My grasp on the Croatian language is a little patchy, to say the least. I seldom speak it but when I do I’m sure I sound beautifully rusty with an obvious Australian accent with my attempts. I was trying to remember the Croatian name for button mushrooms, or champignons, to be precise. Thanks to Google I was sorted in no time and as I switched my search to images, I came across a few pictures of what appeared to be little mushrooms but were actually cookies. When I clicked on one of them I was surprised to learn these little mushroom cookies were of a Croatian recipe, found here. So cute!
I spent some time translating the recipe to English and found its ingredients were similar to shortbread. I also discovered several other Croatian food blogs had made them as well. So off I went and put my own hands to these sweet little champignons, adding some finely grated lemon rind and demerara sugar. I’ve also finished the mushrooms off with a dusting of caster sugar, for that messy and sweet first bite.
slatki šampinjoni
Makes 40
- 230 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup caster sugar, I used demerara
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 3 cups plain flour
- 1 cup cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2-3 tbsp caster sugar, to garnish
Preheat oven to 190°C and line a baking tray.
Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, beat for 30 seconds, then beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Stir in the both of the flours and the baking powder, mixing until it all comes together and forms a soft dough.
Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls and place on the baking tray. Using the top of a bottle (without the cap) dip the top into water and then into the cocoa powder. Press gently into a round of dough and extract carefully. This will form the underside of each mushroom. Repeat the process until all of the dough rounds are indented.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the baking tray. Take each cookie and roll its top in the caster sugar, to garnish. Store in an airtight container.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Jeez – what a brilliant technique! These would be great accompanying a Bûche de Noël, if one tires of the meringue mushrooms. They will also be great when I do a mushroom-themed dinner. I am so glad you were searching for the Croatian word and found these Croatian beauties! ~ David
I can feel the beginning of an obsession with these… so easy to make but they look so effective! Need to get baking this asap.
Oh my gosh, how cute!!! Though I have to say mushroom cookies sound a little less appealing than those peach cookies you’ve made before – only because it’s a strange combination like blue foods, chicken jelly, etc They look fab though and I bet they actually taste nice.
Oh my gosh, insanely cute. For a minute there I thought you actually stuffed real mushrooms with some sort of sweet filling. *facepalm*
I’ve never seen these, they’d definitely be a surprising addition to the normal stuff at a party.
Wow they look amazing. At first glance I thought they were mushrooms, so you’ve done very well to get that look across! Great technique used to make the dent.
I’ve never heard of this but it sounds weirdly delicious. I’m adding it to my list of things to make!
They’re not ‘shrooms! They look great!!! The Aussie accent is hard to knock out…
So when I looked at the first picture I thought to myself “Uh, OK John, I see you have some button mushrooms to show us..”
And then you go and blow my mind with these gorgeous little delights, I can imagine them taking pride of place at a high tea!
Love this!!!
Wow from the photos alone, I thought they were real mushrooms! They look amazing!
I’ve seen a meringue version of mushrooms made for countless Croatian sweet tables that flank any wedding, baptism or shower, but never seen a shortbread variety. The former mushroom is always more of a decortation than tasty treat, but I bet yours are much more promising in the tasty category.
they are absolutely adorable and look just like mushrooms!
Wow! That beautiful pic looks so much like a little bag of mushrooms!! I agree with Anna, perfect for a high tea or even a great vintage inspired picnic, maybe in Autumn. Just gorgeous. Bookmarking this recipe now!!
Oh my gosh, you had me fooled! What an awesome idea. I love the bottle trick too!
Haha wow, I really thought these were real, sugary mushrooms and had myself wondering what that would taste like. I never would have guessed you used a bottle to make the indentation either – I would have been scratching my head over how you did it for quite awhile lol
So clever John…they look like real mushies!
They are TOO cute! I can’t believe how lifelike they are.
First picture I thought they were real mushrooms at first and second glance. I love the bottle technique to form them, so simple and such an awesome result.