Let's Do the Twist         

 

National Cinnamon roll Day is almost here. As I promised, I'm adding a tutorial on how to roll, twist and braid  the bullar. Our favorite way is the twisted up individual rolls. It looks beautiful and  rather fancy but really is quick to learn. I've also included the famous Swedish Tea Ring as well as the braided bread without filling. The  basic roll up and slice is quickest and always looks appetizing.. Any way you cut it the presentation is beautiful and the taste....amazing.

After the dough has risen under a tea towel-about an hour, divide it into two balls and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then roll each one out into a rectangle:

Spread softened butter over the entire surface and then sprinkle with cinnamon and then vanilla sugar.
At this time you can also omit the cinnamon and do just butter and almond paste-this makes a unique treat which not many people have ever tasted!

grate or break up almond paste evenly over the dough

Next step-Here is where you do the twist!

Fold the sprinkled dough over in half and then with a sharp knife slice it into strips.

Pick up one strip  at a time and hold each end and twist from one end

roll it up and gently tuck the end under 

Then place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Here's how to do the basic roll

after spreading the filling, roll up gently with both hands

cut abut 1-2 inch slices and place on baking sheet.

Next- brush the tops with beaten egg and then sprinkle pearl sugar on top. Do this before letting them rise for about half an hour to 45 minutes. Chopped walnuts or pecans also taste great.

Ahhh...now the tea ring

roll as with the individual rolls

bring it into a circle and gently blend the ends together

slice-or cut with

scissors-part way into the dough and brush with the egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar

let it rise covered under a tea towel then bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Now, here's a bit more complicated idea-a five strand braid.

After the  dough has risen, divide into five equal sized balls- about the size of a baseball. They can be large for a larger loaf. Then roll out into long ropes-keeping care to have the same diameter from middle to end and equal lengths. I'm always a bit rushed with this and could improve my rolling consistency. It helps to have both palms begin at the middle of the ball and the gently roll out and working  towards the ends. 

working from right to left take the outside rope and weave it under over to the left side. Each time you begin from the right and with the outermost rope. How you start will be opposite from the previous row-if you start with over then the next row will begin with under. Continue this until the end and tuck under the short ends.

brush with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar and perhaps nuts. Bake until done-about 375-400 degrees and, depending on loaf size, about 25-30 minutes.

add coffee, invite some friends for fika..... and enjoy!

...

Kanelbullens Dag-Swedish Cinnamon Roll Day

                  Get ready, October 4 is Cinnamon roll day!

What's the big deal? This is not the grocery store bakery or factory produced and packaged pastry, or dripping with sugary glaze mall bun most Americans know.  Swedish Kanelbullar are nothing at all like cinnamon rolls we find here. In fact, they don't even compare. The typical Swedish cinnamon roll is a lightly sweetened yeast white bread with ground cardamon baked in the dough along with a vanilla sugar, real butter and cinnamon filling, with  a small pearl sugar topping baked on top-no icing, tack!
It definitely deserves it's own day of honor.

This holiday is relatively new. It was invented in 1999 by the Home Baking Council, a club of baking ingredient producers which is now run by the Danish sugar company Dansukkar. The company wanted to honor its 40 year history with a baking tradition. Seems the cinnamon rolls were perfect since they already were such well known and loved tradition all over Scandinavia.

I began experiencing life in Sweden and Finland back in 1978. This is when I first had the experience of "fika". Rarely is there a time when one visits a Scandinavian home when you don't have coffee and something sweet to go with it. Sitting down to "fika" is a ritual that I would tend to compare with the Japanese tea-although less formal and with few expected guidelines. It seems, though, that there must always be nice coffee cups, preferably with saucers, a clean table-not fancy, flowers perhaps, and always a plate of cookies and cinnamon rolls. I think the cinnamon roll is usual and  expected in most places.

My in-laws would always have a pretty plate  filled with cookies which they had baked and set out-one for each guest, plus, there always was a cinnamon roll for each person at the table. Farmor would count how many were left and ask who didn't have their roll or specific cookie. I could never cut down on sweets on those visits. Along with the traditional cookies they had grown up baking, often there was a new recipe they had tried from one of the Swedish homemaking magazines. If that cookie was very well received, it became a tradition. We have a few of those recipes which I'll share in my upcoming cookbook.

