Traditional Danish Fedtebrød – Coconut Cookie Slices with Rum Glaze – beautifully short buttery cookies packed with desiccated coconut and topped with a rum glaze.
I’m so excited to share these Danish Fedtebrød – Coconut Cookie Slices with Rum Glaze with you today!
My mum found my Danish grandmother’s Saffir Mel (flour) collection of cookie recipes down the back of a shelf the other day.
The recipes were printed on thin magazine paper, A5 in size and very faded so I borrowed the booklet and scanned it in to my computer.
On flicking through all the recipes one stood out to my mum, Danish Fedtebrød.
After school mum said she’d often pop into the local bakery and put one or two of these Coconut Cookie Slices on her mum’s tab. I can imagine what a fabulous treat this was for a hungry school girl!
So I set about making the Danish Fedtebrød with pretty scant instructions but imagined the size I was aiming for would be quite big if they were sold in a store.
I also had to improvise with the hjørtetaksalt as it translates as bicarbonate ammonium which we don’t have in the UK so mum said to use bicarbonate of soda.
The original recipe used a specific brand of margarine but I changed that to butter and it also called for rum essence but I only had real rum and couldn’t find any rum essence in my local supermarket.
Mum had never made these Danish Fedtebrød but her mother made them for her as a child so I was really intrigued to try them. I’m not the biggest fan of desiccated coconut but I really like these cookies and the rum flavoured glaze was subtle and not overpowering.
My family loved the cookies and I ended up making a couple of batches over 2 days.
I mixed my first batch of Danish Fedtebrød by hand and made them a bit too big. On day 2 I made them a bit smaller and as I had a cut finger I decided to use my food processor which made the rubbing in and mixing last a couple of minutes rather than ten or so.
However after tasting both batches I think the hand mixed cookies with their course short texture had more character than the machine mixed ones where the desiccated coconut was ground down further.
However opinion was divided in the family over which was best so if you’re pushed for time or find rubbing in difficult then do use your food processor.
Do you have to use rum in the glaze?
If you don’t like the idea of rum then you can substitute if for lemon juice instead and not need to add any water.
More Scandinavian or coconut cookie recipes
I do hope you try these Danish Fedtebrød with an afternoon cuppa, they are incredibly short and buttery with just the right amount of added sweetness from the rum glaze. Here are some more cookies I’m sure you’ll love!
- Finsk Brød – Fab Food 4 All
- Danish Vanilla Wreaths – Fab Food 4 All
- Marzipan Macaroons – Tin & Thyme
- Chocolate & Vanilla Coconut Butter Cookies – Family Friends Food
- 4 Ingredient Hazelnut Cookies – Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
As this is an old family recipe I am entering these Danish Fedtebrød into Inheritance Recipes over at Pebble Soup which is also run by Coffee & Vanilla.
Pin for later!
Danish Fedtebrød – Coconut Cookie Slices with Rum Glaze
Ingredients
- 125 g plain flour
- ¼ tsp hjørtetaksalt or bicarbonate of soda
- 125 g unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 65 g dessicated coconut
- 65 g granulated sugar
- For Rum glaze:
- 150 g icing sugar
- 2 tsp rum* or rum essence to taste
- 2 - 3 tsp water or enough to form a glaze if using essence
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
- Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
- Sift the flour and bicarbonate or soda into a bowl.
- Rub in the butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the sugar and dessicated coconut and mix well.
- Use your hands to form a dough.
- Divide mixture into 3 equal portions.
- Take one portion and squeeze into a long sausage shape and place on baking paper.
- Use your hands to shape into a long rectangle about 5.5 cm by 27 cm.
- Then repeat with the other 2 portions and space apart well on baking sheet as they will spread.
- Bake on middle shelf of oven for 10 minutes (or until golden).
- Make up the glaze by mixing the icing sugar with the rum and water.
- When the cookies are ready and whilst still warm, spoon the glaze down the middle of each length and then make diagonal cuts.
- Transfer to a cooling rack.
- Store in an air tight container.
Richard Tunner
Everyone love these and they are very easy.
Camilla
So glad you like them:-)
Susan Dubose
Delicious cookies. They have a rich, buttery taste. The only thing I would change the next time I make them would be to add more coconut.
Camilla
Thank you, glad you enjoyed them:-)
Rimmy
COCONUT COOKIE SLICES WITH RUM GLAZE so easy to try. Coconut is a fruit associated with my childhood
Camilla
I’m sure you’ll love them then:-)
Kara Mathys @Wellnessgrit
I love these awesomeness coconut cookie slices! This look so great, especially with that rum
Camilla
Thanks they are rather good:-)
Reva Lang
Camilla, Thanks for the recipe. Delicious!
Julia Kruz
Looks delicious! Do you know the alternative to rum? Our family has a negative attitude towards alcohol. Or rum will not be felt in cookies? Thx for sharing.
Camilla
Hi, you can use Rum flavouring, I’m pretty sure there is no rum in that.
Richard Eldred Hawes
The rum glaze on these makes them delicious
Camilla
It certainly does Richard:-)
Margaret gallagher
Never had these before -certainly a recipe I’d try -the combination of favours is ENOUGH to win me over
Camilla
Thanks Margaret, they are yummy:-)
April J Harris
These look wonderful, Camilla. I love old family recipes! I love the coconut/rum flavour combination. And I always change margarine to butter from my old family recipes as well.
Camilla
Thanks April, yes butter is always better:-)
kellie@foodtoglow
I love looking through old cookbooks, but even better if they have resonance with childhood memories. Most of my old American ones are a bit unlike anything I would now use, but they are interesting to read. I have been to Denmark a few times and will be going back sometime this year with a friend. We stupidly don’t tend to go into bakeries (I know, what’s wrong with us!) but if I see these long glazed bakes I will know what they are. Not sure I can pronounce them though. As for the hjørtetaksalt, I’m wondering if Bronte at Scandinavian Kitchen has some in stock? I’m sure she could get it for you if she doesn’t.
Camilla
I never saw these biscuits in any Danish Bakeries as a kid so I think it must have just been during my mum’s childhood. You must try an authentic Danish pastry Kellie! I can live without the hjørtetaksalt as the bicarb seemed to do the job, but thanks for the idea of contacting Bronte:-)