rosettes

Rosettes are something that my grandma Alma made every year.   They are deep fried so we have always made them at the same time as the Christmas doughnuts.  They require very few ingredients and mix up quickly. 

Making rosettes requires the purchase of a rosette iron.

The iron is preheated in the hot oil.  When making the rosettes the iron is dipped into the batter to just below the top of the iron. You want to hold the iron level while  lowering  the iron into the batter  and try not to get any batter onto the top of the iron as that will make it impossible to get the rosette off of the iron.   I have found that it is helpful to have the batter in a small bowl with low sides.

The dipped iron is then held in the hot oil and fried.  Sometimes the cooking rosette stays on the iron and when removed from the oil it may need a gentle nudge to get it to drop off the iron.  A wooden spoon handle works well for this.  We drop our rosettes onto layers of paper towels to cool.  Sometimes the rosette as it cooks drops off of the iron while in the oil and then it needs to be lifted out with a slotted spoon or other implement and then placed on the paper towels.

Rosettes

2 eggs, beaten slightly

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup cake flour

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk until just combined.  Fry in hot grease.  Place on paper towels to drain.  Dip in granulated or confectioners sugar.

krumkake

My Grandma Alma always made krumkake but she called them scrollers. 

Krumkake is a Norwegian treat that is made flat on an iron and then quickly rolled into a scroll while still warm.   As they cool they set into a crisp tube.  My first krumkake iron was a metal one that sat on the stove.  A teaspoon of the batter was placed between two plates and when the plates were squeezed together they forced the dab of dough into a thin flat circle.  The plates were flipped to cook both sides and then the flat cookie was rolled around a slightly tapered wooden dowel until they cooled.

Now I have an electric krumkake iron that cooks two cookies side by side.  It works kind of like a waffle iron, the top and bottom heat so there is no flipping necessary.  And with two cookies at a time you are done twice as fast.

krumkake

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup flour

Beat eggs and sugar until well mixed.  Stir in the melted butter and vanilla.  Beat in the flour until smooth.  Bake on heated iron, 15-20 seconds per side for conventional iron, until slightly browned on electric iron.  Immediately shape around a wooden dowel until cool and set.

russian tea cakes

These cookies have been a part of our holiday baking for years.   They are tender and melt in your mouth.  

Russian tea cakes

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
confectioners sugar

Combine the butter and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar.  Add the vanilla.  Add the flour, salt and nuts and mix until dough comes together.  Roll into 1 inch balls and bake in 400° oven for 10 to 12 minutes until set but not brown.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.  Roll balls in confectioners sugar while still warm.   After they are cool roll again in confectioners sugar.

scandinavian almond bars

The recipe for this cookie was published years ago in a Better Homes and Garden magazine of Christmas baking.  Since we gravitate towards all things Scandinavian we gave this one a try and it quickly became a favorite of my mom.  It is easy to do, keeps well and can be made ahead of time and frozen.  It has a different shape so it looks interesting on a goodie plate.

Scandinavian almond bars

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

almond icing

Stir together the dry ingredients.  In a mixer beat the butter until softened.  Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add the egg and the extract and beat well.  Add the dry ingredients and beat until well mixed.

To shape divide dough into fourths and shape each portion into a log about 12 inches long.  Place two of the logs on each parchment lined baking sheet and flatten into a rectangle that is about  3 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick.  Brush each rectangle with a small amount of milk and top with chopped almonds.  Bake in preheated 325° oven for 12-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and while still warm cut crosswise at an angle.  When cool drizzle with almond icing made from confectioners sugar, milk and almond flavoring.

first I make one 12 inch log

i use my bench scraper to cut it into four parts

The four logs

Then I use the palm of my hand to flatten each log.

two flattened logs on each baking sheet

I use a brush to spread a little milk on each

then I sprinkle the chopped sliced almonds

ready for the oven

while still warm I cut them diagonally and cool.

ans with a drizzle of icing they are done.

peanut butter blossoms

One of the cookies that I remember my Grandma Alma making were these peanut butter blossoms.  Some years she made them with chocolate stars and some years she made them with Hershey kisses.  They are a simple cookie to do.  Only a few basic ingredients and one bowl--I use the stand mixer.  Roll in balls, roll the balls in sugar and partway through the baking you pull them out of the oven, press a star on top and pop them back in the oven for a few more minutes.  They freeze well so are one of the cookies that I do early in my Christmas baking.

Peanut butter blossoms

1 1/3 cup flour 

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Combine the flour, soda and salt in a separate bowl.  In the bowl of the mixer cream the shortening, peanut butter and the sugars until creamy.  Add the beaten egg, milk and vanilla and beat until well mixed.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Roll into balls.  This is a very tender dough so roll gently into 1 inch balls.  Roll the balls in sugar and place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake in preheated 375° oven for eight minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and press a chocolate star onto the center of each cookie.  Return to oven for 3-5 minutes more.  When you pull the cookies out to add the stars the cookies are slightly puffy and when you press the star on top the cookie will collapse a little around the star.  When you remove the cookies at the end of the second few minutes the stars will be shiny and melted but if they are left undisturbed they will harden in their same shape.

cookie balls rolled in sugar and ready for the oven

placing the stars on the warm cookies

Finished cookies

I think that I remember Grandma's cookies being a little bit darker in color but over thirty years ago when she shared this recipe with me there was only one brown sugar.  I used the light brown sugar this time but dark brown sugar may give you a darker cookie.

scandinavian almond cake

There used to be a Scandinavian shop in a neighboring town that had lots of kitchen stuff and on one of our visits there years ago we found this interesting shaped pan with a recipe for an almond cake.

We bought the pan and tried the cake and it is now a family favorite.  We  have since bought a couple more pans and a couple years ago we found one that makes four smaller cakes.  For some reason when making this cake with butter it does not release cleanly from the pan so it is necessary to use margarine for this cake.

the batter

ready to go in the oven

Scandinavian almond cake

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2/3 cup milk

1 3/8 cup flour (7 ounces)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 stick margarine, melted (not butter)

With whisk combine sugar, egg, milk and almond flavoring.  Mix well.  Add flour and baking powder.  Add melted and cooled margarine.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then tip out of pan to finish cooling.  When cool dust with confectioners sugar.

Ready to slice and serve

This is not exclusively a Christmas sweet, we make it many times throughout the year, but we always have it at Christmas.