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Treat #7: Krumkake
Tuesday 30th Dec
I have one last holiday treat to share, appropriately on Mom's birthday, December 30. Krumkake is a Norwegian cookie baked on a special iron, like a thin, crisp waffle. The iron I use was mom's, and she inherited it from her mom. I remember her making these only once, when I was in high school, and commenting that the iron would work better on a gas burner than electric. Years later, when I had installed a gas cooktop in my own kitchen, she brought the iron to my house and we made them together. Even after the iron came to live with me, I found I never managed to make Krumkake before Christmas but could sometimes pull it off on Mom's birthday or New Year's Eve. A new tradition! The recipe I use is one Mom clipped out of a newspaper and taped inside the cover of Cooking the Norwegian Way, a gift from me in the early '80s. Like so many of the holiday treats I have shared, it uses butter and cream.
KRUMKAKE
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. ground cardamom
Whip the cream. Beat the eggs lightly and add to the cream. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Line counter or a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat krumkake iron over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon batter and close iron. Bake for 30 seconds. Turn and bake on other side for 30 seconds. Remove the cookie from the iron with a spatula and roll it around a stick or metal cone to shape it into a loose cone. (I let the cookie cool slightly on paper towel and start the next one before rolling. They are hot! So are all the exposed metal parts of the iron, so be careful.)
This recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies.
Notes:
You may need to adjust the heat up or down to get consistently browned but not burned cookies.
Excess batter may run out the sides. It will bake on the sides of the hot metal ring supporting the iron. It is very buttery and is easy to remove once baked, but if pieces drop onto the burner, things could get smoky.
Treat #6: Orange Bread
Monday 15th Dec
If you love the smell of oranges, this is the recipe for you. Shaking things up, there's no butter in it, but a toasted slice spread with butter is one of my favorite things to put into my mouth. Mom got this one from her mother; as far as I know, Grandma developed the recipe herself. I don't know if either of them made it specifically as a holiday treat, but considering when they would have had oranges in North Dakota in the '30s, it seems likely.
ORANGE BREAD
Zest of 1 large orange, chopped or microplaned
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Combine zest and sugar in a large saucepan. Cover with water. Cook, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until syrup spins a thread (230 F). Remove from heat. Add milk gradually. Cool to lukewarm. Add egg, flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until smooth. Stir in oil. Pour into 2 small or 1 large greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes for small pans, 50-60 minutes for large pan. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Treat #5: Almond Butter Toffee
Sunday 14th Dec
The butter theme continues! This is a favorite candy of mine and resembles Almond Roca, in a different format. While this recipe requires stirring and careful watching, it is much quicker to make than caramels and makes good use of a candy thermometer.
ALMOND BUTTER TOFFEE
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds, toasted
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
Toast almonds at 350 F for 5-10 minutes, stirring once to prevent scorching.
Line a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped nuts in the pan. Set pan aside.
Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium-high heat till mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently till thermometer registers 290F, soft-crack stage (about 15 minutes). Watch carefully after 280F to prevent scorching. Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Pour candy into prepared pan.
Let candy stand about 5 minutes or till firm; sprinkle with chocolate. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes. When chocolate has softened, spread over candy. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts. Chill till firm. When candy is firm, use foil to lift it out of pan; break into pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes 1 1/2 pounds.
Notes:
You can substitute other nuts for the almonds.
You can substitute butterscotch chips for chocolate. I make mine half and half because one of us has a chocolate allergy.
Treat #4: Sandbakkels
Wednesday 10th Dec
Anyone reading all the recipes I'm posting will notice a common ingredient in most of them: butter. When I was a child, Mom bought real butter only in December, and most of it went into baked goods or candy. Family lore has it that my older brother didn't discover you could buy butter any time of year until he was living in his first college apartment and doing his own grocery shopping. Today's recipe continues the butter-heavy theme with my personal favorite: sandbakkels, a Norwegian butter cookie with only a few ingredients but a time- and labor-intensive process. Worth it!
SANDBAKKELS
1 pound butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually and cream some more. Add vanilla and mix.
Mix in the flour with hands or stand mixer until well blended. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Heat oven to 325 F.
