Goro are a beautiful waffle cookie from Norway. One of the oldest cookies in the Norwegian tradition, these are made on special, ornate Goro irons to give them the lovely embossed pattern and distinctive rectangular shape. Goro cookies are not very sweet, but very crispy with the flavors of cream, cardamom, vanilla and butter. Goro must be made on a special Goro irons that are available online* (see note).
This recipe was translated from the Norwegian, so the conversion from metric weight to imperial volume** (see note) resulted in some interesting amounts such as “1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons”. I’ve provided the original grams plus a conversion to ounces if you’d like to use a kitchen scale, which is always a good idea anyway!
Ingredients
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (125g, 4.5 oz)
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons heavy cream (1 dl)
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (freshly ground from the seed is best)
1/3 cup plus 1-1/2 teaspoon potato starch (a bit more than 1/3 cup, 75g, 2.65 oz) *** (see note)
1-1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, diced and at room temperature (300g, 10.58 oz)
2 cups + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (350g, 12.25 oz)
Directions
- Start by making a template for your goro. With a piece of cardboard or thick paper, cut out a rectangle the size of your goro iron. You will use this to cut your goro into the perfect-sized cookies.
- Stir together eggs, egg yolk, sugar, cream, vanilla sugar, cardamom and potato starch in a bowl. Add butter in cubes little by little, stirring well. The dough should now be a little lumpy. Add flour to the mixture several times, stirring occasionally until you have a firm dough. It should not be sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough cool for about 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into an oblong loaf, then fold it towards the middle. Repeat this process 2 times so you have created many layers by the folding. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Let the dough sit out at at room temperature for 30 minutes before use. On a lightly floured board, roll sections of the dough out VERY thin, about 1.5mm or 1/16 inch (it’s okay if they’re thicker…they’ll be a little less crispy and you will have less yield, but they will be easier to make and handle). Using your cardboard template, cut out rectangles of the dough. Pre-heat your goro iron over your stove at medium heat (you’re not supposed to have to grease these, but you might have to). Place dough rectangles on iron, lightly press the handles and heat until golden, turning halfway to heat both sides. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- You may ruin your first few cookies while you find the exact temperature required by your iron…turn up or down as needed and keep experimenting!
Notes
- Recipe from MatPrat, translated from the Norwegian. Photo by MatPrat/Mari Svenningsen. Used under MatPrat license.
- * Goro irons can be found online or at your local Scandinavian speciality store.
New Goro Iron (Amazon)
Vintage and used Goro irons (eBay)
Vintage Goro irons (Etsy)
If you buy a used or vintage one, make sure it comes with the stand that holds the iron over the fire (see the photo of the new one from Amazon to see what I mean). - ** Conversions were done with this excellent baking calculator from Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen and this one for potato starch from Aqua-Calc.
- *** Potato starch can be found in most larger grocery stores in the section that sells baking items or gluten-free products. If you can’t find it in your grocery store, it’s available at Amazon. It gives a light and airy texture to the cookie, but if you can’t find it, for such a small amount you can substitute all-purpose flour. If you do this, you may need to increase the amount of flour if your recipe appears too wet.