Finnish Sauerkraut Salad

Hapankaalisalaatti

Description:

Served often at most of our Finnish dinners growing up and on Christmas Eve. 

Ingredients:

2 cups sauerkraut, drain some liquid

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (red pepper too at holiday 

time)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3 T vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

• Combine water and sugar in a small kettle and bring to a boil.   

• Boil for approximately 5 minutes.   

• Allow to cool some.   

• Add vinegar and salt to sugar and water mixture and cool some more. 

• Pour syrup over sauerkraut mixture.   

• Stir well.   

• Cover and chill for about 5 hours before serving.   

• Easy one to make ahead of time. 

• Keeps well if refrigerated.

Veggie Tails and Flowers for Fancy Veggie Basket

My Mother began making fancy cut veggie baskets for special occasions after I left home, so I didn't have the chance to watch or help her much. Now that she's passed to the other side of the veil I had to recall, search for photos of her vegetable basket and online to "see" how to make various veggie tails and flowers.  In addition I asked myself questions.  I began to get some inspiration of my own--possibly from her whispering suggestions in my ear.  I felt her nearby as I thought of her, which made for a priceless time.   

What follows is how I make radish roses, green onion tails and stems, carrot crinkles and flowers, jagged cucumber circles, celery tails and turnip flowers. 

Norwegian Christmas Cookies

We just love our exchange student daughter from Norway!   Last night she and the other Scandavian girls in our town shared their Christmas traditions with their host families at a Christmas party.  I made these "thumb print" cookies.  She'd never seen or heard of them before, but I know they make thumbprint cookies in Finland.  They were tasty, but who can go wrong with butter and sugar?

Norwegian Butter Cookies
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Any flavor jam or jelly (raspberry is my favorite, pictured here with strawberry jam)

Cream butter and sugar well.  Add sifted flour and salt.  Mix until dough forms a ball.  Chill overnight.  Shape into 1/2 inch balls.  Press an indentation into each cookie ball with your thumb.  Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes.  Take out of the oven, let cool.  Fill each indentation with jam or jelly.

By the time they finished baking they'd spread and my son asked, "Did a giant make these thumbprints?"

I also made Finnish gingerbread cookies and Finnish Christmas tarts to share.  She and another Norwegian girl made cookies with potato starch flour.

Norwegian Christmas Cookies
1 1/2 cups potato starch flour
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla sugar (I get mine at IKEA.  I imagine you can just use vanilla.)

My husband and I looked at each other and said, "There can't be that much potato starch flour in the recipe, but there is and they are delicious!  They crumble in your mouth and leave it feeling a bit sandy.

Lion House Wassail is the Best

We served this at our daughter's birthday party because she tasted Wassail and loves it!  If you make one, make this one.  Lion House Wassail

Rated: Submitted By: Audrey Wariner Photo By: Juno Suks At Cooking But Eats Servings: 36

"This recipe is Great! to have with or after Christmas dinner. It's one of our Christmas traditions."

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups white sugar 4 cups water 2 cinnamon sticks 1 slice fresh ginger root 4 cups orange juice

2 cups lemon juice 8 cups apple juice 8 whole allspice berries 1 tablespoon whole cloves

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large saucepan, combine sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and add cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cloves, and ginger. Cover and let stand in warm place for 1 hour.
2.	Strain liquid into a large pot. Just before serving, add juices and cider and quickly bring to boil. Remove from heat and serve.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 1/8/2010

Cardamom is the secret in these gingerbread cookies

Title: Piparkakut (Finnish Christmas Gingerbread Cookies)

Description:
My Mother says, "The aroma of these cookies baking takes me back to my childhood in Finland." We make various large to small sizes of these in heart shape and hang them in the kitchen window during Christmas. Heart is the symbol of Christmas in Finland. We also had plenty of other shapes to eat as well.

Ingredients:
3/4 c margarine or butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 T dark Karo syrup
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ground cardamom
1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 c flour

Directions:
Cream margarine and sugar. Add egg, spices and syrup. Then add flour and soda sifted together. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Roll out on floured surface very thin and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake on a very lightly greased cookie sheet about 5 min at 375 degrees. Do not overbake! Store in an airtight tin and they will keep "forever".

Carrot and Rice Casserole

Tonight is Recipe Party!  I've missed the last two months and I'm determined to go this time.

Our theme is Holiday Favorites.   Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without pulla, but I've already made that for them.  And we always have rice porridge and I've already done that for them.  So, when I asked my Mother what her holiday favorite is she named this casserole.  Of course there are other casseroles and many sweets too that are traditional and favorites.  I can hardly wait to make the Joulu Torttuja (prune tarts), but since I only make those once a year, so I'm not doing them yet!  Many of you listed your favorites on my Facebook page too.  I appreciate that.  I hear I need to try and make divinity for example and other candies. 

