1 1/2 teaspoons powdered ammonium carbonate or baking powder
1 tablespoon cardamom seed, finely powdered
2 cups chopped almonds
Directions
Cream butter and sugar, add egg, then cream alternately with flour sifted with dry ingredients. Add chopped almonds. Knead and form into rolls, wrap in wax paper and allow to stand - or sit overnight in refrigerator. Slice off, about one-fourth inch thick, and bake at 350 degrees for 10 or 15 minutes. Notes: The original recipe Mrs. Schmidt brought from Denmark was for double this amount, which makes more cookies than you will usually want. It called for only 1 egg, so in halving it we either use a small egg or beat a large egg slightly and measure off about 2 tablespoons of it. Also, like many old recipes, it calls for powdered hartshorn (ammonium carbonate), which may be obtained at a drugstore. We usually use it but the substitution of baking powder seems to make little difference. Cardamom seeds are removed from their outer shell, then crushed most easily with a wooden spoon in a wooden bowl, or a rolling pin on a board, or buy it preground but fresh. This cookie is rich but not sweet. It can be stored until ready to bake. (I have also kept the rolls wrapped up in the freezer.) It also keeps well after baking if stored in tight tin boxes but because it contains so much butter should not be kept longer than a month.
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