Swedish Toffee Creams

A very old and dear friend passed away recently, so we attended the celebration of her life this last weekend. Carol and I worked together many years ago in a department store, and shared a love of sweet treats. So, it seems fitting that her family had some amazing food at their house, as part of the tribute to her.

The one thing that stood out for me were these cookies. They were so different than anything I have had. I was discussing what might be in them, thinking it was a closely guarded family secret. As I worked on this conundrum, someone passed me the recipe ! These cookies on their own are delicate and buttery, but when you add the filling, well...

The original recipe, from Gwen Norberg (Carol's mom), recommends doubling the filling part of the recipe, so your guests and cookie aficionados can add as much filling as they like. I would agree ! I found the most efficient way to create these was to start the filling, then let it cool while you bake the cookies.

Swedish Toffee Creams

For the filling:

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup milk

2 egg yolks , beaten

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

In a small saucepan. combine flour and sugar, gradually whisk in milk, then beaten egg yolks, mixing well. Cook over low head, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to boil and become thick. Remove from heat and let cool. Once mixture is completely cool, cream together butter and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, and add to the cooked mixture.

For the cookies:

1 cup butter, melted

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup dark corn syrup

1 1/3 cups uncooked quick oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. I microwaved the butter in my mixing bowl to streamline the process. Then, stir in the remaining ingredients. Drop by teaspoon full onto parchment paper, making sure to leave plenty of room in between, as they spread out quite a bit. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown around the edges. Remove from oven, and let sit on cookie sheet for an additional 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Once the cookies are cool, spread the filling between two cookies to make a "sandwich". This is best done right before eating, so the cookies maintain their crispy texture.