[Northshield] Sandbakkels, et cetera, was The Lefse Primer -- cooks, can you find similar things in period?

[elyse boucher]

Are you thinking of Sandbakkles or Fattimands Bakkles?

SANDBAKKLES

These are my FAVORITE cookies, and while perhaps not
perfectly period, the almond flavoring (rather than
modern vanilla) suggests that there is likely
something similar in period, particularly with the
first version. Unlike modern American cookies, they
are not sugar bombs.

3/4 cup butter, soffened
3/4 cup sugar 
1 egg white
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup blanched ground almonds.
4 unblanched almonds, finely chopped.

Mix thoughouly butter, sugar, and egg white. Stir in
remaining ingredients. Cover and chill, minimum of 2
hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. press dough into
bottom and sides of sandbakkler tins (a single serving
tart pan will do). Place on cookie sheet, bake 12-15
minutes. Cool. Tap moulds to release cookie. Finis.

This was the receipt I received from my great aunt,
Johanna Svensen, how she made them back in Norway. Jo
was a wild woman, and the family never quite forgave
her for marrying a Swede. I loved her to death,
though, and miss her still.

I sometimes add a little almond extract to make them
even more strongly almond flavored, and I often don't
bother with the blanched almonds, usuing just regular
ground almonds. I like the pebbly look it gives the
cookies, particularly since the name is "Sand Cookies"
in English.

This second receipt is the one from my mother, less
like what I think of as a period cookie receipt, but
still good and subtly different. It's a nice
illustration of the differences in regional cooking,
and in the changes that happen when the cookie crosses
the ocen. It's still very Scandinavian, it's just that
my mother loved things with booze added to them. Miss
her, too.

2 cups shortening or 1 cup butter, 1 cup margerine.
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp whipping cream
1 tbsp brandy (substitute almond or vanilla)
1 egg
6 cups flour

Cream shortening, sugar. Add cream, brandy, egg.
Slowly add flour until all is well mixed. Chill, then
press into tins. Bake at 350 degrees F until light
golden in color. Finis.

There is no cardamon in either of these recipes, as
you see. Fattiymands, however, does include cardamon,
and is a fried cookie that uses an IMMENSE amount of
eggs. It has even less sweetness than Sandbakkeler,
but is very good. I can't make them often because of
an allergy to eggs. I'd be interested in the period
cooks on this list chiming in with suggestions for
similar, period cookies.

FATTIYMANDS BAKKELSER (Poor Man's Cookies)
10 egg yolks
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon cognac or other brandy
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 to 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour.

In large bowl beat egg yolks and sugar about 10
minutes, until very thick and lemon colored. Stir in
cream, cognac, cardamon, and lemon peel. Mix in enough
flour to make a stiff dough. Cover and chill AT LEAST
3 hours. Heat fat or oil to 375 degrees F; depth of
fat should be at least 2 inches to ensure enough oil
for cooking. Divide dough in half. Roll each half very
thin on a well-floured board and and cut into diamond
shapes of aproximately 4" x 2". Make 1" slits in the
center of each cookie; pull one point of the diamond
through the slit and curl back in opposite direction
(i.e., you are putting a twist in the cookie). Fry in
fat about 15 seconds on each side or until light
golden brown. Drain. Store in AIRTIGHT container.
Before serving, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.
Finis.

Oh, man, I'm talking about Sandbakkeler and
Fattiymands Bakkeler, and right now, I'd give anything
to have a Krumkake iron, because I'd love to make some
Krumkake. LOL, isn't it strange how the mind works,
sometimes?

Yours, Merouda

--- erilarlo at chibardun.net wrote:

> At 12:34 PM -0600 12/20/04, Olaf Skytja wrote:
> >You can find it in most grocery stores here in
> Northern MN, not as good
> >as Grandma used to make, but not TOO bad :-)   Look
> in the refrigerated
> >section of a larger grocer.
> >
> 
> North of Eau Claire, in the area where I live, any
> halfway-large grocery
> store has lefse, too.
> 
> And I just remembered another Norwegian thing I made
> long ago called
> sunbuckles(this is almost certainly not the correct
> spelling). Nowadays I
> only make German Christmas cookies, but they share a
> spice with my Printen:
> cardamom.
> 
> Mary Loomer Oliver
>
-----------------------------------------------------------
> a.k.a. erilar
> For particulars try
> Erilar's Cave Annex:
> http://www.airstreamcomm.net/~erilarlo with its
> attached accounts of assorted mostly medieval trips
> to Europe.
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Northshield mailing list
> Northshield at northshield.org
> http://mailman.northshield.org/listinfo/northshield
> 


=====
Modern: Elyse C. Boucher, West Allis, WI
SCA: Merouda Pendray, Caer Anterth Mawr, Northshield
Per pale sable and Or, a gryphon segreant counterny within an orle of feathers counterchanged. http://www.merouda.com

This is an listread address. I may not see your response for several days. Mail requiring more immediate attention should be directed to merouda at hotmail.com. If I don't answer, then hotmail's spam filters ate your message; please try again.


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Send a seasonal email greeting and help others. Do good. 
http://celebrity.mail.yahoo.com