Christmas Baking

By Lisa Peck, ASID
One tradition I learned from my Norwegian grandmother was baking for the holidays. She always took pride in making lefse, krumkake, rosettes and sandbakels for us all to enjoy.
I still make some of the traditional cookies every year and take pride in knowing how to make a good piece of lefse (though most years Byerlys provides this treat on our table).
My grandmother's recipe for Krumkake reads as follows
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 cup white sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
It has no directions, no advice...none of her recipes do. You had to cook with her and memorize the steps. This one is unique in that the quantities of ingredients are exact. Many say a little of this or as much flour as you need! But I remember how she and my mother made these treats and I hope to pass this tradition on to my kids. Along with a few new cookie traditions.
Krumkake (Recipe with instructions) Image via Google images
Sandbakels
Peppermint sandwich cookies..a new favorite
Brunkake...a "new" Norwegian favorite (Recipe courtesy of Shirley Evenstad...LuAnne's Mom)
Swedish cookies
French Double chocolate Sable Cookies
A cookie my kid's insist on featuring Hershey kisses...I roll them in raw sugar for some extra texture.
Many of these recipes can be found online at www.foodtv.com