Cookies of Scandinavian
Days:
Puyallup WA. October 6.7,
2001
To learn much more
Norwegian Culture visit our friends at the Norway List
Spritz:
1 cup Butter (no margarine)
2/3 cup Sugar
3
Egg yolks
1
tsp. Vanilla
2
½ cups Flour
Cut cold butter into ½ inch pieces and work
together with sugar until the consistency of
course meal. Stir in Egg Yolks and Vanilla. Blend in Flour.
This
is a versatile cookie dough that can be formed with a press or shaped as
desired.
Bake
at:400º 6 to 9 minutes until just set. Do not overbake.
Hints
for Spritz
Test dough for proper consistency before adding all the flour.---put a
small amount in the cookie press and squeeze out. The dough should be soft and
pliable, not crumbly. If the dough seems to stiff and an additional egg yolk,
if too thin add a small amount (1-3 Tbs.) of flour. If the dough is of the
right consistency it will not be necessary to exert force on either the press
or handle.
For best results use dough as soon
as possible after preparation and do not refrigerate.
Be sure your baking sheet is cool
before pressing.
Almond
Tarts:
Crust
1
cup Butter (No Margarine)
¼ cup Sugar
1
cup Flour
Filling:
1/3
cup chopped, blanched, Almonds
¼ cup Sugar
2
Tablespoons Butter
2
½ Tablespoons Half & Half
2
tsp.. Flour
Mix all ingredients and bring to a
boil over medium heat. Use ½ teaspoonful in each tart.
Cream
butter and Sugar. Blend in flour. Press
1/6 inch thick into small (1 ½ inch) tart molds. Bake at 375º for 10 minutes. While still hot and ½ tsp. Almond
filling and bake an additional 10-15 min.
1/2
pound Butter (Softened, No
Margarine)
1/2
cup Sugar
2
Egg yolks
2
Hard cooked Egg yolks
1 ½
to 2 cups Flour.
May
add 1 tsp. Almond or Vanilla Extract.
Boil
2 eggs for about 8 minutes. Mix the hard-boiled egg yolks with the raw yolks.
Add sugar and mix together well. Add flour and softened butter alternately
until all ingredients have been added and mixed. Let dough chill for 2 hours.
Roll dough into thin ropes, about 5-7" long, and twist each one into a
small wreath with its ends crossed. Brush with egg white and sprinkle on pearl
sugar. The dough is fairly soft, so make sure the kitchen is not too warm when
you work with it. Bake at 350º F for 8 minutes, or until just set…Do not
overbake
Hint:
If the wreaths do not hold their shape,
chill them again before applying egg white and sugar.
3/4
cup + 2 Tbs. Butter (No Margarine)
7
T. Sugar
1
cup + 1-1/2 Tbs. Flour
7
T. or about 1/2 cup Almonds, blanched and ground
1
Egg
Mix
butter and flour until crumbly. Add ground almonds, egg, and sugar. Work
ingredients together with your hands. Let dough rest for an hour in the
refrigerator. Press into sandbakkelse forms. Bake at 350º F for 1015 minutes.
Let cookies cool slightly before you remove them from the forms.
Sandbakkelse…Recipe
2
½ cup Butter (No Margarine)
1
cup Sugar
½
cup Shortening
1
Egg-beaten
2 ½
cup Flour
½ tsp. Flavoring..may use ground Cardamom,
Vanilla or Almond
Press
small amount into Sandbakkelse tins. Bake 350º for about 15 min until just set. Do not overbake
Mor
Monsen’s Kaker
1
pound Butter, softened (No Margarine)
2
cups Sugar
4
Eggs
2
cups Flour
1
tsp. Vanilla
½
cup finely chopped Almonds
¼
cup dried currents
Coat
12 x 18 inch jelly roll pan with small amount of butter.
Cream
butter and sugar. When light and fluffy beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in
flour and vanilla.
Spread
batter evenly on the pan, sprinkle top with almonds and currents.
Bake at 375 º
for 20 to 25 minutes, until the surface is golden brown. With a sharp knife cut
into small triangles.
Hints: These can be made
ahead and frozen until ready for use.
