Swedish Family Recipes

Glögg a spiced mulled wine drink

Lussekatter Lucia Cats (St. Luciasdag)

Lefse

Köttbullar Swedish Meatballs

Julgröt Christmas Rice Pudding

Swedish Apple Pie

Swedish Cardamom Cake

Skorpor

Anna Cajsa Blom's Potato Sausage ( Korv )

Anna Cajsa Blom's Rice Pudding

Mrs. Oberg's Saffron Coffee Bread

Mrs. Oberg's Kifflens

Glögg - a tasty mulled wine made traditionally at Christmas, but good in any cold weather. Trust me, it will warm you up quickly!

2-3 tsp ground cardamom

2 whole cloves

1 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon dried orange peel

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/3 cup Madiera wine

1 cup good-quality red wine such as burgundy

Put all of the ingredients in a stainless steel pan and slowly heat but do not boil. Strain and drink immediately or for stronger flavor, let spices steep for several hours or overnight; strain and gently reheat.

Lussekatter (Lucia Buns)- Traditionally served on the morning of St. Lucia's Day, Dec. 13

1/3 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine 1/4 teaspoon saffron

1/4 cup warm water 2 and 3/4 cups flour

1 package yeast vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar 1 egg

1 egg 1 tablespoon water

raisins

Put the milk and butter or margarine in a small saucepan. Heat until the butter or margarine melts. Mix the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Add the warm milk and butter or margarine mixture. Add the egg, sugar, salt, and saffron. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of flour. Mix well. Add more flour gradually until the dough is stiff. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Coat the bowl with cooking oil and put in your dough ball. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise until it is doubled in size. Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 sections. Roll each section into a rope. Cross two ropes in the middle and curl the ends into circles. Carefully place the buns on a greased cookie sheet, cover, and let rise until they are doubled in size. Mix and egg and water and brush the tops of the buns. Decorate with raisins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Lefse (the way my grandma makes it) - by Jen from the Scandinavian American Mailing List

5 cups mashed red potatoes

1 cube butter or margerine

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

Boil and mash potatoes. Add butter, salt and sugar. Mix. Cool uncovered overnight. Add flour. Make into 1/3 c balls. Chill balls for 2 hours. Roll and bake, 5# potatoes makes 2 batches. Each batch makes 14 lefse.

My grandma has a lefse grill that she uses, too, so I'm not so certain about the baking part. I think she just fries them on the griddle, but doesn't really fry them, if that makes sense.

Swedish Meat Balls- by Linda from the Scandinavian American Mailing List

I never met my Swedish Great Grandmother. My Finnish family always enjoyed making Swedish Meatballs for a family gathering. So here goes:

Meat Mixture:

1lb. ground beef Gravy:

1/4 lb. ground pork

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs 2 Tbsp. margarine or butter

1 cup milk 1 cup of half & half or beef stock

1/2 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. white pepper 2 Tbsp. cold water

1 egg

2 Tbsp. finely chopped onions

Combine meat mixture ingredients; beat with a fork and shape into meatballs (small ones about 40 or 50) Heat margarine in large skillet over moderate heat. Brown meat balls on one side about 2 minutes; turn and brown on the other. Reduce heat to low and cover pan. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove meatballs, pour off fat. Add half & half or beef stock. Blend constarch and water. Add to pan. Stir over moderate heat until mixture comes to a boil. Taste and if necessary, add salt and pepper. Serve gravy with meatballs. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy, Linda

Julegrot--the infamous rice pudding- by Ingeborg Knudsen Waldemar via Bergithe Astrid to Evelyn Astrid. Given to me through John A Wilde of the Scandinavian American Mailing List

Here is how I make the Julegrot (should be a slash through that "o"--yool-eh-gruhd). It translates as Christmas Porridge or Gruel.

Time: Approximately 5 hours. Equipment: Large heavy/thick bottomed cooking pot

Ingredients:

good quality white rice (brown will not work, not "converted" either)

water

salt

evaporated milk

one blanched almond (Don't forget to shop for the "almond gift.")

one white raisin

Cook the rice (with salt) as you normally would. This is where you add the salt, to whatever extent you usually salt your rice. Two cups of uncooked rice will make enough Julegrot for an army. Make sure the rice is thoroughly cooked. Do not change the proportions in anyway from the rice you would cook for dinner. Just cook rice. But cook it in a pot that will allow for significant expansion later.

