Skorpa (Swedish toast)

You may not know this, but today is a very special day.

It’s not the day that J.K. Rowling’s new book came out (that was yesterday).

And it’s not the day that Mumford & Sons released their second album (that was three days ago).

And as monumental as those two days were, this day takes the cake. The birthday cake to be exact.

Because today, is this very special person’s birthday. (The one on the left.)

After getting to spend three years living within 10 feet of this person, I now have to be okay with living 870 miles away from her. This makes it a little more challenging to spend birthdays together. Gone are the days when I could walk next door to participate in the traditional cookie cake cutting ceremony that made us all regular customers at Great American Cookie.

So since this option was out, I decided to start a new tradition that still somewhat involved cookies. When Marie and I lived in the sorority house together, her room (since she got to live alone, lucky!) served as a haven for everyone else when we needed to escape our cubby holes. You could always count on Marie’s room to be clean, cheery (thanks to the Christmas lights), and sometimes, if you were lucky, stocked with Skorpa homemade by her grandmother. This was my first encounter with Skorpa but it definitely wasn’t the last, which got me into trouble a time or two when I was caught sneaking more than I should have. Marie, being Marie, always shared with me, and to this day I have not forgotten the delicious, sweet taste these biscotti like cookies hold.

This is why I decided to try my hand at skorpa. It took me a while to find a recipe since I didn’t even know how to spell it. And once I got the spelling right, there really weren’t that many recipes available. Once I found one…I got a little impatient and accidentally doubled up on some of the ingredients (namely the caradamom), so I apologize if these taste a little potpourri-ish, Marie 🙂

But, if you make them right, these are truly a treat. They are the perfect soulmate for coffee and are extra tasty when served with jam or jelly.

So happy birthday to my partner in crime, my future dentist, and the best karaoke partner out there. I know this skorpa could never top your grandmother’s, but I hope this makes your birthday extra sweet.

Cardamom Almond Skorpa

Found on: For Love of the Table

1 c. unsalted butter

1 c. granulated sugar

3 tbsp. sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp. almond (or vanilla) extract

1 tsp. (NOT tablespoon) freshly ground cardamom (I had a boy handy to slap chop this for me, but a food processor can do the trick)

3 and 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is heating up, toast almonds for a few minutes until they are lightly golden. No more than 5 minutes, as I burned mine the first time.

• Chop/grind the cardamom seeds.

• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Then, mix in sour cream, extract, and cardamom. Fold in almonds.

• In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and form into dough.

• Remove dough from bowl and divide into four portions. Form each portion into a roll the length of your baking pan. (Act like it’s play-doh.) You will have two pans with two rolls each – that makes four! 🙂

• Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

• When cookies are baked, remove from oven, and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees.

• While cookies are still warm, slice each roll diagonally about every half-inch or so.

• Arrange each slice on its’ side and toast in oven for 7 minutes. After that, flip cookies over and toast on the other side for an additional 7 minutes.

Eat and repeat! And while not eating, store in an air tight container. LOVE YOU MARIE!