Compiled by Betsey Norgard
Velkommen Jul is one of Augsburg’s most popular traditions, a Scandinavian welcome to the holiday season. Augsburg alumni and friends look forward each year to the splendid banquet of sweets and treats provided by the Augsburg Associates.
Enjoy these cookie recipes that come from the hands and hearts of the Associates. Some recipes date back generations to family members who attended Augsburg Seminary in the late 1800s.
Join us at Velkommen Jul on Friday, December 4, beginning with Chapel at 10:15 A.M.
Grandma Rand’s Krumkake
1 pt. whipping cream
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
Pinch of salt
1 c. milk
Whip cream until stiff. Add sugar gradually. Mix vanilla and add flour and salt, which have been sifted together. Add milk slowly, beating constantly. Bake in krumkake iron, a teaspoonful at a time (no more). Remove from iron and roll immediately. Makes about 10 dozen.
Berliner Kranser
2 hard cooked egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 raw egg yolks
1 c. butter
2-1/2 c. flour (use less)
salt
vanilla
Mash cooked egg yolks with fork. Add sugar and work into a wet and pasty mixture. Add raw egg yolks and mix well. Add butter and mix. Add flour, salt, and vanilla. Take dough about the size of a walnut and roll into pencil shape about seven inches long. Form a ring, overlap ends (like a pretzel). Dip in raw egg white, then into crushed loaf sugar. Bake at 325 degrees until light brown.
Fattigmann
6 egg yolks, 3 egg whites
6 Tbl. sugar
6 Tbl. cream
2 Tbl. melted butter
6 cardamom seeds
flour
fat for frying
Beat egg yolks and whites together until thick and lemon colored. Add sugar and continue beating; add cream and beat again; blend in butter. Crush cardamom seeds to powder and add with enough flour to make a dough firm enough to roll. Roll thin as paper, cut into diamond shapes about 5 x 2-1/2 inches. Deep-fry in hot fat 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Mom’s Rosettes
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. sugar
3/4 c. milk (can use whole or skim)
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
canola or vegetable oil for deep frying
Heat oil in a deepfryer to 375 degrees. (Be sure to have a thermometer in the oil as you fry the rosettes and maintain an average of 375.) Put the rosette iron in the oil as it heats—a hot iron and oil temperature are most important for crisp rosettes.
Batter: In a deep bowl, lightly whip the eggs, salt, and sugar with a fork, just to mix. Don’t overbeat it. Combine the milk, water, and vanilla. Alternately add 1/3 of the liquid and 1/3 of the flour to the egg mixture and repeat until all are mixed. If the batter isn’t smooth, put through a sieve to remove the lumps.
Lay out paper toweling on cookie sheets to cool the rosettes after frying. Have a bowl of sugar for dipping the hot rosette into after it comes off the iron. A couple of forks will be useful to remove the rosette from the iron.
With hot oil and hot iron at 375 degrees, and absorbent cloth or several paper towels ready, quickly remove the rosette iron from the oil, quickly shake off any excess oil over the deepfryer, dab the iron on the paper towel, and quickly immerse the iron into the rosette batter—not going over the top edge of the rosette iron—and quickly return the iron to the deepfryer. After about 15-20 seconds in the oil for a light brown color, gently remove the rosette from the iron using a fork. Be sure to keep the iron in the oil heating as the rosette continues to brown; turn it with the forks to get uniform browning; and remove from the oil with the forks and place on paper toweling with the hollow side down to drain off any excess oil. While warm, dip in sugar. Cool completely and store in large cookie tin in a cool place. Makes approximately 36 rosettes.
Jule Spritz
1 c. butter
1 tsp. almond extract
2-1/2 c. flour
4 small egg yolks (or 3 large)
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Cream sugar and butter, add almond extract and egg yolks and beat well. Add flour and salt. Put cookie dough in cookie press and press out cookies on cookie sheet. Decorate with red and green sugar. Bake about 12 minutes at 400 degrees.