By Chloe Ellefson, Museum Curator
From the Chloe Ellefson Mysteries
by Kathleen Ernst
Almost everyone has favorite food traditions that emerge around the holidays. Even people who don't spend much time thinking about heritage often treasure Grandma's cookie recipes.
My parents pride themselves on being among the dwindling group of Wisconsinites who can claim "pure" Norwegian heritage. Some of my earliest Christmas memories involve food. My mom really goes nuts for the holidays! Here are some of her favorite Norwegian Christmas cookies.
Goro, from the oldest recipe, are made in special griddles that produce pretty designs.
Sandbakkeler (sand tarts) require lots of little molds. The finished cookies are often filled with jam.
Rosettes are formed on irons and deep-fried.
Fattigman, known as "poor man's cookies," are cut into diamonds, slit and twisted, and fried.
Krumkaker are made on a special irons and formed into cones.
Sirupsnipper (syrup diamonds) also require special cutting. They are a bit like gingerbread, but sweeter and crunchier.
When I was a kid, I often wished that my mom baked some of the cookies my friends brought to school. Cookies with colored frosting. Cookies with chocolate or other gooey and wonderful things.
My attitude has changed, though. These Norwegian cookies are delicious, and they pay homage to my ancestors.
They're also putzy to prepare. I realize now that my mom fussed over these cookies as a way of showing love for her family and friends.
If you have the good fortune to receive a tin of Norwegian cookies, know that they were made with affection and care. Happy holidays!
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Giveaway! Name your favorite holiday cookie or treat in a comment below, and you'll be eligible to win the Chloe Ellefson mystery of your choice. Please leave email (such as sue.smith <at> gmail.com) so I can contact the winner. Giveaway ends at midnight on Tuesday, December 19.
To learn more about the award-winning Chloe Ellefson series---including the newest, Mining For Justice, see Kathleen's website or follow her on her Facebook Author Page.
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Our new tradition is Dirty Brownies (Layered chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate sandwich cookies & Brownies) nut growing up it was the rum balls!
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
Kelly Braun
Gaelicark(at)yahoo(dot)com
My friend Debbie's homemade pumpkin bread. schmokercarol(at)yahoo(dot)com
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ReplyDeleteWe make homemade pecan caramels which are amazing. Some of the other Christmas treats we used to make seem to have fallen by the wayside, and those traditions being gone makes me a little sad! [email protected]
ReplyDeleteThe chocolate sour cream cookies my mother made. patwalkerp(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy favorite traditional cookies: Dutch Jan Hagel cookies (similar to a sliced shoftbread with nuts). Between my Grandma, Mom, Aunts and those from my generation, these cookies remain a stable at family gatherings. servedogmom AT Yahoo DOG com
ReplyDeletemy favorite are molasses cookies; thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeletejslbrown2009 at aol dot com
All of these cookies look wonderful! Some of them remind me a bit of pizelles, which I enjoy. When I think of a cookie recipe being handed down through the generations, I think of the date nut pinwheels my grandmother and mother made. My sister and I continue the tradition today. Merry Christmas to everybody and thanks for the chance to win a Chloe book. She is one of my favorite characters! suemngirl(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI have some recipes from my grandmother. My favorites are her butter cookies and peanut butter whirls.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Too many favorites to pick one: chocolate chip, ginger snaps, peanut butter blossoms. dbahn(at)iw(dot)net
ReplyDeleteI like lemon cookies because they aren’t overly sweet.
