December is without doubt my favorite month of the entire year. Not only is it my birth month, but also that of many of my closest friends, and the festive spirits that goes along with both birthdays and Christmas makes this a more carefree time where we can allow...
My aunt Gudrun was one of the best cooks I have ever known. She was widely known in my home town of Sykkylven for being an extremely knowledgeable and talented baker and homemaker, preserving traditions from our region of Norway that were hundreds of years old.
Every time I see "kransekakestenger" on a cookie plate, my mouth instantly starts to water. These soft, chewy, and flavor-packed concoctions contain only three ingredients but taste so heavenly it's easy to believe these take all day to bake when quite the opposite...
Today turned into the perfect day to bake. A mix of sleet and rain had developed overnight here in the Hudson Valley and it was freezing outside this morning when I took my dogs out for their first outing. We quickly ran back inside after the usual (yet unusually wet and short) walk, where I was met with the warmth of the kitchen and the smell of freshly brewed coffee…My mind instantly went to day #4!!
Berlinerkranser is considered as one of the “seven” in the traditional cookie round-up for Christmas, with its rich aromatic taste, and they are many people’s favorite. The baking of these can prove to be quite the test, but the result will be the most delicious Christmas cookies – I promise!
This is admittedly one of my absolute favorite cookies during the Christmas holiday; although not in the classic seven, I bet if you ask any family today in Norway you will get an acknowledgment and approving nod when mentioning “Brune Pinner”. These have been in families’ baking repertoire for quite some time in our country and are always a hit among the young and old. Chewy, crispy and moist all in one with a heavenly buttery taste with vanilla and cinnamon and a nice textural crunch from the chopped almonds they are topped with, this is a perfect accompaniment to your afternoon coffee.
Baking seven kinds of cookies for Christmas has long been a tradition in Norway. And why exactly seven, you ask? The number seven was regarded as a lucky number in the old days, which is why people felt the need to fill their cake boxes with this many varieties. While the seven types vary from region to region and family to family, generally speaking, they were smultringer, sandkaker, sirupssnippper, berlinerkranser, goro, krumkaker and fattigmann.
Spring is definitely here, and with that comes bounties of those gorgeous red and pink bunches, so versatile it can be made into both sweet and savory dishes. Rhubarb reminds me of summer in Norway - my mom would have a small area behind our stabbur (outhouse) where...
In part one and two I covered breads made with rye and whole wheat, so it's only appropriate that I include a bread made with barley in the final part of this series. To switch it up a bit, I decided to make some rolls this time, or as we call them in Norway...
Today is International Women's Day, and for some reason this day makes me want to research about how we used to be in the old days. While Norway has always had strong women and started practicing equal rights for men and women much earlier than in many other places...
December is without doubt my favorite month of the entire year. Not only is it my birth month, but also that of many of my closest friends, and the festive spirits that goes along with both birthdays and Christmas makes this a more carefree time where we can allow...
My aunt Gudrun was one of the best cooks I have ever known. She was widely known in my home town of Sykkylven for being an extremely knowledgeable and talented baker and homemaker, preserving traditions from our region of Norway that were hundreds of years old.
Every time I see "kransekakestenger" on a cookie plate, my mouth instantly starts to water. These soft, chewy, and flavor-packed concoctions contain only three ingredients but taste so heavenly it's easy to believe these take all day to bake when quite the opposite...
Today turned into the perfect day to bake. A mix of sleet and rain had developed overnight here in the Hudson Valley and it was freezing outside this morning when I took my dogs out for their first outing. We quickly ran back inside after the usual (yet unusually wet and short) walk, where I was met with the warmth of the kitchen and the smell of freshly brewed coffee…My mind instantly went to day #4!!
Berlinerkranser is considered as one of the “seven” in the traditional cookie round-up for Christmas, with its rich aromatic taste, and they are many people’s favorite. The baking of these can prove to be quite the test, but the result will be the most delicious Christmas cookies – I promise!
This is admittedly one of my absolute favorite cookies during the Christmas holiday; although not in the classic seven, I bet if you ask any family today in Norway you will get an acknowledgment and approving nod when mentioning “Brune Pinner”. These have been in families’ baking repertoire for quite some time in our country and are always a hit among the young and old. Chewy, crispy and moist all in one with a heavenly buttery taste with vanilla and cinnamon and a nice textural crunch from the chopped almonds they are topped with, this is a perfect accompaniment to your afternoon coffee.
Baking seven kinds of cookies for Christmas has long been a tradition in Norway. And why exactly seven, you ask? The number seven was regarded as a lucky number in the old days, which is why people felt the need to fill their cake boxes with this many varieties. While the seven types vary from region to region and family to family, generally speaking, they were smultringer, sandkaker, sirupssnippper, berlinerkranser, goro, krumkaker and fattigmann.
Spring is definitely here, and with that comes bounties of those gorgeous red and pink bunches, so versatile it can be made into both sweet and savory dishes. Rhubarb reminds me of summer in Norway - my mom would have a small area behind our stabbur (outhouse) where...
In part one and two I covered breads made with rye and whole wheat, so it's only appropriate that I include a bread made with barley in the final part of this series. To switch it up a bit, I decided to make some rolls this time, or as we call them in Norway...
Today is International Women's Day, and for some reason this day makes me want to research about how we used to be in the old days. While Norway has always had strong women and started practicing equal rights for men and women much earlier than in many other places...