While my family gets frozen lasagna, I'm making this carrot and rice casserole for the ladies tonight.  Well, I hope I get it done in time!  I'm way behind schedule because I'm on the computer selling Scentsy as a fundraiser for our boys's gymnastics during the holidays!  

Title: Porkkana Laatikko (Carrot and Rice Casserole)

Description:

This is the traditional Finnish Carrot and Rice Casserole served at Christmastime in Finland.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1 cup half and half

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons brown sugar

salt to taste

2-3 Tbs. chopped almonds

Directions:

Boil carrots in salted water until done. Drain and save the water. Remove carrots from pan and add enough water, if necessary, to make 1 1/2 cups pour rest of of liquid back into the pan and let it come to a boil. Stir in uncooked rice. Cover and steam on low for 20 minutes. Meanwhile mash cooked carrots. Add half and half, beaten egg, and brown sugar, mixing well. When rice is done, stir into carrot mixture, adding salt to taste.  Pour into a well greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

A great compliment for meat dishes, especially ham. Freezes well.

Number Of Servings: Serves 6-8.

Preparation Time: Boil carrots for 20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I prefer black strap molasses

Today, on the 12th day of Christmas, I made Finnish Gingerbread cookies at my Mother's. We'd been too busy earlier in the season. I was out of dark karo syrup and had heard one could use molasses instead. I used black strap molasses and it gave them the dark color they need. The smells were incredible and although it's time to have the oldest man in the village come to our home and sweep out the straw (it's what they decorate with in Finland), it felt we should keep Christmas up awhile longer. A friend on facebook asked for the recipe today, so here it is again.

Title: Piparkakut (Finnish Christmas Gingerbread Cookies)

Ingredients:
3/4 c margarine or butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 T dark Karo syrup (or black strap molasses)
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ground cardamom
1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 c flour

Directions:
Cream margarine and sugar. Add egg, spices and syrup. Then add flour and soda sifted together. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Roll out on floured surface very thin and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake on a very lightly greased cookie sheet about 5 min at 375 degrees. Do not overbake! Store in an airtight tin and they will keep "forever".

Hubby makes Prime Rib

After I cooked (yet had lots of help from all of the family) several traditional Finnish Christmas dishes on Christmas Eve, my hubby decided he'd make the dinner on Christmas. He chose prime rib.

Here are some pictures he took while he was making it. I know he packed it with just the right granulation and amount of salt and tested the temperature often.

When it came out of the oven, we put *yesterday's casseroles back in cooling oven to reheat as we'd opted to just have left overs for the rest of the meal:)

Wonderful Roasted Prime Rib

The recipe my hubby used says "This method makes the BEST roasted prime rib. It never fails to produce a tender/juicy prime rib for me. Don't worry, the salt mixture will not affect the taste. It's purpose is to seal in all the flavor and juices".

SERVES 10

Change to: Servings US Metric

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

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Ingredients

• 1 (3 lb) box of morton kosher salt
• 4-6 lbs prime rib roast

Directions

1. Slowly add a little of the water to the Kosher salt and stir; then add a little more water and stir. Continue until the salt becomes the consistency of "snow" so that you can "pack" it on the roast and it sticks like snow (Sometimes you may need a little more or less of the water) -- YOU DO NOT WANT TO DISSOLVE THE SALT.
2. Pat some of the salt mixture in a foil-lined pan in a rectangle big enough to put the roast on.
3. Place the roast on the salt and pat the remaining salt mixture on the roast, covering completely.
4. Inset a meat thermometer.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for about 2 hours.
6. (140 degrees for rare, 160 for medium).
7. Remove the roast when the thermometer registers 5 degrees BELOW desired doneness.
8. CRACK AND REMOVE ALL OF THE SALT CRUST.

*Christmas Eve Dinner included:
smoked salmon
rye bread
havarti cheese
rye and rice pastries (karjalan piirakka)
egg butter
ham
sauerkraut salad
rutabaga casserole (my Dad made this:)
carrot and rice casserole
potato casserole
strawberry rhubarb kisseli
pulla
lingonberry juice

Merry Christmas! Hyvaa Joulua!

Merry Christmas!  Hyvaa Joulua!  

We are busy in the kitchen making

Joulu torttuja, piparkakkuja, pulla, kisseli, karjalan piirakka, porkkana laattikko, and so on.  

We have posted a few of our family Christmas photos (work in progress) at http://theadamsfamilyphotos.blogspot.com 

Leave us a note here in the comments section.  

We're crazy for Krazy Cake!

My kids are crazy about snowmen and penguins this time of year. I found some great penguin and snowman silicone cupcake pans in the after Christmas sales and needed a good dense cake recipe to make them up with.  I chose Krazy Cake or Wacky Cake as some call it . I got the recipe from another Mom whose son used this recipe in our Cub Scout cake contest last year.
Krazy Cake

In a large bowl, stir the following ingredients:

2 C sugar
3 C all purpose flour
1/3 C cocoa (I like Dutch processed when I can find it)
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

Add the following ingredients (don't stir until all wet ingredients are
in the bowl):

2 C cold water
3/4 C oil
2 Tbsp vinegar

Mix all ingredients well. You can stir by hand - an electric mixer is
not necessary. Pour batter into a well greased 9 X 13 pan and bake at
350F for 25-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

What do you make with pomegranites?