Sadly, Farfar and Farmor are gone but we still keep up that tradition of baking the bullar and serving them with coffee. Only at Christmas though, do we add in the large array of beautiful Swedish cookies.

It took me years to perfect this recipe-with the help of another friend who married a Swede and had lived and had a home in Sweden for some years. Flour and butter are a bit different in each country, and Swedes still use the fresh cake yeast and let it sit and proof in the liquid. Here, we are so used to "instant" everything so I have had  to use trial and error to get this process down.

From the exclamations of many friends over the years, our Swedish Cinnamon rolls are amazing. In fact, even today, when we are asked to bring baked goods, always the first request is the Swedish cinnamon rolls. I have looked around for decent vanilla sugar and pearl sugar and only find it online-or in Sweden. Right now I have a young friend visiting his parents back in Stockholm and I'm sending him out shopping for my kardemumma, vanilla sugar and pearl sugar. Fall is coming, Christmas will be here before I know it, and after this sweltering 100 degrees fades into a temperate fall, we will be ready to bake again...just in time for the October 4 celebration.

Cardamom from Sweden. It can also be found in many stores. I like to  grind mine first since it gives an even stronger aroma and flavor.

I let the warm milk and sugar and butter and yeast proof in the mixer bowl. It should look,like this before adding the flour and cardamon.

When the dough is mixed it should be a bit sticky. I then turn it out onto the counter for a final knead. I think the Ankersrum does a perfect job, but I like the true hands on feel and satisfaction of  a  "just right" feel of  the dough.

rising beautifully under a tea towel

This recipe divides into about four good sized lumps. I roll them out one at a time, smear softened butter all over and sprinkle with cinnamon and vanilla sugar. I've used "other" vanilla sugar not from Sweden and they suffice. Also, I've substituted vanilla extract into the dough before mixing . It's good to be innovative with with you have around in the kitchen cupboards.
There are even recipes for making your own vanilla sugar with the actual vanilla bean submerged into powdered sugar. I think I'll experiment with that soon.

Here is the finished result...I'll post as soon as I get back to my kitchen the how to of  rolling  and twisting and  the various shapes-even the  famous Swedish Tea ring is made with this recipe.

I  THINK   EVERY   DAY   IS   A   GOOD   DAY   FOR  A  SWEDISH  CINNAMON ROLL !



RECIPE FOR SWEDISH KANEL BULLAR

Ingredients

1 1/3 sticks of butter

2 ¼ cups of milk

5 tsp dry yeast

½ tsp salt

2/3 cups of sugar

1 egg

1 tsp crushed  cardamom seeds

6 cups of flour

Filling:

softened butter

vanilla sugar- or granulated sugar

cinnamon

Pearl sugar 

walnuts or almonds

almond paste -grated

In a small sauce pan heat the milk, sugar and salt till just warm. This is about 105 – 100 degrees. Add the butter and let it melt. Far far taught me to add an egg here and it makes the rolls very moist-it is an option.

Next, place liquid in the mixer bowl to proof the yeast.

Sprinkle the yeast over the liquid and gently stir it in until just wet. Let it set for about  10 minutes. You will see it become foamy and bubbly. This tells you the yeast is active and working. I always make sure to do this step before adding any other ingredients. If the yeast is too hot it won't work -and it definitely won't work if the liquid is too cold. The key is to  learn by touch what is the best temperature. If I can put my finger into the liquid and keep it there even though it's a bit hot-then its about right. If I have to take it out-too hot.  We learn by doing and I have had my share of sad ,small, unchanging lumps of dough that won't rise.

Next,add the crushed cardamon and begin adding the flour. I add one cup at a time so I can gauge the amount-it's easier to add than to take away! The best dough is ready when it is pulling away from the sides of the mixer bowl and is still just a bit sticky to the touch yet can still be handled.

Once you have a nice lump of dough , place it in a lightly greased then flip the dough over so the greased part is on top, cover with a tea towel and let rise-about 30-45 minutes.

When the dough has doubled in size, uncover and punch it down with your fist and let it rest.

Divide into  two and begin the forming of the rolls. 

On a  lightly floured surface use a rolling pin and roll out the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick.

