Kold-what? Here’s the scoop.

One of the greatest things about living in Boston was that the city is filled with young, diverse, and bright people from all over the world.

One afternoon my Danish friend, Joe, and I were both craving a snack and found ourselves digging through the fridge to make some concoction from the random ingredients I had left over from my last Whole Foods haul. Some almond milk, strawberries, and Fage later, Joe had made what I called a half-blended smoothie, yet he claimed it was different. He had pressed the ripe strawberries into a creamy mixture of greek yogurt and almond milk, with a dash of sweetener. It was incredible, and he was right–not the same as a half blended smoothie.

The sweet strawberries bled into the tart yogurt mixture. It was like a whole new take on cereal, only better. He explained that in Denmark, they make something similar, however with buttermilk and heavy cream. Curious, my Danish delicacy research lead me to discover a recipe for what Joe attempted to recreate from the random ingredients: Koldskål

Koldskål, literally translated as “cold bowl”, is a sweet chilled summer snack from Denmark. The dish dates back to the early 1900s and is a traditionally a combination of buttermilk, egg yolk, lemon, vanilla and sugar.  Koldskål is always served with kammerjunker–crisp, cardamom and lemon biscuits; kind of like a Danish biscotti.

While the creamy, sugary delicacy sounds heavenly, here is a healthier, egg-free take on Koldskål that still holds the rich texture and taste of the original.

Danish Strawberry Koldskål + Cardamom Kammerjunker (Biscotti)

For the Koldskål cream:

• 2 cups non-dairy yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. agave nectar
• seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of cardamom
• lemon zest of 1 lemon
• very ripe strawberries, sliced

Mix it:

The cream is really simple. Just whisk all the ingredients together till you get a thick, creamy consistency. If it is too thick, try adding a dash of almond milk. Sweeten with agave to your preference. Make sure to serve the cream right out of the fridge and super cold for best results!

For the Cardamom Kammerjunker Biscotti:

• 3 cups of rolled oats
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup of raw cane or coconut sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• lemon zest and a dash of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2-3 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Bake it:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Blend the oats in a food processor or blender to get a rough oat flour. Combine all the dry ingredients (oat flour, baking powder, chia seeds, coconut/cane sugar, cardamom, salt, zest) and mix until even. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (coconut oil, vanilla, applesauce). Now, add the wet mixture to the dry mix, and combine the dough thoroughly. You may have to use your hands here!

Use flour to dust your surface, and separate the dough into four equal parts. Roll the dough out into logs that are about 1 inch in diameter. Slice each log into biscotti bites about 1/2 inch thick. Organize onto a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, until the bottom is lightly browned. Let the kammerjunker sit in the oven while it cools, about 15 minutes. If the biscuits are still too soft, consider rebaking them for another 6-8 minutes at a slightly lower temperature to help them harden and dry out. Remember to store in an air-tight container!

Make it:

To serve the Koldskål, add the strawberries to a bowl. Pour the very cold non dairy cream over the strawberries and drop in some Kammerjunker Cardamom biscotti–whole or crumbled to your desire. Let this creamy, sweet, tangy bowl cool you down on these warm August days. Although it would deviate from the traditional Koldskål, if you like to modify flavors, you may even like to try different variations with other berries, or various flavors of Kammerjunker. I tried it once with chai-spiced biscotti! mm. mm. mmm.