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Sandnøtter — Norwegian Christmas butter cookies with the classic fork pattern, dusted pale and golden

Sandnøtter (Norwegian Christmas Butter Cookies)

Sandnøtter are tender, melt-in-your-mouth Norwegian Christmas butter cookies — one of the traditional syv slag.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Chilling (opional) 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 4 minutes
Servings: 60 cookies
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: Norwegian, Scandinavian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g butter 1 cup + 2 tbsp (2¼ sticks), softened to room temperature
  • 250 g granulated sugar 1¼ cups
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar or ½ tsp vanilla extract, added with the egg
  • 500 g potato starch 2⅔ cups — potato STARCH, not potato flour (see Notes)
  • 125 g all-purpose flour 1 cup

Equipment

  • Stand mixer For creaming butter and sugar to a light, airy base.
  • Digital kitchen scale Essential here — potato starch is nearly impossible to measure accurately by volume, so weigh it.
  • Fine-mesh sieve For sifting the starch and flour into the dough so it stays smooth.
  • Baking sheets (2) About 20 cookies per sheet, so they don't spread into each other.
  • Parchment paper Lets the fragile cookies cool and lift off without breaking.

Method
 

  1. Cream. Cream the softened butter and sugar together until pale, light and airy.
  2. Add the egg. Beat in the egg (and the vanilla extract, if using) until fully combined.
  3. Add the dry ingredients. Sift the vanilla sugar, potato starch and all-purpose flour together, then sift into the butter mixture.
  4. Bring it together. Knead gently until you have a firm, smooth dough. Chill 30 minutes if it feels too soft to roll.
  5. Roll. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll the dough into small balls, about 20 g each, and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets — no more than about 20 per tray so they don't spread into each other.
  6. Press the pattern. Press each cookie down gently with a fork to make the classic ridged pattern. If the fork sticks, dip it in a little potato starch between cookies.
  7. Bake. Bake for 12–14 minutes, starting to check at 11. Sandnøtter should stay pale — do not let them brown.
  8. Cool on the tray. Leave them on the tray until completely cool. They're fragile straight from the oven and firm up as they cool.

Notes

Chef's tip — the starch is the whole point. The high ratio of potato starch is what gives sandnøtter their sandy, melt-in-the-mouth crumb — that's the "sand" in the name. In the US, buy potato starch (sometimes labeled potato starch flour), not potato flour. More on why in the post below.
Storage: airtight at room temperature for up to two weeks. They freeze well for up to three months.