Spread softened butter over the surface, and then sprinkle with  vanilla sugar and cinnamon.

If you don't have vanilla sugar then regular sugar will work. 

Another option is to grate almond paste and sprinkle over the butter, omit the cinnamon-then roll up and slice as below.

Pre heat oven to 450

Option one:

Roll the rectangle up and slice about  1 inch apart. 

Place rolls on cookie sheet lined with baking paper and brush with whipped egg then sprinkle with pearl sugar.

 Cover  the rolls with a tea towel. Let rise for about 30  minutes. I like to set the cookie sheets by the warming oven away from drafts. They seem to rise nicely this way.

Bake for 5-7 minutes-until lightly golden on the tops

Option two:

Roll out the dough into a 1/2” thick rectangle, spread with the  softened butter and sprinkle the vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Next fold over in half- from the long side of the rectangle, cut ½ inch strips and hold each end in your fingers and twist from one end and then roll up into a spiral. Place on the cookie sheet and brush with egg and sprinkle sugar on top.

You can also do a braided loaf without a filling. These taste wonderful with coffee in the morning. This was always a staple in Finland.

FarFar often places his small bullar in paper cups and sprinkled them with chopped walnuts or almonds along with the pearl sugar. Our American cupcake papers are too small but now days we can find all sizes of paper cups. They freeze nicely this way  and look festive when serving with other small cookies.

Almond Orange Squares-Gluten free while not even trying to be!

I know the rage is all gluten free and I get it. A few years ago our eldest son introduced the Primal Diet and Crossfit workouts. For a time the whole family was converted and we ate no grains and very little sugar (well,... kind of and most of us). Although I think we already were very healthy eaters and I always served a big variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, we did make many meals stretch with pasta and potatoes and home made breads. The activity level of this household is a work out in itself. In fact, many of the kid's visiting friends complained that coming here was like going to a PE class. I always said that my kids run for fun. Our back yard has a  circus rope to climb up and swing down from the tree, pull up bars, ping pong table, and even lots of mud where they dig holes for fun.
This no grain, lots of  meat and  nuts and vegetable diet and crazy workouts  is good and we still adhere to it I would say about 75% of the time. When I was trying to lose the last pounds from bearing 9 babies, I really became a bit more diligent and focused more on workouts and diet. It's a hard things to follow all of the time. The test of my faithfulness to all this came with my last trip to Sweden and when our son told me to not eat any bread or dairy there !!! Really? In Sweden? Sorry, I couldn't adhere to that , yet, I do know that moderation and not over eating and staying active each day is really the key to healthy living.

So, back to these amazing almond bars. We fell upon this in one of our basic cookbooks and were amazed. It doesn't take any flour. Sure, there is a bit of sugar in the almond paste, but for those who truly have found gluten to be a culprit,  they will be delighted with this treat. It is still the one our son requests. These are the main ingredients-plus eggs:

Winter in California brings a load of citrus to  many people here and around the world.

It seems just about every other house has an orange, lemon, tangerine, or grapefruit tree. Most trees are loaded with fruit and much of it goes uneaten. This winter we happened upon friends who had extra  oranges and mandarins for us to pick. The real treat has been the blood oranges. My kids love to climb trees and are ready to brave the thorns and gather in the fruit. Much of it is within reach so I stand at the base and pick what I can and also catch the falling ones.

blood orange

They are intriguing to look at-almost like a pink grapefruit but still a juicy sweet orange. We usually juice them and try to freeze some for later. I say try because everyone wants some and it is quickly gone. This year I added them to this recipe. The taste is much the same as a navel orange-it's the color that is so amazing.
So, with the load of oranges, my birthday present of Blue Diamond Almond paste from  a dear friend whos hubby works for the company, and a block of dark chocolate, we were ready to make this up once  again. Only thing lacking was that our lazy backyard chickens were taking a  winter break from egg laying. Oh well, eggs are pretty inexpensive.


Almond Orange Squares with Dark Chocolate

Set oven to 350

400g of almond paste- (14 oz)
zest from 1/2 an orange
juice from one orange
4 eggs

Garnish
125g or 4 oz of  dark chocolate-add more if you like it thick!
sliced almonds-optional

Line  a  8 x 12 inch or 10 inch square pan with paper. I think this works best but if you don't have parchment paper it works to grease and flour the pan. I usually double this recipe so I use a glass rectangular baking dish.