ReplyDeletesgiden at verizon(.)net
_our favorite is a Hungarian cookie , like apricot foldover. [email protected]
ReplyDeleteMy favourite is almond london. It is famous in south east asia. Basically it is made up of cookies mixture and we shaped it into an oval and put a whole almond or almonds crushes in the middle before we bake it and coat it with chocolate.❤
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My favorite holiday cookie has to be the cut out cookies like you mentioned. I can remember my brother and I decorating cookies all day changing up colors of icing from time to time. I still do this with the younger generations to keep that tradition going. I also love all the candy recipes my Mom passed down as well as the tradition to fix up little boxes with assortment of all the candy to take to friends. I continue to do the same thing but we take them to the elderly and shut-in visiting with them a while when we take it to them. Don't know which they treasure more the box of goodies or someone spending time with them. Either way the smile on their faces make all the time in the kitchen well worth it. Plus the time in the kitchen with Mom's recipes brings back such sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance! <3
2clowns at arkansas dot net
My favorite treat is spice bars. They are so yummy! kristilewis dot lrc at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cookie is a lemon biscotti which is light,tart and crunchy. What a delight to eat this treat with tea. That is a special delectable cookie which I look forward to enjoying greatly. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy mother's favorite cookie to make was Spritz, and I always think of her when I have one (or two or three.) If I win, I would like The Light Keeper's Legacy. Thanks for the opportunity. bobwiesmann (at) gmail (dot) com
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to choose just one cookie. My family's tea cakes and my grandmother-in-law's spritz cookies make me nostalgic. Thank you for the chance to win. Dmskrug3 at hotmail(.)com
ReplyDeleteI love the Peanut Butter Blossoms they have the candy kiss in the middle. [email protected]
ReplyDeleteI love Rosettes. Years ago I bought my Mom a rosette iron so she & I could learn to make these wonderful cookies. It was fun to duplicate the Rosettes we'd had at a bakery on one of our trips through New England. Maybe it's just the memory or maybe it's the sweet, crunchy taste of powdered-sugar covered Rosettes but they are my favorite Christmas cookie. [email protected]
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cookie at Christmas is the butter cookies I make from a family recipe. Yum! lkleback at hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas treat is �� Cherry Cheesecake.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance.
Carol Smith
penelope223(at)yahoo(dot)com
What beautiful cookies! My favorite holiday cookies are shortbread. Thanks so much for the giveaway and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThose are so fancy and SO gorgeous! Wow! Unfortunately, I'm not a very good chef or baker, but I try! :-) My favorite cookies are sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles. I love them! ❤ Thank you for the chance and for sharing your family's story. Happy holidays, everyone! tarafarah7(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cookie at pecan tassies or the snowballs. When my mother was a live she would make balish and kalashki. Not sure on the spelling but I haven't been able to make it the same way as she did. roneader53(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteFavorite holiday treat is pumpkin pie. Thanks for the chance! [email protected]
ReplyDeleteCornflake cookies are my favorite. They're ugly, but are really yummy. turtle6422(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteLinda chocolate Truffles. So melty.
ReplyDeletecjreynolds52(at)comcast(dot)net
I have made the sand tarts many times but lack a rosette iron, so haven't attempted that yet! I really like buttery spritz cookies this time of year! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com
I love penuche during the holiday season.
ReplyDelete[email protected]
I love gingerbread.
ReplyDeletejtcgc at yahoo dot com
My favorite is a date filled cookie. Don't know their proper name. nettiem(@)toledotel(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThese Norwegian cookies look delicious. My friend makes the best pecan pie only for Christmas. Thank you for this chance! areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas cookies are the Walnut Ball Cookies and the Pecan Crescent cookies my Mom used to make. My Sister and I usually make them every Christmas.
ReplyDeletediannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
My favorite cookie is peanut butter blossom. Thanks for the chance. Maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteWow those are amazing. I would love to eat them! Not a big cookie fan, but my brother and his wife spend a few days baking all sorts of cookies. I send them to friends and she sends them to her family. I think if my friends have anything to say about it, this will be a tradition, lol. kayt18 (at) comcast (dot) net
ReplyDeleteI've done rosettes and love them. Our Fattigman are called just bow knots (Italian) and we sprinkle them with powdered sugar and drizzle honey over them. Yum!! catwoman-1(at)comcast(dot)net
ReplyDeleteVera Wilson said,
ReplyDeleteI like homemade chunkies (raisins/chocolate chips/pecans. Always a special treat for Christmas.
snoopysnop1 at yahoo.com
I love peanut butter blossoms. I also enjoy making fudge, haystacks, and chocolate chip cookies. Then there's my chocolate peanut butter chip cookies and oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. ematov(at)comcast(dot)net
ReplyDeleteA lot of work goes into the cookies shown.