It was time for the annual Ward Christmas Party. We had great local entertainment and it was fun to have the kids visit Santa Claus again. The youth served us potatoes and beef and the salads and desserts folks brought. I wanted to use some great pomegranites we had, so I looked around and chose

Pomegranite Apple Salad I found at http://kosherfood.about.com/od/koshersaladrecipes/r/pom_apple.htm. It was yummy and colorful.

INGREDIENTS:

• DRESSING (can be made days in advance):
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• SALAD (make fresh):
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 pomegranate, seeded
• 1 green apple, chopped

PREPARATION:

DRESSING:
1. In a food processor, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard and onion. After the ingredients are well blended, slowly add in oil.
2. Pour dressing ingredients into a jar. Add poppy seeds and shake well.

The A-K Christmas Cookies are Here!

Each year our dear friends, whom we no longer live near, still UPS us a plate of their Christmas cookies. I just counted 15 varieties on the plate!!! They have been baking one type a night since early December. Then they freeze them and finally arrange them nicely on a plate and deliver them. Our family always anxiously awaits their arrival and love this tradition.

A good Finnish Hostess offers 7 varieties

We had our Home Teacher and his family over for dessert this week. He is such a great home teacher who always come prepared to teach our children and offer them a new physical challenge, which he ties into teaching the gospel, they love and we appreciate as parents.

We served cookies and hot chocolate. An "Old World" Finnish hostess must serve 7 varieties at her "hot chocolate" table. My Mother always had quite a spread. The 7 varieties we ended up serving include:

1. The traditional American Butter Spritz Cookies
My Mother said she just used the recipe included with her Spritzer, so since I don't know what it is, I googled Spritz, read several and chose this one found at
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1910,157180-228196,00.html
Yield approximately 4 dozen.

Cream 1 cup butter. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract. Blend in 2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour. Divide dough into thirds.Add a few drops red food coloring to one third. Green coloring to one third.

Leave one third plain. Fill cookie press with each color or combine colors for rainbow effect. Form into desired shapes and decorate. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Finnish Joulu Torttuja -- you'll find my Mother's recipe posted here under December
2006
3. Six Layer Cookie Bars -- my sister-in-law's version you'll find posted as FHE Baked Bars here November 2007. My husband likes her version better because it's not so gooey!
4. Belgian Speculaas Cookies -- Sunset magazine's recipe is posted December 2006. My husband's family and our guests each have special ties there.
5. Pull aparts -- bread dough rolled in melted butter, then dipped in brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. They are then arranged in a bundt pan and baked at 350 degrees. I also remember these from my childhood, but hadn't had them in years.
6. I ran out of time to make Finnish gingerbread, so so I served Anna's from IKEA.)
I was just sending this recipe to another Mom who is making them for me for our kids' School Christmas party, so here's My Mother's recipe.

Title: Piparkakut (Finnish Christmas Gingerbread Cookies)

Description:
My Mother says, "The aroma of these cookies baking takes me back to my childhood in Finland." We make various large to small sizes of these in heart shape and hang them in the kitchen window during Christmas. Heart is the symbol of Christmas in Finland. We also had plenty of other shapes to eat as well.

Ingredients:
3/4 c margarine or butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 T dark Karo syrup
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ground cardamom
1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 c flour

Directions:
Cream margarine and sugar. Add egg, spices and syrup. Then add flour and soda sifted together. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Roll out on floured surface very thin and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake on a very lightly greased cookie sheet about 5 min at 375 degrees. Do not overbake! Store in an airtight tin and they will keep "forever".

7. And our guests brought Oreo cookies dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy -- her trademark for dressing up any cookie! She says she just melts chocolate chips in the microwave, dips any cookie halfway and either adds sprinkles or drizzles chocolate on it.

Serve Raisin Soup over Rice Porridge

I'll make a quick post of the Raisin Soup recipe Finns pour over their Rice Porridge. The rice porridge recipe is in the previous post.

Rusina Soppa (Raisin Soup)

6-7 cups water
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks cinnamon
3 tablespoons potato starch (you can substitute corn starch)

Place water, raisins, sugar and cinnamon sticks into a kettle. Let it come to a boil. Lower heat to medium and let boil for 20-25 minutes. Mix starch in a little cold water. Take kettle off burner and whisk starch into the soup. Place kettle back on burner for a couple of minutes. Remove from burner and pour mixture into a pitcher or bowl large enough to contain. Sprinkle sugar on top. This keeps a film from developing. Cool and keep at room temperature. DO NOT KEEP IN REFRIGERATOR, as the soup will separate and become watery.