9
T. cream
1/2
cup + 2-1/2 T. syrup
1/2
cup + 2-1/2 T. sugar
7
T. butter (No Margarine)
2
cups flour
1/4
tsp. pepper
1/4
tsp. ginger
1/4
tsp. anise
1/4
tsp. cinnamon
3/4
tsp. hartshorn salt
3/4
tsp. baking soda
Almonds,
blanched, for decorating
Boil cream, syrup, and sugar together. Stir in
butter and let mixture cool until lukewarm. Sift in dry ingredients and knead
the dough to mix thoroughly. Chill overnight. Roll dough out to be as thin as
possible and cut into diamond shapes. Lay on a greased baking sheet. Place half
a blanched almond on each cookie. For a shiny finish, brush cookies with egg
white. Bake at 350º F for 5 minutes.
½
cup Butter (or Imperial Margarine, NO other margarine works consistently!)
1
cup Water
1
cup Flour
4
large fresh Eggs
Bring
butter and water to a boil. Quickly stir in flour. This will form a thick
paste. Add eggs one at a time, beating until the dough is no longer glossy.
Spread
in strips, approximately 3 x 10 inches on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake undisturbed at 425º for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º and bake an
additional 15 minutes. Under baked pastry will fall, so be sure they are
thoroughly done.
Frost loaves with:
1 cup Powdered Sugar,
1 tsp. Almond extract
1 Tbs. room temperature
Butter
Small
amount of milk to produce spreading consistency
Cut
loaves into 1 inch slices.
Kringler
Recipe 2
Many
prefer to use the following crust under the Kringler described above:
½
cup Butter (NO margarine)
1
cup Flour
2
Tbs. cold Water
Blend
butter and flour with pastry blender until the consistency of coarse meal. (as
for piecrust). Add water and blend with fork. Divide into thirds and roll each
to be approximately 4 ½ x 10 inches. Place
on ungreased baking sheet, finish as per recipe number one..
Fattigman
6
egg yolks
8
Tbs. Sugar
6
Tbs. Whipping Cream (whipped)
3
cups Flour (unsifted)
½ tsp. Cardamom
2
Tbs. Brandy
Beat egg yolks well. Gradually add sugar and beat
about 5 minutes. Stir in whipped cream. Add enough flour to make a soft dough.
Add brandy. Roll dough thin and cut in diamond shapes. Slit and turn. Deep fry
in hot oil until golden. Drain
Kransekake (Norwegian Wedding Cake)
Almond Wreath Cakes are made
on special celebration days, but can be temperamental. Even if it is made
exactly the same each time, the result may vary from absolute perfection to
complete failure. I have heard
somewhere that these cakes are to be formed over a bottle of wine, and when the
wine is exposed it is to be presented to the bride and groom.
Rings
2
1/2 cups finely ground blanched almonds
2
1/2 cups finely ground unblanched almonds
4
1/3 cups sifted icing sugar (sift before measuring)
3
egg whites
.
Icing
1
cup Powdered sugar
1
egg
Preheat
the oven to 400degrees F. Combine almonds and icing sugar in a large pan. Add
the unbeaten egg white and mix to a firm dough.. Grease a 16-18 inch ring cake
pan. Spoon the dough into a pastry tube with a wide round tip and press the
dough into the ring, blending the ends together. Bake for 12-15 minutes until
dry and firm outside, soft inside. Take out and leave to cool. For the icing sift the sugar and mix with
egg white until nice and thick. Put in a piping bag and pipe on garlands of
icing on top of each other and decorate with flags, bonbons or candy
Kransekake Hints from various sources:
Grind the almonds. Do NOT use a food processor, as
this will result in the mixture being short and unworkable. Set the oven to
about (400 F).
Mix ground almonds, icing sugar and flour. Work in
the egg whites in stages. The mixture must be firm, but not dry. Roll the
mixture to finger thick lengths on a icing sugar dusted board to prevent
sticking, and place in ring moulds. Make sure that they are not too thick.
During baking they will swell somewhat and if they are too thick, they can flow
together. If using a piping bag, choose a hole or a star which is not larger
than 12 mm across.
Press the ends of the length thoroughly together
when making the rings, or they will open during baking. Put the moulds on a
baking tray, and bake in the middle of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes. Cool
rapidly.
As soon as the rings are partly cooled, tip out of
moulds.
