Hannele's Berry Pie (Marjapiiras)

My cousin in Finland gave my Mother this recipe.  Pie crusts are very different over there, as you can tell from my previous post.  You could use the same blueberry filling from the previous post or use this yummy rhubarb & strawberry one below.  The Finns use less sugar, so adjust according to your tastebuds:)

Hannele's Berry Pie (Marjapiiras)

1 cup melted margarine

1.5 cups sugar

3 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

*2 eggs

*Before putting in the eggs, take out about 3/4-1 cup of the mix for crumbs to be sprinkled on top.

Cut up rhubarb and slice strawberries. Sprinkle with sugar. May use raspberries or blueberries too.

Pour batter into 2 greased quiche pans. Sprinkle fruit or berries over batter. Sprinkle with sugar and crumbs.  

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.

Mustikka Piirakka is Blueberry Pie Finnish Style

Oma means my own in Finnish.  This is one of those recipes my Mother had to make up when she came from Finland.  Blueberries are plentiful in August in Finland and grow well along the bushes nearby the also plentiful granite.  It's a wonderful thing to pick blueberries there. Well, it's not August and we didn't have blueberries on the ranch, but yet she craved that taste.  Here is her recipe. Again, I'm making this now because she was wishing she could make some.

Mustikka Piirakka

1 can Wyman's blueberries, with juice

1 reg. size cool whil carton full of frozen blueberries (or huckleberries)

1/3 c. potato starch, scant

1 c sugar

Put berries and sugar in a kettle and let them boil gently for 5-10 minutes.  Let it come to a boil.  In a little bit of cold water, dissolve potato starch.  Add to berries.  Stir well until thick.  let cool.  Spread this on pulla dough crust or another Finnish pie crust. 

Raijan Rahka Piirakka

1 T dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water

1 c. milk, scalded and cooled

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, well beaten

4.5 - 5 c. flour

1/2 c. melted margarine

1 egg, for basting

cheese filling (see below)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, salt, sugar and eggs. Add 2 cups flour to yeast mixture; beat until smooth. Add melted margarine, stirring to mix well. Add remaining flour gradually, beating to keep dough smooth. After added all the flour and the dough is stiff, cover and let rest 15 minutes. Knead until smooth. Place in lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubles (1 to 1.5 hours).

Pinch off balls of dough about 2 inches in diameter and place on a greased cookie sheet, leaving at least 3 inches in between the balls. Let raise until puffy, about 10 minutes, in a warm place. Flatten each ball of dough with fingers to about 3/8 inch thick. Let raise again until puffy, about 10 minutes; flatten centers of rounds, leaving edges slightly higher to hold in the filling. Brush with beaten egg and spoon 2 or 3 Tbs. of the filling into center of each round.

Bake in 375 degreen oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown. Cool and served plain or with a little red jam spread on top. (Sometimes I add a few raisins to the cheese filling before baking, as is customary in Finland.)

These freeze well. Thaw out and serve. You may also reheat in a 375 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Cheese filling:

2 eggs

1/3-1/2 c sugar

1/2 c sour cream

8 oz. package softened cream cheese,

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. lemon peel

In a small bowl with our electric beaters, combine the eggs, sugar, sour cream, cream cheese, lemon juice and lemon peel, beating until thick and smooth. Fills 20 to 24 buns.

These savory cheese buns originated in eastern Finland, but anymore they are available in even the smallest towns. usually can be found at the outdoor markets (toris).

OR you can use this other type of crust, her sister's recipe. 

Rahkapiirakka Crust

150 gr. voita 1 1/3 cubes butter
1 dl. sokeria 3/4 c sugar
1 kanamuna 1 egg
4 dl vehnäjauhoja 3 cups flour
1 tl. levinjauhetta 1 tsp. baking powder

Mix the ingredients above together and press it into a lightly sprayed round quiche pan, including up the sides, to form the crust. Now make the filling below.

Jim's Crepes

Our sons just returned yesterday from a Scouts camp out where one of the breakfast items was made by one of their friend's Dad. Today our son made "Jim's Crepes" because he was hungry before lunch was ready and he could easily remember the recipe. He said, "You just double it"!

Jim's Crepes 1 cup flour 2 cups milk 4 eggs 1 tsp. sugar (optional) dash of salt (optional)

Serve with strawberry jam and whipped cream or syrup.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Tonight is our Recipe Exchange and we are to bring Hors d'Oeuvres.