Once the rice is completely cooked, the fun begins. You can now begin adding the milk. For one cup of rice, I plan on about 4-5 cans of evaporated milk, at a minimum. You can add as much or as little milk as you want, depending on your taste and desire for richness. Add the first can of milk and stir in completely over very low heat, but make sure it is cooking. You don't want it too low, but it shouldn't bubble up or brew either.

When this can of milk seems to be absorbed, add another can. You can add two at a time, but it will just take longer to absorb and you will tend to ignore it...and it needs to be stirred from the bottom often. If you are cooking for the army (two cups of rice or more), you might want to add two cans at a time at the beginning. Keep stirring and adding milk. Note that the cooking time is very long, so this absorption process should take a while. Near the end you might only add portions of a can at a time, to make sure it will be absorbed. I bet I have added up to 8 cans of milk to one cup of rice...yummy. Keep an eye on it. It will tend to form a crust on the bottom if not stirred well and will burn if you are not careful and then the whole things tastes bitter. In an emergency (if the bottom starts to burn), take the good portion of the porridge off the crust the minute you realize it, without getting crust into it, and transfer it to a completely new pot and keep going.

Just before serving, stir in the almond and maybe the raisin. The person who gets the almond receives the gift. There is a rumor that who gets the almond is rigged from year to year. But would you really believe that? There is a tradition we never followed that the person who gets the raisin washes the dishes. Since the recipient can just chew it down without mentioning it, this tradition seems to have some serious flaws and has been abandoned.

Rhonda's Favorite Pepparkakor-

Ingredients

1/2 c molasses 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c sugar 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg, well beaten 1/2 tsp ginger

2 1/2 c sifted all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp cloves

Instructions

Heat molasses in small saucepan to boiling point. Then boil 1 minute. Add sugar and butter and stir until butter is melted. Cool completely. Beat in egg. Sift together flour, salt, soda and spices. Add to first mixture and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl tightly and chill for an hour or so. Roll out a portion of the dough at a time on lightly floured pastry cloth. Roll out thin. Cut into desired shapes. Bake at 350 for 6 to 8 minutes. Yield: 10 dozen cookies The flavor will ripen after a few days when kept in an air-tight container.

Semlor - Fat Tuesday Buns- traditionally eaten on the Tuesday before Lent. Now they are eaten from January until Easter.

Preparation Time: 1 and 1/2 hours, serves 8

5 Tbs butter Filling:

1 cup milk 7 oz almond paste

3 pkg dried activated yeast 1/3 c milk

3 Tbs sugar whipping cream

1 egg, beaten Powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt Milk for serving, optional

3 c flour

Glaze: 1 egg white, beaten

Melt butter in a small saucepan, add the milk and let cool until 97 degrees Fahrenheit. The mixture should be feel warm but not hot. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Pour the butter and milk mixture into a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top, along with about a teaspoon of sugar. Let stand for 5 mins. in a warm spot.

When yeast has formed little bubbles in the liquid, add the rest of the sugar, one egg, salt, and flour. Mix well with a fork. Knead dough on a floured surface for a few minutes. Form dough into a ball and place in a bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Divide dough into two parts. Divide each part into about 5 smaller pieces and roll into balls that are a little smaller than a tennis ball. Place these balls of dough on a greased baking sheet, cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm for about 20 minutes. Brush top of each bun with the beaten egg. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375 until buns are a light golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a rack.

Filling:

When cool, cut a small slice off the top of each bun and set aside. Using a fork, scrape out the center of each bun and put in a bowl. Add the almond paste the milk, a tablespoon or two at a time, stirring until smooth. Spoon paste back into the buns. Whip cream until stiff. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the filling. Place lids back on each bun and sprinkle the top of the bun with powdered sugar. Semlor can be served at room temperature on a plate or, more traditionally, in a bowl with hot milk.

Clara Andreasson's Pepparkakor- this recipe and the next were contributed by a very nice genealogy client of mine, Don Andreasson of Michigan. They were his mother's recipes, which his so generously included in the packet of research info he sent me. They were a pleasant surprise! Don's mother's family came from Malmöhus.

1 c. butter & lard 3 tsp. grated orange peel

2 eggs 1/2 tsp cloves

1 c. sugar 1 tsp. soda

1 c. sirup 2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

About 5 c. flour

** No other instructions were on the recipe, but I would bake them at 350, and check on them after about 6 mins. to see if they're done. I think the orange will make a really tasty addition to this version of pepparkakor!