No Crock, it's Crock Pot Rice Porridge

Tonight is our recipe exchange themed "Crock Pot Recipes". The idea being that in this busy month, we need to eat good food amidst the sugary temptations and hustle and bustle. There are a myriad of foods, even beverages, one can make in a slow cooker. Stephanie Ashcraft from
http://www.recipes-101.com/ says, "The slow cooker can do what no oven or stovetop burner can--cook flavorful and healthy food while its owner goes blissfully about the business of the day."

If you are new to crock pots or slow cookers, I suggest investing in one or both of the 101 books Stephanie Ashcraft has -- each full of 101 recipes for beverages, dips and fondues, main courses, side dishes, desserts, along with suggestions for how and what to serve with each dish, time-saving meal preparation tips, and easy modifications to fit your family's tastes.

I'm anxious to try her wassail, hot chocolate, appetizer meatballs, and fondue during this busy Christmas season. It sure has me thinking about what else I can make the slow cooker way.

For me, it's also about which traditional foods I'll make anyway this month, can I make the slow cooker way, while I'm blissfully doing other things and time them ready to serve when I need/want them served. Since I want my rice porridge ready for Christmas morning, and since I'm blissfully busy Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, I'm going to try this out and see if it will work to have it cook overnight and be ready for breakfast to serve with Pulla boys and girls. (See my Dec. 20006 pulla blog for the recipe.)

So, today I'm going to try something different -- make rice porridge or "Santa Food" as my nephew calls it, in a slow cooker. It will be interesting to see if it turns out this way or not.

Okay, here's the traditional recipe I use to make Rice Porridge on the stove top. My plan is to combine all of the ingredients in my greased slow cooker, cover it and cook it on low heat for 4-6 hours, or until the rice in done.

Title: Riisi Puuro (Mummo's Rice Porridge)

Description:
Often served as the dessert on Christmas Eve or as the breakfast on Christmas morning with a lone almond placed in before serving. The one who gets it in his/her bowl will receive good luck in the coming year.

Something new I read in Christmas in Finland edited by World Book, Inc. Staff, World Book Encyclopedia, is "the almond bearer must rise to entertain the others or may be assigned a job for the day to earn his or her good fortune." Oh, this will be fun to incorporate into our tradition starting this year!!


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
3 cups boiling water
1/2 t salt

4 cups of milk (can use mixed powdered milk)
1/2 cup sugar
2 T margarine
1/2 c heavy cream

Directions:
Steam covered for 20 minutes on low. Then start adding milk, stirring it well and let cook on a little higher heat. Stir occasionally, adding more milk when needed. Keep adding milk until it is all used up. It usually takes about 1/2 hour. Then add 1/2 cup of sugar or a little more and 2 T margarine and stir well. After the porridge is done, you may add (optional) 1/2 c heavy cream for a real creamy taste. If making for Karjalan Piirakka, (posted later) omit the sugar and heavy cream.

Serve warm with either milk, cinnamon and sugar or traditional Raisin Soup (posted later) poured over it. I'm not a raisin fan, so we're used to the first version.

The lid to my slow cooker broke, so I heard I could just place foil over it instead. It works!! I read a slow cooker tip you may find useful also. To speed up cooking time, place the ingredients first into an oven bag and it will speed up you cooking time -- especially useful when slow cooking a roast.

Since I'm in the market for a new crock pot or slow cooker, I saw this advertisement for one I think I'll find especially useful. http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/products/cooking-slow-cookers.phpSome of its features include:
# Clip-tight lid locks on to prevent messy spills
# Large, full-grip handles make carrying easier
# Convenient lid rest keeps lid out of way for stirring and serving
# Dishwasher safe stoneware and lid

Check it out at: http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/products/cooking-slow-cookers.php

Just click here and bam the cookie recipes appear!

I love quick access to recipes online. That's why I post mine on my blog.

This is good to keep handy with Christmas coming.

So just click on the red title above or click on the individual recipe below and bam the cookie recipes appear!

Special thanks to my blog mentor J.C. for showing me the codes to use to get this to work.