Well, when my Mother served Hors d'Oeuvres at the Embassy, if she didn't serve this appetizer, one diplomat would say to her, "Nope I came for nothing"!  What was it he wanted?  It was a date wrapped in bacon!  She also wrapped chicken livers in bacon.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:
bacon
pitless dates
paprika
toothpicks

Directions:
Line up 1/2 strips of bacon on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle paprika on them. 
Bake, then wrap a bacon strip around a pitless date and secure with a toothpick. 
Serve with a spicy dipping sauce. 

Fruit and Cheese Sticks

This is such an easy appetizer for your kids to make for their own party. 

Fruit and Cheese Sticks

Ingredients:
cheese, cubed 
grapes 
toothpicks

Place a piece of cheese and a grape on a toothpick.

Rosettes

My Mother has requested Rosettes for her birthday since it's so close to May Day.  In Finland, rosettes may be served at May Day (Vappu) celebrations as an alternative to funnel cakes (tippaleipä).  They are traditionally made during Christmas time in Scandanavia.  Rosettes are a thin, cookie-like deep-fried pastry of Scandinavian origin. Rosettes are made using intricately designed irons. The iron is heated to a very high temperature in oil, dipped into the batter, then re-immersed in the hot oil to create a crisp shell around the metal. The iron is immediately removed and the rosette is separated from the iron. Usually, the edges of the rosette are dipped into frosting or sugar. Rosette recipes are popular in the United States among families with Scandinavian ancestry. 

Her Finnish friend sent me this recipe which I am translating from Finnish to English and converting from metrics too. 

ROSETIT 30 kpl (makes 30)

2 eggs 2 munaa
2 tsp. sugar 2 tl sokeria
1/2 tsp. salt 0,5 tl suolaa
0.63 cups milk 1,5 dl maitoa
0.63 cups flour 1,5 dl vehnajauhoja

Beat the eggs, salt and sugar;  add milk and flour. Batter will look thin.  Heat 1 quart oil to 350 degrees in a 2 quart pan.   Put the rosette iron in to heat up.  Quickly dot the iron onto a paper towel to remove excess oil.  Now dip the rosette iron into the dough careful not to get it on the top of the iron then turn it upside down for a second.  Next immerse the iron into the hot oil and fry until a light golden brown.  I count to about 55-60 with each one.  Remove from oil and gently remove from iron.  Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.  These are not very sweet.  Another day I'll make a batch where I add some vanilla sugar and another where I add cardamom to taste test the difference. 

As I made fried these, my husband exclaimed that he remembers Rosettes.  His DODDs principal's Icelandic wife served them to his family at Christmastime when they lived in Iceland!

 

Fizzy Finnish lemon drink called Sima

One of the items I need to make ahead for my Mother's birthday this weekend is this fizzy Finnish lemon drink called Sima made somewhat like home made root beer with yeast. You need to make it about 3 days before you want to serve it. It will last unopened for about a week after that without going flat. 

Although traditionally served at May Day in Finland it was made for many celebrations in my home growing up. 

Title: Sima -- Finnish Drink

Ingredients:
4 quarts water
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 cup white sugar
2 lemons
1/4 t dry yeast
3-4 T warm water
sugar
raisins

Directions:
Make in the evening. Wash the lemons; use a carrot peeler to get the peel from the lemons; use only the yellow; peel and discard the white; slice the lemons; put lemons and sugar in a 6 quart kettle (unless you are very good at full kettles like Mummo is). Pour the hot water over all of this; let come to a boil but do not boil for very long; let sit until it cools--a couple of hours.
Mix 1/4 t dry yeast in about 3-4 T warm water to dissolve; sprinkle a little sugar to help it rise; pour this into the cool sima and stir; put a lid on it over night. In the morning strain the lemon pulp out. Pour the sima into Martinelli's bottles. Add 2-3 raisins and 1 t sugar per bottle before capping it.

Leave the bottles on the counter for a couple of days until the raisins swell and come to the top. Now it's time to place in a cooler place to chill it. Be careful when you open it! Open it at a slant with a glass under neath it to catch any spills.  Many are the stories of this drink being served over the years because of the yeast. 

Number Of Servings: 4 bottles