Mix icing sugar, egg whites and vinegar to a thick
mixture, and pipe this onto rings in thin line, zigzag pattern. Pile the rings
on top of another when icing is dry. The rings can be fixed together with a few
drops of caramel made by melting sugar in a dry pan and lightly browning.
Kransekake should be kept in a airtight tin. Put a
fresh crust of bread or a peeled potato in the tin a couple of days before the
cake is to be served. This will give it the right "chewy" texture.
Can be deep frozen.
When baking do not fill all 3 sections of the mold
at once, as they may swell and cook together. Use the outer and inner sections,
then the middle.
Danish Æbleskiver:
3 Eggs, separated
3 tsp. Sugar
½ tsp. Salt
2 cups Buttermilk
1 tsp. Baking Powder
2 cups Flour
1 tsp. Soda
½ tsp. Cardamom
Beat egg whites until stiff, set aside. Beat egg
yolks, add sugar, salt and milk. Blend in Flour, soda, baking powder and
cardamom. Fold in egg whites. Grease
indentations in Æbleskiver
pan with ½ to 1 tsp. shortening. Fill each cup about 2/3 full and fry over
medium-high heat, turning often.
Hint. A small knitting needle works well as a
turner.
Goro
Wafers
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. cardamom
6 cups unbleached flour
3 cups butter, lightly salted
Beat together egg yolks, sugar and cream. Add
cardamom to flour and sift half of the
flour, a little at a time, into the egg mixture and mix well. Put the remainder
of the flour on counter and place dough on top. Roll dough out to a thick flap, and spread butter in thin layers
across the dough. Fold over and roll
once more. Roll up and chill for 24 hours. Roll out thin (1/8 inch). Cut a
cardboard template the size of goro iron; trace and cut cookies from the
pattern. Bake in hot ungreased goro iron until a light golden color. Wipe fat off as it trickles out. Remove from iron
with spatula onto a cutting board. Trim off the frayed edges and cut apart
while still hot. Cool completely. May be frozen. Makes about 12 dozen.
Waffles:
5
Eggs
½
cup Sugar
1
cup Flour
1
tsp. ground cardamom
1
cup Sour Cream
4 Tbs. Butter (melted) (No Margarine)
Beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer for 5 minutes. By hand, fold in
half the flour, cardamom and sour cream. Blend well, and stir in remaining flour.
Lightly stir in melted butter. Allow to rest about 10 minutes. Fry about 2/3
cup in heart shaped waffle baker until golden brown.
Serve hot or cold with butter and sugar, Lingonberry
jam or goat cheese.
4
large Eggs, beaten well
1 ½
cup Sugar
3
Tbs. Water
1
tsp.Vanilla
½
pound melted Butter (No Margarine)
2
cups Flour
Beat
sugar, water, vanilla and egg (This may be done with electric mixer) Gradually
add flour. Blend in butter. Bake in
Krumkake Iron.
Hints
for Krumkake:
There
are 3 basic types of Krumkake irons. Cast Iron or Aluminum that set in a ring
on an electric or gas stove, and an electric model that bakes one or two cones.
I prefer to use a very old cast iron one that I acquired several years ago, but
many prefer the ease of cooking two at a time in the electric iron. The
following are general guidelines that apply to whichever type of iron you
choose to purchase.
For each baking period the iron should be heated and
slightly greased. After this initial greasing no more should be required.
The dough needs a preliminary testing as it is quite
variable, depending on many factors.
Test by cooking about a teaspoonful in hot iron, the dough should spread
evenly over the iron when closed, but not run out. If the batter is too thin
add a small amount of flour.
Cook each Krumkake until just lightly browned. If
you are using a stovetop iron, this will have to be turned for even baking.
Immediately upon removal from the iron roll the Krumkake on a wooden cone. It is a good idea to have two of these so the Krumkake may cool sufficiently before removal.
“Lacey” Krumkake are usually the result of incorrect
temperature settings.
Rosettes
2
Eggs. (Beaten Well)
2
tsp. Sugar
¼
tsp. Salt
1
cup Milk
1
cup Flour (sifted)
½ tsp. Vanilla
Blend eggs, sugar and salt (may use electric mixer).
Stir in milk, flour and vanilla. Strain
batter to remove any lumps, and skim any foam remaining from top of batter. Fry
on Rosette iron in deep fat at 375º until
golden brown. Drain on brown paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 5
dozen.
