
Thanks for noticing Kasia! You're the first. I love them too. :) LOVE them. ~ karen
Claire
Oh well... I'm full blown Danish, even living here (countryside of Copenhagen).
And even if I'm not the one that usually makes home made cookies for Christmas, I absolutely NEED to try out this recipe :D
Tak for mad! :)
(= Thank you for dinner - or rather, thank you for taking the trouble and time of cooking dinner for me. And the host will usually afterwards reply: 'Velbekomme' = your welcome)
... Which is something we say in Denmark, after dinner, before leaving the table.
And which has brought me many strange looks on my trips around the world, since we danes apparently are the only ones having this very polite custom..?
Looking forward to tasting them :)
Karen
Claire! You just used the only 2 Danish words I know, as taught to me by my grandmother. Proving exactly how important they are! ~ karen
kathryn
"add a tiny big flour"??? for goodness' sake Karen, make your mind up!! MWAH X
Karen
Eep! The error has been fixed. I need an editor. Or more time to check my own writing! Or maybe just a nap. ~ karen
Jules
probably a dumb question but what kind of oil do you use???
Im making these tomorrow - so excited!
Jules
Karen
Hi Jules! I just use plain corn oil from a bottle. Canola oil can be used and peanut oil is the best but it's more expensive and harder to find. Good luck! ~ karen
Betina
Not dumb at all , I am danish been in Canada since I was 3 and home afew times my children are first generation Canadian as I married a dane too....I am making some now my mom's recipe is very similar only we also add 1 tsp cardemon & 1 tsp lemon juice.
We fry in tenderflake lard , they are nice . , lift out and drain on papertowel.
Enjoy & Merry Christmas
Betina
Tanja
We use Crisco...gives a better flavor and texture...crunchy on the outside soft on the inside!!
suzanne
Tak!!
I'm of danish descent as well, on my mother's side, and spent 2 weeks in copenhagen a few years ago. Fell head over heels in love with the country.
Ally
This is the knottiest thing I've seen all day - and I work on a college campus! (Sorry, I can't resist a pun...)
caroline
We make these in my Slovak family, only we call them ceregi (pronounced: cha-de-gee)
Rosemary
I bought a contraption for a quarter at a garage sale last summer that cuts the cookies AND makes the slit in the middle. Thanks for the recipe - I can't wait to make a batch.
Tanja
Take good care of that Klijner cutter...they are hard to come by. I inherited the family klijner cutter and have to begrudgingly loan it to my siblings on occasion!
Jacqueline Hoyer
I bring some wheels (kleiner cutters) back from Denmark when we go. I have not seen them here
Adrienne Audrey
mmm looks yummy!
Vila
Danish??? Did you say DANISH??? :)))) Would you happen to have a recepie for traditional Danish raisin/chocolate scones by any chance???
Kristen
I am 1/2 Danish, and will be hosting the Danish family for Christmas this year. I will be making aebleskiver and risengrod (and then Ris á l'amande for dessert), and my Mor (Mom in Danish) will be bringing a kringle. We may not live in Denmark, but its fun to celebrate a little bit Danish! I even have woven paper hearts on my Christmas tree. Gledelig Jul Karen!
Vila
Hi :) just read your comment, would YOU happen to have a good recepie for authentic Danish scones (raisin or chocolate doesn't matter what I am interested in is the pastry)
Thanks a bunch! And enjoy the Hollidays 'a la Danish' :)
Best,
Nathalie
Kristen
Hi Vila,
Not off the top of my head, but I can check my Grandmothers recipe box when I get home tonight. Cheers, and God Jul!
Alexandra Dare
Yummy. They look like adorable little funnel cakes. We need eat-o-vision on ze Internet over here :D om nom nom...
Jo
My Polish family makes these!! They end up a little lighter in colour, not sure why. And we sprinkle powdered sugar on them once they're cool. mmmm so yummy
Rhonda N.
I'm a quarter Danish, but that makes me sound like a pastry.
Amy Schmucker
No powdered sugar on them, or cinnamon? glazed nuts? Do they taste like cookies or fried dough? Sound interesting. Enjoy them. Anything that requires frying in oil get nixed in my book. I hate the smell of oil in the house. Happy Holidays.
Karen
You can dust them with powdered sugar if you want. I have on the odd occassion. But the powdered sugar doesn't last very long. It just soaks in. ~ karen
CourtneyOutLoud
Well they do sorta look like a chaise lounge chair and are of the caramel persuasion when it comes to their coloring, so its sorta like being on vacation. Because lets be honest...you would have eaten a lot of fried food on vacation anyway right? On a side note, how often do you need to change the oil in your deep fryer?
Sharon Woo
These are topsy-tail cookies!
Nina Bredell
Hi Karen !!
We have those in Sweden too - and if you, for any reason, want them to be a bit sweeter - we roll them in suger once the come out of the frier... But you can have them without suger... if you must...
Rebecca
Wow! It's like a donut cookie. I'm going to have to try this recipe. I'm also a teensy bit Danish, but not Danish enough to even know how to say thank you or you're welcome. In fact, I don't even know any Danish people, nor could I tell you one Danish food, but somewhere way back in the family tree there's some vikings who moved to (or more likely marauded) England.
Can't wait to deep fry me some cookies tomorrow!
Centsational Girl
lækker
Look it up!
OK, nevermind. It's Danish for delicious.
Sonja Johansen
Good morning Karen,
I also am a Great Dane on my fathers side , in our house at Christmas we made something very similar - same recipe but add a couple of tablespoons of brandy to mix and a dusting of icing sugar to finish.
try this it is really good!!!
Have a Merry Christmas
Sonja