1-2-3 Cookies
7 Layer Cookies
Allie Nelson's Famous Snickerdoodle Cookies
Almond Crescent Shortbread
Amish Sugar Cookies
Andies Candies Cookies
Angel Crisps
Angenets
Applesauce Cookies
Apricot Fold-Overs
Aunt Edy's Molasses Crinkles
Auntie Linda's Ginger Gems
Bakeless Dream Cookies
Banana Drop Cookies
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World
Biscotti
Biscotti
Blueberry Cookies
Boiled Chocolate Oatmeal Drop Cookies
Bronwnies
Brown Sugar Shortbread
Brownie Cookies
Brownie Delight
Brownies
Buccaneer Snowballs
Buried Cherry Cookies
Butter Cookies
Butter Nut Balls
Butterballs
Butterscotch Haystacks
C.O.P. Cookies
Candy Cane Cookies
Candy Cookies
Caramel Shortbread
Cheesecake Brownies
Cherry Buns
Cherry Crowns
Cherry Winks
Chewies
Chewy Noels
Chinese Chews/Haystacks
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Meltaways
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Christmas Trees
Chocolate Cream Cheese Squares
Chocolate Crinkles
Chocolate Mint Snow-Top Cookies
Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (no bake)
Chocolate Snowball Cookies
Chocolate Streusel Bars
Chocolate Sundae Cookies
Chocolate Walnut Crumb Bars
Choco-Scotch Crunchies
Choose A Cookie Dough Recipe
Christmas Crackers
Christmas Crunch Bars
Christmas Ginger Snaps
Christmas Macaroons
Christmas Mice Cookies
Christmas Shaped Cookies
Church Window Cookies
Coconut Cookies
Congo Squares
Cookie in a Jar
Corn Flakes Cookies
Cornflake Christmas Wreaths
Cowboy Cookies (oatmeal)
Cream Cheese Cookies with Apricot Filling
Cr me De Menthe Chocolate Squares
Cr me Wafers
Crescent Cookies
Crispy Crunchies
Date Nut Balls
Date-nut Pinwheel Cookies
Diabetic Peanut Butter Cookies
Disgustingly Rich Brownies
Doodles
Double chocolate chip cookies
Double-Chocolate Crinkles
Eatmore Cookies
Eggnog Cookies
Elizabeth's Sugar Cookies
Elves Quick Fudge Brownies
Emily Dickinson's Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Emily's Best Brownies
Famous Oatmeal Cookies
Firemen Cookies
Fluffy Shortbread Cookies
Forgotten Cookies
Frosted Peanut Butter Brownies
Fruit Cake Cookies
Fruitcake Squares
Fry Pan Cookies
Gems
Ginger Cookies
Ginger Crinkles
Gingerbread Baby
Gingerbread Cookies with Butter Cream Icing
Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread Men
Ginny's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Glory's Golden Graham Squares
Glory's Sugar Cookies
Gramma Chapman's chocolate coconut drops
Grandma Elsie's Zimt (cinnamon) Cookies
Grandma J's Butter Cookies
Grandma Olson's Parkay Cookies
Great Grandmothers Sugar Cookies
Gum Drop Cookies
Gumdrop Gems
Haystack Cookies
Ho-Ho Bars
Holiday Cereal Snaps
Holiday Chocolate Butter Cookies
Holiday Raisin Walnut Bars
Holly Cookies
Hungarian Cookies (Little Nut Rolls)
Ice Box Cookies
Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies
Italian Cookies
Jacob's Peppermint Snowballs
Jam Bars
Jessica's Famous Brownies
Jessie's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jubilee Jumbles
Juliet's Peanut Butter Blossoms
Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Kentucky Colonels
Kiefle (cream cheese cookies with jam filling)
Kifflings
Kiss Cookies
Lacy Swedish Almond Wafers
Lemon Angel Bar Cookies
Lemon Bars
Lemon Cake Cookies
Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
Lemon Squares
Linzer Tarts
Log Cabin Cookies
Luscious Lemon Squares
M&M Cookies
Magic Cookie Bars
Melt in Your Mouth Cutout Sugar Cookies
Melting Shortbread
Meme's Cream Cheese Cookies
Milk Chocolate Florentine Cookies
Mincemeat Cookies
Mincemeat Goodies
Molasses Cookies
Molasses Forest Cookies
Molasses Sugar Cookies
Mom Mom's Crescent Cookies
Mom-Mom's Ginger Cookies
Mom's Nutmeg Sugar Cookies
Mom's Old Fashion "Puffy" Sugar Cookies
Monster Cookies
Moravian Christmas Cookies
Nana's Famous Soft Southern Cookies
Nitey Nite Cookies
No Bake Chocolate Cookies
No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
No Bake Cookies
No Bake Cookies
No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
No-Bake Cookies
Norwegian Sugar Cookies
Nut Balls
Oatmeal Bars
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Nut Cookies
Oatmeal Coconut Crisps
Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Scotchies
Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies
Ooey Gooey Caramel Chocolate Dunk
Ooey Gooey Squares
Orange Slice Cookies
Parking Lot Cookies
Peanut Blossoms
Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Peanut Butter Cereal Cookies
Peanut Butter Chewies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter fingers
Peanut Butter Reindeer
Peanut Butter Surprises
Peanut Marshmallow Cookies
Pecan Puff Cookies
Peppermint Snowballs
Peppernuts
Persimmon Cookies
Persimmon Cookies
Petey's Yummy Spicy Almond Thins
Pfeffernuesse
Pffefferneuse Cookies
Pineapple Filled Cookies
Pizzelles
Potato Chip Cookies
Potato Flake Cookies
Praline Cookies
Praline Strips
Pterodactyl Nests
Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Cookies
Queen Biscuits
Quick Cookies
Raised Sugar Cookies
Raisin Filled Oatmeal Bars
Raspberry Meringue Bars
Really Peanutty Butter Cookies
Reese`s Brownies
Reese's Peanut Butter Bars
Rich Flavor Christmas Cookies
Rich Lemon Bars
Ricotta Cheese Cookies
Royal Almond Christmas Bars
Rudolph Cinnamon Cookies
Russian Tea Cookies
Russian Teacakes
Samantha & Kelsey's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sand Art Brownies
Santa Claus Cookie Pops
Santa Claus Cookies
Santa's Butterscotch Melts
Santa's Shorts
Santa's Special Squares
Scotch Cakes
Scotch Shortbread
Scotcharoos
Scotcheroos
Seven Layer Cookies
Short Bread Cookies
Shortbread
Skor Squares
Snicker Doodle Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles
Snow Balls
Sour Cream Apple Squares
Sour Cream Christmas Cookies
Special K Cookies
Spice Cookies
Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Spritz Cookies
Stained Glass Window Cookies
Stir & Drop Sugar Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Swedish Pepparkakor (Pepper Cake) Cookies
Swedish Sugar Cookies
Sweet Marie's
Swiss Treats
Taralle (Italian Cookies)
Tea Time Tassies
Texas Brownies
The Best Shortbread in The World
Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprint Cookies
Toffee Squares
Traditional Christmas Sugar Cookies
Traditional Gingerbread Men Cookies
Triple-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vanilla Waffer Balls
Walnut Butter Cookies
Walnut Crumb Bars
White Chip Chocolate Cookies
Wild Oatmeal Cookies
Will's Famous Apple Jack Cookies
Yummy Yummy Peanut Butter Blossoms