ReplyDeleteI like ginger snaps.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Borbon balls. My husband makes really good ones.
ReplyDeletebrowning gloria@ hotmail
Love SnickerDoodles.
ReplyDeletermmoss2(at)gmail(dot)com
My fave holiday treat to make is my chocolate dipped bourbon balls
ReplyDeletejohnnabooks(at)hotmail(dot)com
Iced sugar cookies.
ReplyDeletelorih824 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Fudge, Snicker Doodles [email protected]
ReplyDeleteMy favorite holiday treat is fudge. Good old chocolate fudge ... there's nothing better at Christmas time! acate9(at)utk(dot)edu
ReplyDeleteSometimes I get the Pepperidge Farm Cookies, like the Gingerbread Men.
ReplyDeletecatbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com
Just a plain old chocolate chip cookie is my favorite. Followed by Rosettes and Anise (Springerle). michelleh topag.net
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is chocolate mint cherry fudge that my hubby makes.His fudge is a favorite gift to many at Christmas time. jluebke(at)frontier(dot)com
ReplyDeletePeanut butter fudge is still my favorite. doward1952(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteOur Grands love my husbands homemade Rice Krispy Treats with colored sprinkles.
ReplyDeleteLibraryLady80 (at) gmail (dot) com
judy
Peanut butter cookies with a Hersey kiss [email protected]
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is a lemony cake cookie with maraschino cherries. [email protected]
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cookies are shortbread and snickerdoodles.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child we had two elderly Norwegian ladies living across the street, and they always made a shoebox full of these delicious treats for us. My favorite was the krumkaker. Cheryl L. bmhschoir(at)att.net
ReplyDeleteGotta be chess pie. Can't have Christmas or Thanksgiving without it.
ReplyDeleteLove to bake and would love this book
ReplyDeleteMarlene Ezell here. I love the Moravian cookies that are a little like ginger snaps. They are thin and crisp. When I was in college at Meredith in Raleigh, NC, I would always go to the Moravian church sale to get them.
ReplyDeleteezellmarlene(at)gmail(dot)com
These are wonderful, Kathleen, thank you for sharing. My favorite Christmas cookies are decorated sugar cookies and chocolate crinkles. But mention grandma's cookies and I have to put a vote in for molasses crinkles and blonde brownies. And now I'm getting hungry!
ReplyDelete[email protected]
My cookie are the white powder ones. They melt in your mouth.
ReplyDeleteKrumkake!!! From Kari Gordon
ReplyDeleteRum Balls! I still make them, and store in the same silver bowl with copper lid that my grandmother always used just for them.
ReplyDeleterlstanfill at juno dot com
Butter fudge would hit the spot today. jenne(dot)turner(at)unt(dot)edu
ReplyDeleteThe cookies are visual masterpieces.
ReplyDeletelibbydodd at comcast dot net
We make rosettes. We even have my Grandmother's iron's. I just read Mining for Justice what a GREAT read. Thanks see you at the Lake Millls Library in Jan. [email protected]
ReplyDeleteMy grandmas peanut butter cookies. But I like all cookies! [email protected]
ReplyDeleteI love old fashioned gingerbread. I also make toffee bars though.
ReplyDeleteFavorite is butter cookies, because we make them in so many shapes and they taste fantastic. yummmm [email protected]
ReplyDeleteChocolate crackles!
ReplyDeleteThese are absolutely beautiful! I love to make all types of cookies, but meltaways are my favorite! Thank you for sharing!! konecny7(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Daniele K! Daniele is the winner of a Chloe Ellefson Mystery of her choice. Thanks to all who left comments---you made me eager to look up some recipes and get baking. Best wishes to all for a peaceful holiday season.
ReplyDeleteif i want to buy all these cookie mold where can i buy it from?
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