Hint, Do not dip iron too
deeply into batter.
Fyrstekake:
(Prince’s Cake)
½
lb. Butter (may use ½ margarine, No more)
1
cup Sugar
2
Egg Yolks
1
Whole Egg
1
tsp. Lemon Extract
3
cups Flour
3
tsp. Baking powder
Makes
3 x 8 inch round layers. Use electric mixer.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add
eggs and continue beating. Add lemon extract. Blend in flour and baking powder.
Reserve about 1 cup to make a lattice tops. Press the remaining dough into the bottom
and up the sides of 3 8 inch round cake pans, this should be ¼ inch or less in
thickness. Set aside:
Filling
for 3 cakes:
4
½ cups ground Almonds
6
Egg whites
5 ¼
cups Powdered Sugar
1
tsp. Crème Sherry
Beat
egg whites on high speed until stiff. Add sugar and continue beating. Blend in
Almonds and wine.
Pour into 3 shells.
Roll remaining dough, as for piecrust, to about 1/8
inch thick. Cut ½ inch wide strips with
a fluted pastry cutter and form lattice on top of cakes, and around perimeter
of the pan. Glaze lattice with beaten egg white.
Bake at 350º
for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and
remove from pans.
Hints: For best results use pans with ‘cutter’ for easy removal. May be tightly wrapped and frozen for later
use.
Hardanger
Lefse
1
cup Sour Cream
1
cup whipping Cream
2
Eggs at room temperature
1
cup Sugar
½
cup light Karo Syrup
1
tsp. Soda
½
tsp. Salt
1
tsp. Cardamom (optional)
5
cups flour
Filling:
1
pound butter
2
cups powdered Sugar
Cinnamon
to taste
Mix
sour cream and whipping cream and allow to sit overnight. (Do not
refrigerate)
Beat eggs slightly. Gradually add sugar then Karo
syrup. Add cream mixture. Mix in ½ the flour, soda, salt and cardamom. Add more flour to make a stiff dough. Roll ¼
cupful to approx. 11 inches in diameter and fry on 350º lefse iron. Trim to 10” rounds and spread one lefse
with filling and cover with another lefse.
Hint: Cover board with pastry cloth, and use
stockinet on rolling pin. If dough is too sticky more flour may be added.
Note: This is a soft lefse, not the hard
variety that is sometimes associated with Hardanger.
Potato
Lefse:
Lefse is a great Scandinavian treat, usually
associated with Christmas. Lefse has been immortalized in song and stories. It
can be described as the “Queen Mother” of Norwegian pastries. Ways to eat it
are as varied as the recipes to be found.
Some roll it with butter and sugar, some with baked pork, and some even
eat it with hot dogs. True connoisseurs
insist that lefse should be only made with fresh cooked potatoes, others say
that lefse made with ‘instant’ potatoes is just as good.
4 cups cooked potatoes
(riced)
1/2 cup butter (No
Margarine)
1 ½ cups flour
½ tes. Salt.
Boil ptatoes in salted
water. Rice the potatoes, blend in butter. Chill Work in 1 ½ cups flour very well. Form this dough into small
balls (1/3 cup), as if forming a bun,
working in a small amount of flour. Roll thin on well floured board. Fry
on ungreased lefse iron at 475 to 500º
until light brown spots appear, turn and fry other side a few moments.
Lefse Hints:
Apply flour to rolling pin and pastry
cloth. Roll dough until very thin. (If you have trouble picking the lefse up,
roll it onto the turning stick Then
roll it back off when you place it onto the grill.)
Stack finished lefses between two cloth
towels to cool. It is important to cool the lefses between towels to keep them
from drying out. When complete, re-stack the lefses once or twice to remove
some of the moisture to keep them from getting soggy
Never use products containing grease on
an Aluminum finish Lefse Grill if you want to use it for lefse again. The
grease will destroy the seasoning that has built up on the grill and make it
impossible to prevent the lefse from sticking.
If you for some reason have a ‘sticky spot’ on your grill take a small piece of steel wool and go in a
circular motion around the surface of the grill (following the original sanding
marks). Once you feel you have the sticky spot removed, rub flour onto the
surface of the grill, just like when it was new.
Dough is much easier to roll if still a
bit chilled
Potatoes should be done a day ahead and
refrigerated. Dough must be rolled soon after mixing.