Grate the almond paste into coarse chunks. Add the orange juice and zest.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in smaller mixer bowl.

Beat the egg yolks, one at a time, into the almond and juice mixture, beating well after each one.

almond mixture

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Here is where I always love my hand mixer-look for them at garage sales and thrift stores. They always come in handy-no pun intended!

egg whites

Carefully fold the egg the egg whites into the almond mixture. Spread onto the  prepared pan.

baked to a perfect golden color

Bake on a low oven rack for 25-30 minutes. 

Once you remove the pan from the oven, immediately place your chocolate on top so it can melt and be smoothed out. If you like, you can grate your chocolate . I put these thick squares down and they melted perfectly.

I've also used all the left over chocolate bars and chocolate chips in the cupboard and it makes a great topping.. Sprinkle with almonds if you desire . Cut into squares. I learned my lesson and tried to cut them after the chocolate cooled! Works best when the chocolate is still warm and soft.

Enjoy!
I think I might try another batch with these beautiful tangerines.....

Henna Inspired Gingerbread Cookies- pausing to reflect, regroup, and rejoice.

Christmas 2014 has come and gone. As I sit in a quiet and empty house (for only a few hours), I think of all the flurry of activity that has transpired the past week. I am also thinking of the past 10 years and the Christmas memories we have accumulated. It was  almost 10 years ago that I had my ninth baby. That year was also the year we sent our first child off to college. In the last nine years  we lost both Farmor and Farfar in Sweden and my three grandparents who lived into their late 90s. Each of these past years we always had December to look forward to as kids returned from college and we had church programs and concerts and Nutcracker ballets to attend. December was always a no school month for sure. We always made Swedish crafts; yarn  tomtens, woven hearts, egg carton tomten girls who are singing and knitting.

And of course, we always baked Lucia bread for St Lucia Day, made a list of cookies from Farmor's recipes, perfected dream cake  and small candies. The highlight of December festivities has been the making of gingerbread houses. This tradition began over 20 years ago when I found a small kit with three cookie cutters-the roof, sides and gabled ends- plus a decent recipe. That first year we invited over two young kids from church who's father was dying. It was such a fun event that we have reenacted it every single year since. We cannot have December without the gingerbread house day. It is always a  challenge to find an open day for everyone and to invite friends. The  real challenge comes when each of the kids wants to invite a friend or two. With nine kids and each of them  inviting a few friends...well the house production becomes exponential!!Everyone is encouraged to bring a unique candy or interesting food item to share. The most  pre-fab houses I have made  is about 30. It is  quite a production. Then there is the icing-or the cement as we call it. Bowls of that are mixed up and served up to the construction site or table. As the years have gone on and the kids get older the houses became more unique-some dream cottages, others log cabins, and some modern structures. We get more and more creative with edible things becoming decorations; pretzels become logs, almonds become singles. When we look at the guest list we try to invite kids who are going through lonely times, perhaps have never made a ginger bread house, or just new people we have met. The list is intentional and deliberate. The mix is always interesting and important. In the past few years  the crowd has gotten older and louder and more lively. I no longer have to go around holding up walls and saving collapsing homes- even more wonderful. The past few years have seen the kids all take over and roll out the dough, assemble the homes for others, and especially clean up the sticky table and crunchy floor.

As we look back and share the creations and the joy of small children and of  kids in their teens and 20s I think if the traditions that have been established here. It didn't start out with an intention to create a tradition for the kids. I was always more about creativity and fun and making everything a learning experience. perhaps even an excuse to call everything school! In hind sight I realize most of what I was doing was trying to create Swedish Christmas for my husband and for the sake the kids to enjoy what was going on in their father's homeland. I hoped that they would be able to relate to his past and to enjoy the beauty of Christmas in Northern Sweden. As I watched them all make Christmas happen this year, I realized that the traditions are theirs now. They will do this whether I do it or not! An they have added in a bunch of new friends who enjoy the traditions and add in some of their own. One thing is for sure, there will be Swedish food and baking, candles, and especially dancing. Always dancing. Oh how they love to dance with each other! We bring out the old Mora Trask CDs and the Swedish folk dancing music and it's childhood fun with today's friends for hours. As I write this I remember the first  young girl we invited to make houses and realize that my kids have run into her  this year at swing dancing and now she is a mother!