Clara Andreasson's Merry Cookies-

3 c. flour pinch of cinnamon

1 tsp salt 2 tbsp sour milk

1 tsp. soda 1 tsp almond extract

1 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla

2/3 c. Crisco 1/3 c. chopped nuts

2 eggs, beaten

Mix dry ingredients. Sift into mixing bowl. Blend in Crisco. Add eggs, milk, and flavorings. Mix well. Divide dough. Make some sprinkled with sugar.

**These would also probably do well at 350 degrees, just watch them until nicely browned.

Vörtbröd- This bread is best for "Dopp i Grytan", dipping into the broth made from the Christmas ham. YUM!

Preheat oven to 350° F.

* 1 and 1/4 c. beer * 1/2 c. molasses

* 2 ounces yeast * 1 tablespoon dried and finely ground orange peel

* 2 teaspoon salt * 1 teaspoon cloves

* 7 c. rye flour, sifted * 1 teaspoon ginger

* 1/2 stick butter * 3/4 c. raisins

Heat the beer to about 100° F. Stir the yeast in a small amount of the beer. Mix beer, yeast mixture and salt with 4 and 1/2 cups of the flour. Knead the dough well and let it rise under a towel until it doubles. Boil the butter, molasses, cloves, and ginger then let cool. Add to the dough, then mix in the raisins. Knead until pliable. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about a half an hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead well. Divide into 2 loaves, and place each into a greased loaf pan. Let rise again for a half an hour. Bake for about 45 minutes then remove from the pans to cool. Dip in the juices of the cooked Christmas ham!.

Kusin Jenny's Chokladbollar- While Jenny was visiting us, she made these great chocolate balls which between her, I, and my 2 little boys, they were gone very quickly. Easy for kids to make, and a must-try for true choco-holics!

1 and 1/4 c. oatmeal 1 tsp. vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp. sugar and a dash of vanilla will do)

1/2 c. sugar 2 Tbs instant coffee

3/4 stick butter 3 Tbs. cocoa

Colored sprinkles of your choice

Melt butter. Mix all other ingredients into the melted butter and let cool. Roll into walnut sized balls, then roll in sprinkles.

My Famous Swedish Apple Pie-

4-5 medium apples, peeled and sliced 1 stick butter

1 cup sugar (for crust) 1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar (for sprinkling) 1 egg

2 tsp cinnamon (or more to your taste) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/8 tsp. cloves optional 1/4 cup dried cranberries (great for the holidays!)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a pie pan and fill 3/4 full with apples. No more, or the pie wil boil over and make a mess! Mix the 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon and cloves. Sprinkle over apples and coat well. Melt butter and add remaining ingredients. Pour over apples and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden.

Kroppkakor- This recipe came from an old book, but since I didn't have the pork on-hand for the recipe, I substituted bacon. It turned out delicious! You can also use leftover mashed potatoes for this.

2 lbs. potatoes Filling:

1 egg yolk 1/2 pound bacon *(see below)

1/3 cup flour 4 tablespoons onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Wash, peel and boil potatoes in slightly salted water until almost done. Drain and mash well. When cold, mix with egg yolk and flour. Fry bacon in skillet, remove bacon when cooked and place on paper towel. Tear into small pieces when cool. Saute onions in bacon fat until golden brown, then mix with the bacon. Put potato mixture on floured board, make long roll and cut in 10 sections. Make hole in each and fill with meat and onion mixture, then close and shape into dumplings. Drop into salted boiling water and cook 15 min. Serve immediately with melted butter. * the actual recipe calls for 1/4 lb salt side pork and 1/4 lb. smoked ham.

Janssons Frestelse- if you are a potato lover like me, you'll LOVE these!

6 med potatoes, peeled and cut into matchstick size pieces

2 tbsp butter

2 med onions, thinly sliced

1 3-1/2 oz can Swedish anchovy fillets

1 dash of pepper

2 T bread crumbs

3 T butter

3/4 c half and half

Preheat oven to 400F. Keep potato strips in cold water to prevent discoloration. Melt 2 Tbs butter in skillet and add onions; cook until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Pat potatoes dry. Arange layers of potatoes, onions and anchovies in a greased 1 1/2 to 2 quart baking dish. Begin and end with potatoes. Dot casserole with butter and sprinkle with pepper and bread crumbs. Pour cream around the casserole. Bake in the center of the oven until the potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 45-60 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Swedish Cardamom Cake -- from C. Vernon Johnson, NY- When Vernon moved to Manhattan in the 1950s, there was a Scandinavian deli on Third Street that sold a mix for a cardamom cake. Years later when the deli when out of business, Vernon started asking around and ended up with this recipe.

