Ms. Herbst says these are lacy cookies that you can almost see through. Clearly, I did something wrong. What I ended up with are neither lacy nor see-through. They do, however, have a deep rich flavor owing, no doubt, to the liberal amount of dark brown sugar in them.
Because mixing by hand is not my favorite thing, and because I had the food processor out to grind the almonds anyway, I used that machine to mix together the few ingredients. The result would barely cling together when forming the dough into balls and then flattening them on the cookie sheet with the bottom of a glass. Perhaps I put in too many almonds. Or not enough butter. Either way these bear little to no resemblance to the images of Kletskopjes online, in all of which the wafers look very delicate and thin.
Looking for a translation or an etymology of Kletskopjes was interesting and frustrating. Here’s a link to a Wikipedia page. It’s in Dutch, so have it translated if you can. Because Dutch and German are always the verb at the ends of clauses and sentences putting, the reading of the automated translations fun can be. That’s the interesting part. The frustrating part is that there is no clear translation of what Kletskopjes might mean. The Wikipedia site above uses “socialize cups” and “soaking cups” and “smack cups” in its translation. It also says this:
The strange name of the cookie comes from the method of preparation. Cups can chat with the tea eaten, but also in a dessert used.
Which may explain the socialize? Or may obscure all hope of a definitive definition… Another website says that Kletskopjes literally means “little bald heads” which is all kinds of appetizing, don’t you agree?
Patti, I love reading about your cookie making. I seldom make cookies, unless they are brownies–usually from a box. I have no patience for the actual baking–greased cookie tins, time in oven, even which shelf in oven works best… I prefer things that are more forgiving–yeast breads and pie crusts, although I only get to do the latter when my husband’s not around. He has a reputation to maintain!! However, I may become inspired by your adventures…
I’d still eat them! I love brown sugar! Sarah made oatmeal cookies for our trip across the state to take Emily back to school. It was a nice nibbly for the car. She thought the cookies maybe needed a little more baking time, when it was time to take them out, but 5 minutes on the cookie sheet took care of that. They were the perfect amount of chewy, when we ate them!