Gemma 
Welcome to Day 17 of Blogmas At Home 2024! 🎄🎅🏻✨
Anddddd we’re back with another instalment of my Baking Around the World series, where I (attempt to) bake delicious, sweet treats from around the globe, in an attempt to broaden my foodie horizons! This time, we’re off to Iceland, with these Marens-Kornflexkökur.
A quick Baking Around the World disclaimer before we get into the recipe:
While I have done/will do extensive research for each of the recipes in this series, the recipes are unlikely to be 100% authentic because of differences in ingredient availability, variations within families/regions and multiple other reasons. I'm so sorry if I absolutely butcher your favourite childhood treat (and please let me know in the comments if I have made any unforgiveable errors), but please do give me the benefit of the doubt here- I am just a baker with a serious sweet tooth, trying to broaden her baking (and cultural) horizons through tasty snacks :)
Table of Contents
- Marens-Kornflexkökur: Explained
- Ingredients
- Making Marens-Kornflexkökur
- Final Thoughts
- Recipe
- Sources Used
Marens-Kornflexkökur: Explained
These Icelandic treats are really super simple— they’re just regular meringues, flavoured with a little vanilla extract and studded with chopped dark chocolate and cornflakes. I realise that sounds a bit wacky, but they actually taste really good! You don’t bake them in quite the same way as you would a normal meringue, so they don’t fully dry out and stay nice and chewy on the inside, but crisp on the outside, so you can eat them on their own, like a cookie!
I’ve had meringues containing chopped dark chocolate in in the past, so I wasn’t too fazed by that part, but I have to admit, the cornflakes were a little bit of a curveball (and the thing that drew me to this recipe in the first place)! They go quite chewy in the meringue and add a nutty (corn-y?) taste. They’re not for everyone (not all of my family members were on board with this particular bake), but I really like them!
Strangely, it’s quite hard to find information about these cookies (from authentic, Icelandic sources) online. I wonder if, because they’re so simple (only 6 ingredients!) they’re more of a passed-down-through-families kind of recipe, kind of like how we have chocolate cornflake cakes in the UK? I’m not sure, but I do know that I ended up in the deepest depths of the Icelandic baking forums in my attempt to confirm that these were, in fact, a classic, Icelandic cookie (and they are! Though, like most traditional cookies, they seem to come in various different forms).
Traditionally, Marens-Kornflexkökur are made using the French meringue method, which is the simplest of the meringue-making styles. In this method, you add the sugar to the egg whites gradually, whisking all the time, until fully incorporated and the sugar has dissolved. I, however, seem to have a curse that prevents me from being able to make French meringue successfully, so I have adapted the process ever so slightly, taking inspiration from the meringue-making method created by the Meringue Girls. The only difference is that you warm the sugar slightly before adding it to the egg whites, which helps it to dissolve more quickly and create a stable meringue. It is a little extra step, but it’s really changed the meringue game for me!
As you can see, the Marens-Kornflexkökur do still bake up with some pretty dramatic cracks, but I think that’s inevitable with so many extra ingredients mixed in (or at least, I’ll tell myself that to avoid yet another French meringue-induced breakdown…)! Anyway, I think it kind of adds to their charm, so I’m not mad about it.
Ingredients
Marens-Kornflexkökur only require 6 ingredients, which is part of what makes them so simple and easy to make! You will need:
- Caster sugar
It’s important to use caster/superfine sugar, so that it dissolves quickly and evenly into the meringues.
- Egg whites
Make sure that you don’t get any yolk in your egg whites when you separate them, or you’ll have to start over. As always, I use large eggs.
- Salt
A small amount of fine sea salt is added to the egg whites as they whip, to help give them structure. I also like to sprinkle a small amount of coarse sea salt onto the meringues, once they’re baked (and drizzled with chocolate). However, if you plan to store the meringues for a while, I would skip this step, as the salt crystals do have a tendency to leave weird, salty, water-y droplets on top of your cookies over time!
- Cornflakes
Just regular old cornflakes! Use your favourite brand (or whatever’s on offer…).
- Dark chocolate
Use a good quality dark chocolate for the best results. I use this in two ways: firstly (and more traditionally) chopped into chunks and mixed into the macarons, then secondly (less traditionally, but very deliciously) melted and drizzled on top of the finished cookies. I took inspiration from Kate from veggiedesserts.com for this step!
- Vanilla extract
As with the dark chocolate, good quality vanilla extract will give the best flavour. You only need a small amount.
You will also need a small amount of vinegar (I use white wine vinegar) to wipe down the bowl/whisk attachment of your stand mixer. This is an important step, because it removes any little traces of fat in your machine, which might otherwise prevent the egg whites from whipping up properly!
Making Marens-Kornflexkökur
To make the Marens-Kornflexkökur, start by preheating the oven to 135°C. Line a tray with baking paper and set aside.
As I mentioned, I used a slightly adapted version of the French meringue method for this bake, so stay with me on this one! The first thing you want to do is to put the caster sugar into a frying pan. Shake it out into an even layer, then set over a low heat to warm gently.
You don’t want the sugar to melt, you just want to warm it slightly so that it dissolves into the egg whites more easily. Let it warm while you get everything else ready and it will be perfect. If you give it a shake, you might notice it sticking to the pan ever so slightly, like in the photo above.
With the sugar warming, you can get on with preparing the chocolate and the cornflakes. Finely chop the chocolate. Aim for small chunks— you want pockets of chocolate-y goodness, but you don’t want the chunks to be so big that they sink in the meringues.