Butter

Vanilla wafer crumbs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cardamom seed, ground

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1-1/2 cups whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9-inch Kugelhopf mold or tube pan. Coat with wafer crumbs. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer. Blend in eggs and cream on low speed. Beat at medium speed until batter is the texture of softly whipped cream. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Remove cake from pan. Cool completely on rack. Just before serving, dust cake lightly with powdered sugar.

Note: Vernon says he likes the taste of cardamom and so adds more than one teaspoon. He also says, "Of course you must serve the cake with Gevalia Swedish coffee!!!"

Kåldolmar- Cabbage Rolls

1 large head of cabbage 1 tsp nutmeg

boiling water to cover water

1 tsp salt salt

2 lb ground beef or veal 3 tbs butter

1 1/4 cups milk 3 tbs flour

2/3 cup bread crumbs 3/4 tsp salt

4 tsp finely chopped onions 1/2 tsp cardamom

2 1/2 tsp salt 2 c. milk

Core and then wash cabbage. Place cabbage in a large pot with 1 tsp of salt and pour boiling water over it, just enough to cover the cabbage. Cover and simmer 5 minutes, or until tender. Separate the cabbage leaves and drain on paper towels.

For the filling: mix the ground beef or veal, 1 1/4 c. milk, onions, bread crumbs, 2 1/2 tsp salt, and the nutmeg.

To make the rolls, place a smaller cabbage leaf in the center of a larger leaf. Scoop approx. 1/2 cup of the filling mixture onto the middle of the smaller leaf. Roll the leaf, tucking ends in toward the middle and fasten with toothpicks or tie with string. Boil a good amount of water and the salt (1 tsp. for every qt. of water) Add cabbage rolls one at a time. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Gently remove rolls with a slotted spoon. Make sure you remove the toothpicks or the string before serving.

Skorpor -

2 packages of dry yeast ( 4 tsp)

2 c. milk

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cardamom (optional, but tasty!)

4 to 5 cups of flour

Melt butter, add milk and heat to 115 F. If you are a beginner, do this carefully as hotter may kill the yeast. Dissolve yeast into the milk mixture. Add sugar, cardamom if you'd like, and the salt. Mix.. Add the flour and knead well into a soft dough. Let rise until doubled in size, about 20-30 mins. .When risen enough, divide the dough into small pieces, around 30. Roll into balls and then let rise for another 20-30 mins. Bake at 450 F, until golden brown, about 5-10 mins. Let cool then cut each roll in half and bake again on a cookie sheet at 450 F for about 8 min. Then let dry in the oven set at 225 F for about an hour. Eat with jelly, lingonberry is always a favorite!

Kalops- Because I don't like fish, my relatives served me this dish during my trip to Sweden. The taste was incredible, and unlike any beef stew I had tasted before.

1 ½ pounds of boneless rib, rump brisket or bottom round one bay leaf

3 tablespoons butter 10 whole allspice

3 tablespoons flour 2 cups water

1½ teaspoons salt

2 onions, sliced

Cut the meat in large cubes. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add meat and brown it well on all sides. Sprinkle with flour and salt. Mix well. Add the onions, spices and water. Cover and simmer until tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Serve with boiled potatoes.

Potatisgratäng- Another dish we had in Sweden at cousin Gulli's house. This is not her recipe, but another one I found. Heaven!!!

About 12 average-sized potatoes 1 cup grated cheese (I guess you can use cheddar of your favorite kind)

2 onions 1 1/2 c. cream

1 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbs. butter

1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F. Butter a 9 x 13 pan well. Peel potatoes and onions, then slice thinly. Alternate layers of potatoes and onions in the baking pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little of the cheese between layers. Pour cream over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Dot with the butter and bake for about 45 mins. or until the potatoes are tender. Serves 4.

Potato Sausage from Andy Flodin- My grandmother Anna Cajsa Blom brought these recipes with her when she emigrated from Nedre Ullerud Parish, Varmland County, Sweden in 1889. It has been my Christmas Eve dinner for as long as I remember.