Swedish cinnamon rolls-same thing is always good

I'm thankful for the opportunity to have been at home all of these years raising up a small flock. I have been able to design the home life to be warm, fun,creative, sometimes serious, always with God as the One we trust above all, and to seek after Him in all that we do. And, of course, I have fallen short. What I've longed for with all the kids is playing out according to God's timing and will for their lives- not mine. Yet, as I watched the girls help me out this year with all the shopping and using their own hard earned money, inviting, decorating, baking and serving, I had a sense that the traditions were a steadfast reminder of God's steadfast love for us. The world is changing quickly and getting more confusing. Morals wane, Truth is being challenged and diminished  and pushed aside, selfishness abounds in us all and the Lord Jesus is taking far second, at best, in our daily lives. Yet, in His word I learn we can come back to Him always. As long as there is night and day and seasons we can be reminded of his faithfulness.

"The steadfast love of the Lord
never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23


This year, I went back to college after leaving it 32 years ago with only semester left for a bachelors degree. I had quit in 1982 to do the next step in my life. I am reminded of the mind of  a 20 year old as I remembered mine from back then. Today I live  among five of my children in their 20s and I'm praying for more wisdom and grace -daily. This Christmas I taught a young mother who isn't Swedish how to make a dream cake. She learned  it in one day and presented hers far more beautifully than I ever have done! Our two eldest children are now married and had their first Christmas away from the family as they live in  Washington DC and London. We have had a sadness about that for sure. But, we still made Lucia bread, Kanel bullar, dream cake and Farmor's specialty-mocha medallions!
The house is getting noisy again. I don't mind but I'm putting in the headphones. Gearing up for the next year as I finish my bachelors degree in Art and all the while comparing classes and professors and culture with three of the kids who are also in college. Our eldest is coaching me along with Statistics as we plan what in the world I might be doing next year with only two kids left at home to school.

The Lord makes the plans. I love the Psalms. They speak to my heart throughout this journey.

                                    "He put a new song in my mouth,
                                       song of praise to our God.
                                       Many will see and fear,
                                     and put their trust in the Lord.

                                   Blessed is the man who makes
                                       the Lord his trust,
                                     who does not turn to the proud,
                                      to those who go astray after a
                                           lie!
                                     You have multiplied, O Lord my
                                          God,
                                      your wondrous deeds and your
                                          thoughts toward us;
                                      none can compare with you!
                                  I will proclaim and tell of them,
                                       yet they are more than can be
                                                     told"

                                              Psalm 40: 4-5

Here's my gingerbread recipe. Although there are so many out there , I liked this one because I found it scribbled in the back of one of Farmor's old cookbooks. None of the recipes out there are very different from each other. I got good reviews on this one! I love henna designs and have a fondness for India-hence the fancy icing designs. Please enjoy!


GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Set oven to 375

2 1/2 sticks of butter-or 1 1/4 cup
2 cups of sugar
1/3 cup of molasses
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely ground cardamon
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 cup of water
about 6 cups of flour

In a small pan heat up the sugar and syrup on low until all mixed together-not cooked -just mixed. Add the butter and transfer to a mixer bowl.

In another bowl combine the spices and baking soda in about 4 cups of  the flour. Stir these together  with a fork so they are well mixed.

Add to the sugar and butter and syrup. Add the water and mix on medium while adding the rest of the flour a cup at a time.














Add enough flour to make a dough that is workable but not too stiff.

Slightly sticky is OK.. Let it chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Take out dough and let it soften. Roll out onto  a floured surface. Roll from the center out until dough is about 1/4" thick and  then cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Lift up gently with a spatula,

Hearts are always nice.

                                                          

before baking use a straw to put a hole in the hearts so you can hang them in the window or on the tree

Place directly onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 8 minutes. Cool before removing from the pan.

Icing
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Beat egg whites until light. Add the lemon juice and then the powdered sugar  a cup at a time. Pipe through a pastry tube-or place a few spoonfuls in a plastic zip lock bag and then snip a tiny bit from the bottom corner. Squeeze out gently. Takes a little practice but very fun. It becomes a little like drawing.