Press small balls of dough into sandbakkel (or mini tartlet) tins. Bake at 325 F until very light brown, 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit in tins for 5 minutes. Remove from tins by inverting onto cooling rack; tap sharply in necessary.
Note: I usually make a half batch, which yields about 40 cookies.
Treat #3: Saffron Bread (Saffron Cake)
Monday 8th Dec
This holiday recipe comes not from my mom, but from my dear mother-in-law Betty, who also developed dementia in her later years. This was an old favorite from her mother's family, and something my husband encouraged me to make. The recipe Betty worked from was short on details when she copied it out for me in 1998. I filled in the blanks through trial and error and have had good success with it over the years.
SAFFRON BUNS AKA SAFFRON BREAD AKA SAFFRON CAKE
6 ½ to 8 cups flour (720 to 960 grams)
2 cups lukewarm milk
2 packages dry yeast (4 ½ tsp)
1 egg
1 gram saffron threads, steeped in ½ cup hot water
1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
1 to 1 ½ cups sugar (I use just 1 cup)
¼ tsp salt
1 cup each currants and golden raisins
Mix the yeast with 1 ½ cups flour (180 g.)
Mix in all the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the remaining flour, currants and raisins; beat thoroughly.
Add the rest of the flour a cup or so at a time until you have a soft dough. Mix in the currants and raisins. Knead for 5 minutes.
Place dough in a large buttered bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 90 minutes. Punch down and shape into 24 buns (bake in greased muffin tins) or 2 small loaves or 1 large loaf (bake in greased loaf pans). Cover and let rise for 40 minutes.
Heat oven to 375° F. Bake buns 15-20 minutes, loaves 40-45 minutes.
Note: I have not seen currants at my grocery store in recent years. If you have the same problem, double the amount of golden raisins or substitute another dried fruit.
Treat #2: Princess Gems
Friday 5th Dec
Mom usually made these while we were at school, though I got to help a few times in my teen years. They are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth gems of goodness featuring an
unusual and unlikely sounding ingredient that is responsible for the
beautiful texture. They are one of my favorite cookies EVER, yet I haven't made them since 1985 because I married a man who is allergic to coconut. When my sister told me the coconut could be omitted and they would still taste good, I had to give them another try. She was right! With coconut, they will hold more of a ball shape. Without, they flatten into discs. Here's the recipe:
PRINCESS GEMS (Ammonia Cookies)
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. powdered ammonium carbonate (baker's ammonia)
1 cup fine grated coconut (may be omitted; cookies will be flatter)
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Cream shortening, butter, and sugar together until fluffy. Add ammonium carbonate and beat. Add flour, a small amount at a time. Stir in coconut, if using. Shape into very small balls. Roll in red or green sugar and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 F for 20 to 25 minutes, disregarding odor. Makes a bunch; over 100 at least.
Notes:
The ammonia odor during baking is mildly unpleasant but not that strong, and is soon overtaken by a buttery scent.
Mom purchased her ammonium carbonate at a pharmacy. I ordered mine online from a baking supply company, Cake & Candy Supply.
You must use butter, not margarine, in this recipe.
Mom stretched her colored sugars by mixing with granulated sugar, which
diluted the color of the finished cookies a little but did not affect
the taste at all.
You will not lose dough to wandering dough eaters; not more than once, anyway.
Treat #1: Caramels
Monday 1st Dec
The first treat Mom made most years was homemade caramels, a recipe she got from her sister Beth. Mom had a friend who wanted nothing for Christmas except a single caramel, which was often delivered gift-wrapped, with a big bow. Here's the recipe:
CARAMELS
16 oz heavy cream
2 cups sugar
12 oz light corn syrup
12 oz evaporated milk (NOT condensed!)
dash salt (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
Butter an 8" x 8" pan or line with parchment paper.
Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a large kettle. Cook and stir to boiling. Reduce heat but keep at a gentle rolling boil. Cook, stirring constantly, to firm ball stage, about 40 minutes; begin testing early, as times will vary based on conditions. (I was told a candy thermometer was not reliable with this recipe because the caramel would insulate the bulb, but I have never tested this myself.) When ready, stir in the vanilla and pour into prepared pan. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and wrapping in waxed or parchment paper. You can scrape spoonfuls of caramel remaining in the cooking pot onto a buttered plate to be eaten as soon as they are cool enough to handle.