Then, lightly crush the cornflakes. I just used my hands, but you could also do this with the back of a spoon, the end of a rolling pin, or even in a mortar and pestle! You just want to break them up a little bit, so that they can be distributed more evenly throughout the meringues and don’t get too chewy (you want them to be chewy, but not unswallowable).
With those ingredients prepared, it’s time to get on with the meringue.
Start by wiping out the metal bowl and the whisk attachment of a stand mixer with a little vinegar (I use white wine vinegar). This helps to clean the utensils by removing any traces of fat, which will prevent the egg whites from whipping up properly. It’s important to use a metal bowl, because that helps the egg whites whip up too!
Place the egg whites, along with a pinch of salt, into the mixer bowl and fit the whisk attachment.
Whisk on high speed until the egg whites reach soft peaks.
At this point, remove the frying pan from the heat and begin adding the warm sugar to the mixer bowl, a little at a time, while whisking on high speed.
Once all of the sugar has been added, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, so that all of the sugar crystals are in the meringue mixture.
At this point, the meringue will be very shiny and glossy, but not overly stiff, so keep whisking on high speed until the meringue holds stiff peaks.
Once the meringue has reached stiff peaks, it’s ready! If you rub a small amount of the mixture between your fingers, you shouldn’t be able to feel any sugar crystals.
Now, you can mix in the other ingredients. Start by folding in the vanilla.
Then, add the crushed cornflakes and the chopped chocolate.
Fold through again, and the mixture is ready!
Drop tablespoon-sized dollops of the mixture onto the lined baking tray. Don’t worry about getting them perfect— they’re supposed to look rustic, like snowy mountains!
Once you’ve used all of the mixture, place the tray into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the surface of the meringues is crisp and the cookies are holding their shape.
Allow the Marens-Kornflexkökur to cool completely on the trays, then serve as they are, or decorate them by drizzling with a little melted dark chocolate and sprinkling with coarse sea salt. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature before serving.
Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the cookies will keep for about 2 weeks. If you plan to make these in advance, I would recommend not sprinkling them with the coarse sea salt, as it can cause little droplets of water to form on the chocolate if left for too long!
Final Thoughts
These Marens-Kornflexkökur are made with a combination of ingredients that I would never have thought to combine, but I actually really like the results! The cookies are chewy, crispy and super tasty. They also taste super festive, despite not containing any of the classic Christmas spices I associate with ‘tasting festive’.
They’re super easy to make, but it did take me a few tries to nail this recipe (mainly as a result of my French meringue curse)! You want to bake them for a short enough time that they stay nice and chewy, but it is also easy to underbake them, which can lead to squidgy cookies that don’t hold their shape. I’m glad I stuck with them though, because I think I’m finally making a breakthrough with meringue!
As I mentioned, these probably aren’t for everyone. The texture of the cornflakes is quite unusual and, overall, they are a pretty sweet cookie (even with the dark chocolate!), which makes them perfect for me, but not so perfect for those who don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I liked them, but, much like the Indian Kulkuls, I’m not sure they live up to the dreamy, almond cookies of last year’s festive, Baking Around the World instalments!
Have you ever had eeMarens-Kornflexkökur before? Or have you ever tried meringues with cornflakes mixed in? Let me know!
Gemma
xxx
Recipe
Marens-Kornflexkökur
Ingredients
- White wine vinegar, for wiping down the bowl/whisk.
- 150 g caster sugar
- 2 egg whites (I used large eggs).
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 1 splash vanilla extract
- 60 g dark chocolate
- 30 g cornflakes
To decorate (optional):
- 15 g dark chocolate, melted
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 135°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
- Place the sugar into a frying pan, shaking it out into an even layer. Place over low heat and leave to warm while you prepare the other ingredients. You don't want the sugar to melt, just to warm up slightly so that it dissolves into the egg whites more easily.
- Finely chop the dark chocolate and lightly crush the cornflakes.
- Wipe down the metal bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer with white wine vinegar to remove any traces of fat. Place the egg whites in the bowl, along the fine sea salt.
- Whisk the egg whites on high speed, until they reach soft peaks.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, turn off the mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then turn the mixer back on to high speed and whisk the meringue until stiff peaks form. When it's ready, you should be able to rub a small amount of the meringue between your fingers without feeling any sugar crystals.
- Fold the vanilla extract into the meringue, then add the chopped dark chocolate and crushed cornflakes and fold again, until evenly distributed.
- Place tablespoon-sized dollops of the meringue mixture onto the prepared baking tray. Once you have used up all of the mixture, place the tray into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the surface of the meringues feels crisp and the cookies hold their shape.
- Allow the meringues to cool completely on the tray before serving/decorating. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
To decorate (optional):
- Drizzle the cooled meringue cookies with the melted dark chocolate, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt (see Note 1). Allow to sit at room temperature until the chocolate has set, then serve.
Notes
- If you are decorating the cookies in advance, I would recommend skipping the coarse sea salt. The salt crystals can cause little droplets of water to form on the surface of the chocolate if left for too long, which, while they don’t affect the taste, don’t look super pretty!
Sources Used
Saveur: Icelandic Chocolate Cornflake Cookies
Guide to Iceland: Icelandic Sweets and Confectionery
Artic Adventures: Traditional Icelandic Christmas Food
Gulur Raudur Grænn & Salt: Kornflex smákökur
Veggie Desserts: Icelandic Christmas Meringue Cookies
Baking with Nessa: Icelandic Christmas Cookies “Marens-Kornflexkökur”
