I think you are going to love The Perfect Mandelmusslor Recipe (Swedish Cookies) as much as we did! They are such a delicious Swedish cookie. I filled mine with a slightly sweetened cream cheese and topped it with red currant jelly. It was the best combo!!
What Makes These Cookies So Good?
It is the delicious flavor combos used. The tender almond tarts, sweetened cream cheese, and the red currant jelly really are so good together.
They are a pretty little cookie. The cookies are baked in little tartlet pans, and they create really pretty designs.
Mandelmusslor is a really versatile cookie. You can fill these with just about anything you like. I will share some examples below.
These cookies feel kind of fancy. Is it just me, or are creating little tartlets a step up for anyone else? They remind me of when I worked in a bakery and we served a high tea. We always served tartlets like these.
You can make these cookies ahead of time and freeze them. When you are ready, pull a few out. They can be eaten just like they are, or filled as I will show you.
Ingredients
- Butter- The best flavor come from butter. If you are dairy-free or vegan, it is a simple swap for a plant-based butter.
- Granulated sugar- you can also use brown sugar if you like, but granulated is more traditional.
- Almond Extract- This with the ground almonds will give you the best almond flavor.
- Egg
- Almond Meal- This is simply grinding blanch or whole almonds into a meal with your food processor or blender.
- All-purpose flour
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour- I always like to use a blend of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour in my baked goods. Whole wheat pastry flour is my preferred for cookies.
- Cream Cheese- This is for the filling.
- Powdered sugar- used for the filling.
- Vanilla
- Preserves- lingonberry is traditional, but I used red currant. You could also use raspberry or other berry.
What Is A Mandelmusslor Cookie?
They are lightly sweetened almond tartlets made in Scandinavian countries- Sweden in particular. They generally make their appearance during the Christmas season.
My mother's family on both sides immigrated from Sweden. When they came to the United States they forsook all their roots. This has left me (4 generations later) wanting to know about the foods and cultures from Sweden.
Making The Tartlet Dough
The dough is simple to make. First, you will need to blend your almonds into a fine meal. I know plenty of recipes use blanched almonds, but I went with whole almonds.
I love that texture and taste much better than blanched. I will say, the blanched will give you the pretty off-white color though. If you are going for that color, use blanched!
Start by creaming your butter and sugar. Then add in your egg and almond extract. Once you add in the egg, be mindful not to overmix. At this point, you only want to mix to combine.
Once they are mixed to combine, add in your flour and almond meal. I used whole wheat pastry flour for my partial wheat flour. I love it for cookies as it creates such a tender flavor. I have a Nutrimill grain mill, so I grind my own berries from Farm Fresh Wheat. If you don't have your own grain mill, you can also buy the flour. King Arthur has a great whole wheat pastry flour.
Again, only mix to combine.
Now, it is best to chill the dough before working with it. Isn't essential, but it is much easier to work with. So, from the dough into a disc.
Then wrap tightly in saran wrap. You can also put it into a plastic or glass container if you prefer for storing. The dough needs to be chilled for at least 45 minutes or up to 3 days.
Baking and Filling the Mandelmusslor
The cookies are simple to form. Take a small 1-2 tablespoons worth of dough and press into the tartlet pans. I don't need to grease my pans, but if it makes you feel better, butter or spray them.
Then press your dough into the forms. Don't stress about it being really thin, this isn't that kind of baked good.
Bake until they are golden brown on the edges.
Remove and let them cool just slightly then gently remove them from the pans. I like to pinch the edges just a little to get them to come out.
Once they have cooled, you can fill and top them as desired.
Notes
I used whole almonds for my meal, if you want a lighter color on the cookies, go for the blanched almonds. Make sure it is ground well to form the meal.
You do not need to grease the tins. This recipe has enough butter they come out without any problems.
I used whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe. You can always use 100% all-purpose flour if you like. But, if you have not tried whole wheat pastry flour, you should.
Most people are so surprised at how much the whole wheat baked goods that use whole wheat pastry flour taste like the original. It is a lower-protein flour and produces really tender cookies!
The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Just bring it to room temperature before forming it.
The baked goods can be frozen for up to a month before use. Make sure they are wrapped well or stored in an airtight container.
Filling Ideas
I used sweetened cream cheese and red currant jelly, but there are tons of other options as well.
How about just whipped cream? Or a lemon or other citrus curd? Pastry creams would be delicious, as would chocolate cream.
FAQ Mandelmusslor
- Gingerbread Stamped Cookies are another really great cookie.
- Lemon Cookies with Lemon Drizzle. These are so good!!
- The Chocolate Chip cookies with pretzels and caramel are a classic with a twist.
- Are you looking for a gluten-free option, these flourless peanut butter cookies are a really good option!
The Perfect Mandelmusslor Cookie
Equipment
- stand or hand mixer, tartlets pan, sheet pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup softened butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg
- 1 cup almond meal You can use blanched almonds or whole almonds. Throw them in the food processor and pulse until they become a meal.
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour If you prefer, you can always use 100% all-purpose, but the whole wheat is really good in these cookies!
- ½ teaspoons salt
Cream Cheese filling
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar you can use less or more of the powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you want it to be
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar in small-medium bowl for about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add in egg and almond extract. At this point, only mix to combine. You don't want to overmix with the egg in, that will make your cookies tough.
- Next add in your flours, almond meal, and salt. Mix again to combine.
- Remove from bowl, and press into a disk. Wrap the disk in saran wrap. Place in the fridge for at least an hour. This dough can easily be made the day before to save time on the day of baking.
- Remove batter from fridge and allow to sit out for about 20 minutes before working with it.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Take 1-2 tablespoons, depending on the size of your tartlet pans. Then press into the pans. The dough will be stiff, but don't worry. If it cracks a little, press it back into shape.
- I place all my pans on a baking sheet. They are easier to transfer this way. Move them to the oven.
- Bake for about 12-18 minutes. I like my cookies a little soft, so mine was about 12 minutes. If you like them to be more crispy, bake for 18 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
- The tricky part on these is getting them out of the pans. I let them cool for a few minutes, like 5 at the most. The gently squish the sides of the pan just a touch, or you can pull back on a side. Either way, loosen them up just a touch. From here, you should be able to easily remove the tart shells.
- Move them to a cooling rack.
- While they are cooling, mix you cream cheese filling. Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, almond extract, and vanilla to a small bowl. Mix on high for 1-2 minutes. If you want it a little thinner, you can add a tablespoon or 2 of milk.
- Fill the cookies with a tablespoons or 2 of the filling. Then, top with preserves of choice.
- Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!!
- As a note, the dough can easily be made up to 3 days before baking. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also form the tartlets 2 days in advance, make sure and cover tightly and store in teh fridge. They can also be baked a day in advance. Don't fill them too early though. This should be done before serving. If you bake them a day in advance, store in an airtight container- but don't refrigerate!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!