4 to 5 lbs. Pork Shoulder

4 to 5lbs potatoes

4 to 5 Large Yellow Onions

4 tbls salt

1 lb. Beef Casing (10 yards of beef casing = approx. 1 lb. casing).

The hardest part of making the sausage is finding the beef casing. When I lived Nevada, we had to use pork casing and when I lived in Louisiana we got the casing from the Chicago area. I now live in North Carolina and get my casing on trips to Indianapolis. I have found some web sites where you can get casing on line. When I was a kid in Chicago Heights, Illinois, we got our casing from a small Swedish grocery store called Gustafsons. It was in a wooden barrel in front of the meat case. It was packed in salt and therefore there was no need to refrigerate. They still use salt to cure the casing, so it needs to be rinsed thoroughly before stuffing. You may also have to cut the casing into manageable links about 18 to 24 inches long. The trouble with using pork casing is that it is thinner and much more susceptible to bursting when cooking.

When making the sausage, it is a must to have a meat grinder as the pork, potatoes and onions need to be ground. After grinding, mix the ingredients in a large bowl and then stuff the casing. My grandmother, to stuff the sausage, used a cow horn with the tip cut off and we continue to use the same horn. The sausage should not be stuffed firm as room is need for expansion when it is boiled.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Once it is boiling, gently add the links of sausage. Bring back to a boil and boil for 45 minutes. Too hard of a boil will cause the sausage to burst, but a hard simmer allows the pork to be cooked thoroughly. If a sausage burst (always does) don’t worry as you can continue to cook and still eat. Once cooked, remove from pan and let stand at least 15 minutes. Then slice into serving pieces and enjoy with the rice pudding (see below), baked beans and Limpa bread.

RICE PUDDING- from Andy Flodin

Wash ½ cup rice with hot water. Add ½ teas. Salt and 2 Cups whole milk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to high simmer, stirring occasionally until NO LIQUID is left in pan.

In separate bowl, combine:

3 beaten eggs

2 Cups whole milk

1 TBL butter

1 Cup sugar

1 teas. Vanilla Extract

Stir together to blend and combine with above rice mixture. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg to taste.

Pour into buttered 2 QT. ovenproof bowl and bake at 350* for 40 minutes or longer. Test with butter knife. Insert into mixture, when it comes out clean, it is done. Will continue to set up while cooling.

Saffron Coffee Bread- Dean Oberg's mother

Buy about 25 cents worth saffron in drug store. (Rhonda's note: about 3/4 teaspoon) Let it soak in ½ cup of hot water till cool, then Drain liquid into another cup, squeezing the saffron to get out all of the flavor.

1 pkg. Dry yeast

½ cup sugar

¾ cup lukewarm milk

About 6½ cups flour

½ cup shortening

3 well beaten eggs

1 tsp. Salt

Soak yeast in ¼ cup of the lukewarm milk, stirring until dissolved. Cream shortening and sugar, adding beaten eggs slowly, and beat until light and creamy. Add the salt, milk, saffron and yeast. Add half of the flour beating well. Add the rest of the flour, working it in with your hands till smooth and elastic. Put in a large greased bowl, cover, and let rise till double in bulk. Punch down, and let rise again. Turn out on a floured board; divide into two parts, making two braids. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle generously with sugar. Let rise till double. Bake at 375 degrees till golden brown.

Cod Fish Pudding- Dean Oberg's mother

Soak salt cod fish overnight or at least 2 to 3 hours in cold water. Drain. Cover with fresh water, and bring to a boil, boiling 20 minutes. When cool, put through food chopper. Boil about 2/3 lb. of rice until tender. Beat 6 eggs, add 1 quart milk. And then the boiled rice and cod fish. This recipe makes a large pudding. Grease the baking dish generously before putting the fish mixture in. Then put two or three good size lumps of butter on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, (or until nicely browned.) Serve hot with melted butter.

Kifflens- Dean Oberg's mother

Cream thoroughly 1 lb. butter. Add 2/3 cup sugar. Mix well, and add ½ lb. almonds, ground, but not blanched. Add 4 cups flour.

Let stand in cool place overnight. In the morning let stand in a warm place till soft enough to roll.

Do not use flour on board. Bake till very light brown. Roll in powdered sugar and pulverized vanilla bean sugar.