Making Doughnuts

Title: Raised Doughnuts

Description: My cousins make these doughnuts every year near Christmas (usually Christmas Eve) and deliver them to friends and neighbors. You can see them delivering donuts by bike and making them in their new aprons December 23, at www.ciresplace.blogspot.com.

My cousin said, "Our family tradition came about because on a very snowy Idaho Christmas in the late 50's or early 60's they were homebound. No one could travel to see us or we to see them. Velva announced, "We'll still have fun. Let's make doughnuts" (she actually said, 'spudnuts', which is what you would make if you were in Idaho!) So we made this delicious treat on what became a memorable Christmas Day. . . We now have friends who eagerly await their doughnuts each year."

Ingredients:
2 packages or 2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
4 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2/3 cup powdered milk
2 cubes butter or margarine, softened
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
12 - 14 cups flour

Directions: Add warm water to mixer (I use my Bosch.) Add yeast and part of the sugar. Let sit for five minutes. Add powdered milk, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs. Mix slightly. Add three cups flour, mix together, then while mixer is on slow sped, slowly add remaining flour until dough begins to leave sides of bowl. Knead dough for 3 - 5 minutes.

Place in large bowl and let rise until finger leaves an indentionPunch down and take about 1/4 of the dough and roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with doughnut cutter (or we have also used a drinking glass with the top of the salt shaker for the hole :) (We used a medicine measuring cup to cut the center.) Let rise until doubled. Continue cutting doughnuts adding scraps to the new dough.

Fry in deep hot oil (375 degrees F) until browned, turning just ONCE. (We used our electric fondue pots and set our temp at 325 degrees.) Test the oil with a doughnut hole to make sure temperature is right. If you try to fry too many at once, the oil cools down too fast. My cousin says they fry outside because that fried oil smell isn't the favorite in the house. Drain on paper towels. While warm, dip into glaze.

Glaze: 1 cup water to each pound of powdered sugar. Place in a deep pan and heat until dissolved. Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tsp. mapleline flavoring. Glaze doughnuts on both sides and place on a rack over cookie sheet to drain.

Our family decided to make them last night as part of a birthday celebration and for a fun treat to eat. One of our kids said these are as good as Krispy Kreme which is saying a lot from them. My husband said they used to make doughnuts growing up too, so he enjoyed making these as well and said it's a great recipe.

We did share some of these doughnuts because this made 4 dozen and that is just too tempting for us. I'm sure we'll make them again and again. I want to thank my Arizona cousins for sharing their Christmas tradition with the rest of us. The cousins use www.myfamily.com to share recipes, photos, news and to just stay in touch between family reunions.

Making Our Mother's Pulla Recipe

Title: Pulla--Finnish coffee bread braid eaten in all homes in Finland. So common you can buy it any day there, but if you want it in the states you must make it yourself.

Often, served when you visited our family's home or if our parents came to visit you -- our mother's trademark!

She did not have this recipe with her when she came to the States nor had she been the baker in the home. The oldest girl in each family was the baker. So she developed this recipe with trial and error. Now other Finnish Americans, American neighbors and even Finns in Finland use her recipe as well. After making it for over 50 years, she can no longer make it herself. She even taught our Father to make it when she no longer could, but now many others carry on her legacy.

