KRUMKAKE
With fall approaching I thought it would be a good time to start sharing some of my favorite family cookie recipes! Many Norwegian-American homes serve Norwegian cookies at Christmas, but my family serves them at virtually all get togethers which includes Thanksgiving! If you were to ask me which Norwegian treat is my favorite my answer will likely just be whatever I have had most recently, so in this case it is krumkake!
This cookie is very delicate both in how you eat it and how it tastes. It has a subtle sweet taste that hits your tastebuds perfectly. It is also very light which offers the opportunity to eat a whole bucket of these if you wish! The recipe is certainly packed with some less healthy items like lots of sugar and butter which means you may need to just stick to half the bucket. I made a batch of these this past weekend and walked some down to my neighbors to give them a few. While I was gone, our foster dog Izzy and new puppy Mae just had to have a taste too. I came in the door with Izzy looking super guilty next to an empty gallon ziplock bag on the floor... no crumb in sight. I blame our puppy Mae although she wasn't at the scene of the crime. She is more daring in the counter scavenging department than Izzy. Izzy however, does a great job on cleanup duty. She just missed the ziplock!
RECIPE
2 sticks melted butter
1 c sugar
5 eggs well beaten
1 1/2 c flour
vanilla to taste - I do about 1 T
Makes ~ 3 dozen
TOOLS
Krumkake Baker
2 Krumkake Rollers
Clean Ice Cream Buckets - for storage
PREPERATION
Beat eggs thoroughly and then slowly add sugar while still mixing.
Add flour in slowly as well by folding it into the batter following with the butter. Doing this slowly ensures you do not get blobs of sugar or flour in the final cookie.
Add vanilla and continue to hand mix until everything is smooth.
Turn on the krumkake baker and wait for the signal that it is warm. Newer versions offer a green light when it is ready for use.
Pour about 1 tsp of batter onto each hot iron form. Close lid locking it in place (if yours offers a locking mechanism- this allows for very thin cookies) and let the cookies to bake for approximately 10-15 seconds.
After the first 10-15 seconds, check the cookies to see if they are at desired coloring. The goal is to have them cooked, but only slightly brown or no browning at all.
Once complete, use a fork or knife to lift an edge onto one of your rollers and roll the krumkake into a ice cream cone shape. It is best to have 2 rollers so you can get both cookies off the grill before one gets too dark and also gives both cookies a chance to fully form around the roller.
Once cool, remove the roller and set aside.
Repeat until all batter is used and store in a bucket. The bucket helps keep the cookies from breaking during transport.
This is a quick picture showing the batter on the grill. The batter will be on the runnier side. It may take a few times to get the perfect amount of so that you don't have any overages in the pretty design. If you do, just trim off and enjoy the trimmings on ice cream or as a special treat while you bake!
Here are two cookies in the cooling process. It doesn't take long for them to cool and form.
Here are a few cookies still on the grill. They are a little on the darker side because I was getting my camera ready while they were still cooking. They tasted just as great though so no issues there!
For fun I played around with the cookies to show the variety in shape. I am not perfect each time on the exact amount of batter to pour leaving some shorter and larger. As a kid I just made sure I grabbed one of the big ones as soon as dessert was put out after the turkey was eaten. Ok so I grabbed two big ones! The trick is you put one inside the other and your elders have no idea you have 2 as you quickly leave the kitchen area! Enjoy!
