Swedish Dream Cookies (Drömmar)
Light, crisp Swedish fika cookies raised with baker’s ammonia.
Preparation: 25 min · Cooking: 36 min · Total: 1 hr 31 min · 30 servings
Ingredients
- 240 g plain wheat flour
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened
- 120 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp baker’s ammonia (ammonium carbonate) — Use food-grade baker’s ammonia only.
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 0.3 tsp fine salt
- 100 ml neutral rapeseed oil
Instructions
Measure carefully and ventilate the kitchen
Measure 240 g plain wheat flour, 100 g softened unsalted butter, 120 g caster sugar, 1 tsp food-grade baker’s ammonia (ammonium carbonate), 2 tsp vanilla extract, ¼ tsp fine salt and 100 ml neutral rapeseed oil. Line two baking trays. Open a window or use the extractor: the leavening agent gives off a strong smell while baking. Do not taste dough containing raw flour.
Heat a moderate oven
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Set a rack in the middle and heat the oven to 150°C conventional or 130°C fan. Let it heat fully for at least 15 minutes. Do not raise the temperature to hurry the cookies.
Heat a moderate oven: 900 seconds
Work the butter and sugar until light
Stir unsalted butter, softened (100 g), caster sugar (120 g), vanilla extract (2 tsp) firmly for 2–3 minutes until lighter and smooth, without whipping excessively. Add neutral rapeseed oil (100 ml) in 3 portions, stirring until each portion disappears.
Work the butter and sugar until light: 120 seconds
Mix a soft, even dough
Whisk plain wheat flour (240 g), baker’s ammonia (ammonium carbonate) (1 tsp), fine salt (0.25 tsp) in a separate bowl so the baker’s ammonia is evenly dispersed. Fold into the butter mixture in 2 additions. Stop when no dry flour remains; the dough should be soft but hold a ball without flowing.
Shape thirty small cookies
Divide the dough into 30 pieces of roughly 19 g. Roll each piece into a small ball and place on the lined trays at least 5 cm apart; do not flatten. The small cookies will spread as they bake, allowing the ammonia to escape. Portioning takes about 10 minutes.
Shape thirty small cookies: 600 seconds
Bake until cracked and dry
Bake one tray at a time in the middle of the oven at 150°C conventional (130°C fan) for 15–18 minutes per tray. Keep the oven door closed for the first 12 minutes. The tops should crack and look dry, with pale-golden bases; do not bake thick or wet centres. The two trays need about 30–36 minutes in total.
Cracked, dry tops and pale-golden bases; fully cooled cookies are crisp and have no ammonia smell.
Bake until cracked and dry: 900 seconds
Cool completely before tasting
Leave the cookies on their trays until completely cool, at least 30 minutes. They are fragile while warm. Ventilate the room; a baked cookie should have no ammonia smell after cooling. Do not serve any cookie that still smells of ammonia or has a damp centre.
Cracked, dry tops and pale-golden bases; fully cooled cookies are crisp and have no ammonia smell.
Cool completely before tasting: 1800 seconds
Tips
- Drömmar contain wheat/gluten and milk, but no egg; check vanilla and leavening labels for other allergens.
Common mistakes
- Do not substitute baking powder for baker’s ammonia without a tested recipe; it changes the characteristic crisp, porous texture.
Substitutions
- For a dairy-free version, use a tested recipe with a suitable dairy-free fat; butter affects spread and texture here.
Storage
Cool completely on the trays, then keep unfilled cookies airtight at cool room temperature for up to 5 days. Discard if damp or mouldy.
Reheating
Serve at room temperature; reheating is unnecessary.
About this recipe
Drömmar are crisp Swedish small cookies traditionally served with coffee at fika. Their airy, crumbly texture comes from hjorthornssalt and oil.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.