Ingredients:

3 T dry yeast, dissolved in 3/4 c. warm water

3 c hot milk, powdered is okay

3 c sugar or less

2 1/4 t salt

6 eggs

2 cubes margarine, softened at room temperature

3 T crushed cardamom

12-14 c flour It does need to be adjusted for sea level from high altitude with less flour. Add enough flour until it pulls easily away from your fingers as you knead it. She never measured, but knew by the look and feel.

2 more eggs for basting

Directions: In a large plastic tupperware type bowl (need the lid ready), add sugar and salt. Pour hot milk over them. Stir to dissolved. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 3/4 c. warm water. In another bowl, beat eggs then add to large bowl with milk, sugar and salt mixture, stirring well. (This cools the mixture so you can then add the yeast from small bowl). Add crushed cardamom, stir well. Add flour, a little at a time, then add margarine, working it in with your fists. On a floured surface, knead it for 8 to 10 minutes, adding enough flour if necessary to make it pull away easily and is smooth. Put the lid on your large plastic tupperware type bowl. 

Place it in the sink filled with hot water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Let rise to double--about when lid pops up. Because dough has so much butter and sugar, it is slow to rise, about 2 1/2 hours. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll about a cupful of dough, making a rope about the size of your two fingers and about 18 inches long. Make 3 or 4 ropes and braid together. Place on a greased cookie sheet or on baking paper sheets. Two fit on each sheet. Place a dish towel for over them and let rise for 1/2 hour. Baste with a beaten egg. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and "rae" pearl sugar, smaller in size than rock salt.  You can get this at Scandinavian shops.  

Bake at 375 for 12 minutes then turn the pan around in oven so it'll brown more evenly and bake for about another 12 minutes. *You may purchase french bread loaf bags from your local bakery section to put the loaves in.

Number Of Servings:  6 loaves
Preparation Time:   Plan a time when you can be around for 5-6 hours.

At Christmas time, leave off the rae sugar and after the loaves have baked and cooled, brush powdered sugar glaze on and decorate with red and green candied pineapple, cut in 1/4ths and placed alternating along braid. *For the Christmas deliveries, our Father cuts cardboard pieces the length and width of the pulla and covers them with aluminum foil. Once the pulla is on the board, he puts plastic saran wrap over the pulla and scotch tapes it underneath all the sides. Then they place a gift tag and red or green Christmas bow on it. One Christmas our Father made wooden bread boards which either had one of the other of her two mottos wood burned into them. Her mottos "The thing you share with others is the thing that you enjoy!" and "Breathes there a wife with soul so dead who to her husband has never said, this is my own real homemade bread!"

When one batch is ready, we'd don our red elf hats and go deliver the fresh pulla to the next round of friends or neighbors. Merry Christmas and Hauskaa Joulua!

I only made Christmas Pulla loaves for our extended family Christmas party shown here and to give my parents and siblings this Christmas and for our own family to enjoy. I know one of our brothers also made pulla loaves this Christmas for his family and yet another brother's daughter made it for their family too. Also there are several relatives, friends and neighbors who now make it themselves for their families as it's just not Christmas with out our Mother's Pulla!

In our family growing up and still in mine now, we make Pulla boys and girls to eat on Christmas morning with hot chocolate (we aren't coffee drinkers) and sometimes we have our traditional rice porridge with a lone almond for good luck to the receiver in it. It's always fun to stuff the raisins in for the eyes, nose and mouth. I'd always pick them out when it came time to eat them though. We made Pulla boys and girls this Christmas. Each person gets to decorate their own with hair and face how they want to.

I am so thankful for this tradition and getting to help my mother make it since I was 3. She said I asked her at 3 during Christmas, "Mommy are we running a bakery?" Now our children like to help make it and eat it too. Her legacy continues. Bread is the staff of life we were taught growing up. It is to be reverenced, enjoyed and appreciated.

Finnish Christmas Dinner Menu

I'm busy making prepations for my side of the family's Finnish Christmas dinner party. A typical Finnish Christmas Dinner includes ham, fish, casseroles and salads. Here is a suggested menu.

Ham
Porkkana Lattikko (Carrot Casserole)
Peruna Lattikko (Potato Casserole)
Lanttu Lattikko (Rutabaga Casserole)
Beet and Apple Salad or Cranberry Salad
Hapan kaali salaattii (Sauerkraut Salad)
Ruis Leipa (Rye Bread)
Sillia-- Pickled Herring
Gravi Lohi – Raw thinly sliced Salmon strips
Karjalan Piirakka (Karelian Rice Pastries)
Egg Butter
Sima
Desserts
Riisi Puuro – Rice Porridge w/ almond in it
Rusina Soppa – Raisin Soup
Pulla Cardamom (Coffee Braid)
Joulu Torttuja (Prune Filled Tarts)
Piparkakut (instead of gingerbread)
Assat S shaped cookies

The menu always includes casseroles. These are three that our mother always served on Christmas Eve. Casseroles were used because they didn't have access to refrigeration in those days, so they used root vegetables of potato, carrot and rutabaga. It's not Christmas to me if I don't taste these sometime during the season.

