MAKE
VINTAGE BAKING FOR YOUR HOLIDAY ROAD TRIP
September 21, 2016
I HAVE not travelled to Sweden, so was completely unaware cardamom, a spice I associate with Indian flavours, was a favourite among the Swedes.
As far as I know, Minnesota's Arlene Strom - trailer traveller and cook book author - never travelled to Sweden either. Her 1970 guide to 'cooking on wheels' says the "foreign flavours" of the included recipes were inspired by a caravanning trip in Britain in 1969.
Wherever Strom's Swedish Cardamom Date Drops really hark from, they're delicious. I'd go so far as to say they're the best biscuits I've ever baked. They stand up to a 'road test' (see what I did there) too, lasting a few days in an airtight container - like a vintage biscuit tin.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped walnuts
WHAT TO DO
Cream the butter, margarine and brown sugar. Add the eggs and milk.
Sift the flour, baking soda, cardamom and salt together and mix in, in batches.
Stir in the dates and walnuts and drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a prepared baking tray.
Bake in 180C oven for 10-15minutes, until golden.
#credits // photos 1, 3, 5 and 6 thanks to Cathy Stubbs (Facebook: TwoMinutePostcards)
#opshopscore // Cooking On Wheels by Arlene Strom, 1970, about $1.20 from Pilgrims Book House, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal.
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