ALMOND RUSKS*

Contributed by Karla Hutchison, Embla Lodge #2, Tacoma, WA from pg. 72 of Embla Lodge's Nordic Cookbook (to order see left column links )

  • 2 medium eggs**
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 7 Tbsp. softened butter
  • 3 Tbsp. chopped almonds
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
mandleskopper (Norwegian Almond Rusks)
  1. [Preheat oven to 375° F.]
  2. Beat eggs and sugar till light.; add the softened butter and almonds.
  3. Sift the dry ingredients and add them gradually to the first mixture.
  4. Spread the dough about 1 1/4" thick in a lightly buttered baking pan.
  5. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes [or 20 minutes, if using large eggs].
  6. When done, remove from oven and slice the baked rusk at a slant in pieces, 3/4" thick. Let cool, then store in a covered jar. This is more like shortbread in texture.
  1. *Althought this is called a rusk (which is usually a dry twice-baked piece of bread that is cut into pieces for second baking), it is more of a shortbread cake when it's fresh. You can also rebake it in these pieces on a cookie sheet at low temperature (275°) for 1 hour & enjoy a delightful much crisper treat.
  2. **Use medium sized eggs for recipe. If use larger eggs, you should add 5–10 minutes to baking time. Norwegian eggs are much smaller than USA eggs.
  3. The photo above is showing a half-recipe using a small loaf pan to bake it into. As you notice, this is not cut into slanted pieces. Still tastes great!
  4. NOTE: This recipe was a favorite of Karla's mother who immigrated from Stavanger, Norway in 1918.