At Fika, a traditional Swedish custom, a variety of sweets are served with coffee.
Hallongrotta cookies are one of the most popular accompaniments to Fika.
In this article, I would like to introduce Hallongrotta, a famous Swedish cookie with raspberry jam.
What is Hallongrotta?
Hallongrotta (plural: Hallongrottor) is a rustic Swedish pastry made of cookie dough and topped with raspberry jam.
The diameter is approximately 5 cm. Hallongrotta is a soft cookie with a characteristic texture of crumbling in the mouth.
The raspberry jam placed in the center of the Hallongrotta has a sweet and sour taste characteristic of berries.
It is said to go perfectly with the subtle sweetness of the cookie dough.
Hallongrotta translates to “raspberry cave” in Japanese.
“Hallon” means “raspberry” in Swedish, and “Grotta” means “cave.”
Fika’s essential snacks
Sweden has a coffee break custom called Fika.
At Fika, it is customary to enjoy a pastry with coffee.
The most famous sweets served at Fika are cinnamon rolls, which originated in Sweden, and a Scandinavian-style chocolate cake called kladdkaka.
And the pastry introduced in this article, Hallongrotta, is one of the familiar sweets during Fika time in Sweden.
The acidity of the raspberry jam blends with the bitterness of the coffee to create a unique taste.
It is said to be easy to eat, even for those who do not like sweet foods such as cakes.
You can read more about Fika and sweets in this article.
Recipe for Hallongrotta
The recipe for Hallongrotta is almost the same as for regular cookies.
They can be easily made at home.
As for the recipe, the first step is to make cookie dough with flour, eggs, butter, and baking powder.
After forming the dough comes the raspberry jam, which is essential for Hallongrotta.
Use your fingers to make an indentation in the center of the dough and spoon raspberry jam into the indentation.
Finally, place in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius and bake for 10 minutes, checking the browning.
Hallongrotta is usually round, but some are made in muffin molds to resemble cupcakes.
Hallongrotta is made initially with raspberry jam, but other spots can be substituted.
When making it at home, it would be interesting to try putting blueberry jam, apricot jam, or other jam of your choice on top.
Conclusion
Hallongrotta is a cookie loved by adults and children alike in Sweden.
They are sold at Swedish supermarkets for about 100 yen per piece, making them very reasonably priced.
The recipe is simple, so please try making them in Japan with raspberry jam.