Title: Peruna Kiusaus (Potato Temptation)

Description:
I call it "Matchstick Potato Casserole". This is a potato casserole used in Christmas dinner, but also easy to make for any time of year.

Ingredients:
6-7 coarsely grated raw potatoes
2 cups chopped onion
2 1/2 - 3 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper

Directions:
Peel and grate potatoes into cold water. Grease a 913 dripper pan and put potatoes (drain of water) and onions in layers. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the potatoes to barely cover. Bake at 300 degrees for about 2 hours. Great served with ham or any meat.
Note: You may add 1 1/2 - 2 cups of cubed, cooked ham. If you are of "Scandinavian" origin, you may want to add a can of Anchovy Fillets with juice, but use less salt.


Title: Porkkana Laatikko (Carrot and Rice Casserole)

Description:
This is the traditional Finnish Carrot and Rice Casserole.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 cup half and half
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt to taste
2-3 Tbs. chopped almonds


Directions:
Boil carrots in salted water until done. Drain and save the water. Remove carrots from pan and add enough water, if necessary, to make 1 1/2 cups pour rest of of liquid back into the pan and let it come to a boil. Stir in uncooked rice. Cover and steam on low for 20 minutes. Meanwhile mash cooked carrots. Add half and half, beaten egg, and brown sugar, mixing well. When rice is done, stir into carrot mixture, adding salt to taste. Pour into a well greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

A great compliment for meat dishes, especially ham. Freezes well.

Number Of Servings:Serves 6-8.

Preparation Time:Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


Title: Lanttulaatikko (Rutabaga Casserole)

Description:
Even if Finns don't eat it, they make it for the smell at Christmas. Our mother always makes and eats it.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 lbs. rutabagas (yellower than the turnip)
1 1/3 cups half and half
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
3 eggs
3/4 cup dark Karo syrup
1/4-1/3 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1/2 t white pepper
salt to taste (remember some salt comes from the salted water you cook the rutabagas in)

Directions:
Peel and cut the rutabagas into very small pieces. (They take a long time to cook.) Cover with water. Sprinkle on some salt. Boil until soft. Mix half and half and and the bread crumbs in a small bowl and let "swell" while the rutabagas are boiling. Drain and save 1/2 c of the cooking water. Mash rutabagas very fine adding water. Add cream and crumb mixture into the mashed rutabagas, mixing well. Add beaten eggs and Karo. Season with spices being careful not to use too much nutmeg as it develops a stronger taste while baking. Salt to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Keeps well for several days in the refrigerator. Reheat to serve. Freezes well.

Speculaas Cookies from Belgium

Title: Speculaas Cookies from Belgium

Description:
In the Low Countries of northern Europe, St. Nicholas traditionally rewards good children with flat cinnamon-spiced cookies called speculaas. These crisp, sculpted-looking cookies were once commonly made in elaborately carved wooden molds, often handed down from one generation to the next. Today, speculaas are commerically sold year-round in Belgian, Dutch and German bakeries, usually as thin rolled cookies cut in simple shapes. Here is a quickly assembled speculaas dough from Sunset Magazine December 1980.

*Note: They were great! They disappeared very quickly--and some people we shared them with were delighted with the flavor--saying they preferred them over the gingerbread they were accustomed to eating at christmas. The cookies tasted alot like the kind we're used to, although I thought maybe they needed a little more cinnamon, and maybe a dash of nutmeg. Texture-wise they were more dense, and more crispy--yet-chewy than the commercial Lotus brand to which we've become accustomed. (Kind of like commercial chocolate chip cookies vs. homemade) After this year, I don't think I could go back to the commercial kind. This kind held up much better in the way we have come to love them: crumbled up in a bowl with cold milk poured over them and eaten with a spoon!


Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (*note: a dash more, and a dash of nutmeg if desired)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until creamy. Beat in egg until fluffy. In another bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, mixing at low speed until well blended. (note: The mixture will seem quite dry and crumbly, hard to keep together--almost like pie dough mix without any liquid added. If you let it set at all uncovered, or if it seems just too dry, add a teaspoon of water or so, if you must.) Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

To cut out with cookie cutters, roll well-chilled dough on a generously floured board to 1/16-inch thickness. Dip standard cutter in flour (or dust interior of molded cutter), then press into dough. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to a well-greased cookie sheet, placing them about 1/2 inch apart.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until edges begin to turn dark, about 6 to 8 minutes for thin, rolled cookies. Cool cookies on baking sheet 1 minute before removing them with a spatula to a wire rack. Cool completely: store airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks or freeze.

Number Of Servings:Makes about 4 dozen thin, 3-inch-square cookies.