GLUTEN FREE DANISH NAPOLEON HAT COOKIES

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I first had these cookies as a teenager when I lived in Denmark for five months.  They are a vanilla cookie folded around a ball of marzipan and, after baking, the bottom is dipped in chocolate.  The way they are folded into a triangle looks like an old fashioned hat (like what we call a tri corner colonial type hat).  Napoleon Hats look very much like a Hamantashen. They are typically sold at bakeries, but this is a recipe for making them at home. 

     Every year I like to make one new recipe along with some of my favorite cookie recipes.  I found a recipe for the Napoleon hats on My DanishKitchen’s blog and converted it into a GF version.

     It takes a bit more work than the typical cookie, but it is so worth the effort.  I left some plain, but dipped most in the chocolate.  Everyone loved these.  If you like marzipan, you will love these cookies too. 

     The dough needs to be chilled really well as it gets soft when working with it.  I rolled it and cut out shapes and then chilled the dough before removing the cut out circles of dough to the parchment paper lined baking sheets.  I then filled and shaped the dough circles on the cookie sheet.  I again chilled the dough until firm before baking the cookies so that they would flatten out less while baking.  The wheat version has edges that stand up pretty high.  I was not able to recreate the height in the GF version, but the taste is wonderful!  Enjoy!

GLUTEN FREE DANISH NAPOLEON HAT COOKIES

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

COOKIES

½ cup	Sorghum Flour
¼ cup	Tapioca Flour
¼ cup	Chickpea Flour
½ tsp	Xanthan Gum
¼ tsp	Himalayan Sea Salt
⅔ cups	Powdered Sugar - measured after sifting
1 large	Egg Yolk
1 - 3 tsp	Cold Water

FILLING

6 oz.	GF Marzipan
¼ cup	Sugar
1 large	Egg White

CHOCOLATE COATING

5 oz.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate

DIRECTIONS

1)     In a large bowl add the flours and xanthan gum and mix well.  Break up the butter into small pieces and mix into the flour with your fingers or a fork. 

2)    Add the egg yolk and mix together until smooth.  If too dry add water 1 tsp. at a time until a smooth dough forms.  Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

The ball of dough.

3)    Preheat the oven to 400℉.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat pads and set aside.

4)    Roll the dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap.  It should be about ¼ inch thick. 

5)    Use a cookie or biscuit cutter or a glass that is 2 ½ inches in diameter to cut out circles of dough.  My dough got too soft to move the cut outs easily so I chilled the circles before moving them to a cookie sheet.

6)    Mix the marzipan, sugar and egg white.  Divide the marzipan into enough pieces to have one per cookie circle.  Roll the marzipan into a ball or, if too soft, use a small scoop to place a ball on the center of each dough circle.

Scooping out the marzipan.

7)    Fold the circle up to form a triangle around the marzipan dough, squeezing each the three corners together with your fingers to keep the dough together and form a ‘hat’.

The circle folded around the ball of marzipan to form a tri fold "hat".

One baking sheet of raw Napoleon Hats.

8)    Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned.  Make sure the cookies are completely cool before the next step.

Baked cookies.

9)    Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath.  Dip the bottom, and each corner in the chocolate and place the cookie, chocolate bottom up on a parchment or wax paper to set and dry.

Melted chocolate ready for the cookies to be dipped into it.

Cookies with the bottoms dipped in chocolate.
Waiting for the chocolate to set and dry before storing.

10) Store cookies in wax paper lined tins or an airtight plastic container. 

GLUTEN FREE DANISH NAPOLEON HAT COOKIES Makes about 2 dozen cookies GlutenFreeBakingBear.com INGREDIENTS COOKIES ½ cup Sorghum Flour ¼ cup Tapioca Flour ¼ cup Chickpea Flour ½ tsp Xanthan Gum ¼ tsp Himalayan Sea Salt ⅔ cups Powdered Sugar - measured after sifting 1 large Egg Yolk 1 - 3 tsp Cold Water FILLING 6 oz. GF Marzipan ¼ cup Sugar 1 large Egg White CHOCOLATE COATING 5 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate DIRECTIONS 1) In a large bowl add the flours and xanthan gum and mix well. Break up the butter into small pieces and mix into the flour with your fingers or a fork. 2) Add the egg yolk and mix together until smooth. If too dry add water 1 tsp. at a time until a smooth dough forms. Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 3) Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat pads and set aside. 4) Roll the dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap. It should be about ¼ inch thick. 5) Use a cookie or biscuit cutter or a glass that is 2 ½ inches in diameter to cut out circles of dough. My dough got too soft to move the cut outs easily so I chilled the circles before moving them to a cookie sheet. 6) Mix the marzipan, sugar and egg white. Divide the marzipan into enough pieces to have one per cookie circle. Roll the marzipan into a ball or, if too soft, use a small scoop to place a ball on the center of each dough circle. 7) Fold the circle up to form a triangle around the marzipan dough, squeezing each the three corners together with your fingers to keep the dough together and form a ‘hat’. 8) Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Make sure the cookies are completely cool before the next step. 9) Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath. Dip the bottom, and each corner in the chocolate and place the cookie, chocolate bottom up on a parchment or wax paper to set and dry. 10) Store cookies in wax paper lined tins or an airtight plastic container.