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rd from his high chair which i had positioned so he could help me make the crackers and swiped some of the dough he truly is his mother s son and he liked it then he swiped more before i knew it i was actually handing some of it to him and eating some myself it contained no egg after after all i realized that since i was cutting the dough into snowflakes these crackers would be a nice alternative to the abundance of cookies offered this time of year they look remarkably like h of course one should be able to eat cookies don t get me wrong it is christmastime after all but i enjoy them most when i consider them a treat something to be enjoyed on occasion for those times when one just wants a little snack these crackers have a delicious slightly sweet flavor that s reminiscent of the graham crackers i used to eat out of a box with a crunch that s just right but i know exactly what s gone into them so i have no reservations when feeding them to my son and with a fun shape such as a snowflake what s not to love homemade graham crackers adapted from weelicious 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 1 2 cups all purpose flour 1 2 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 2 cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into cubes 1 4 cup honey 1 4 cup water preheat oven to 350 degrees combine dry ingredients in a food processor add butter and continue to pulse until you have a mixture with a consistency resembling coarse meal add honey and water and continue to mix until well combined shape the dough into a disk and roll between two pieces of parchment paper until it s 1 4 inch thick cut into simple rectangles or get creative with fun cookie cutters place the crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes remove and place the crackers on a wire rack to cool they will continue to firm up while they cool store in a covered container at room temperature posted in baking christmas tagged baking christmas cookies graham crackers homemade graham crackers 3 replies lingonberry walnut spice cake posted on november 23 2012 by outsideoslo 2 first of all i want to explain the silence here this past week remember when i said i would be posting some inspiration and ideas every weekday leading up to christmas well i didn t factor in how disruptive illness can be i got sick suddenly last tuesday while mom and grandma were over to bake spritz as part of our weekly baking sessions we were having a great time and then i started feeling cold so turned up the heat my back started aching i got that nagging yet indescribable feeling in my throat and upper chest that i might be getting sick by the end of the night i was curled up in a blanket on the sofa shivering with my laptop on my lap trying to meet a deadline for an article while waiting for my husband to get home i thought about my goal for writing here but i just couldn t do it with the recipe i have to offer you today i hope that the wait was worth it today i want to tell you about lingonberry walnut spice cake it s a twist on a recipe from beatrice ojakangas the queen of scandinavian american cookbook authors her book scandinavian feasts ends with a section on recipes for the christmas coffee table concluding with a recipe for lingonberry jam cake after i made it recently i got to thinking that it might lend itself well to some adaptations wanting a more pronounced lingonberry flavor but not necessarily feeling the need to mess with the quantity of preserves in the recipe i picked up some frozen lingonberries at the local scandinavian store and added a healthy portion of those along with some chopped walnuts the result i must say is perfect this is the sort of cake that you whip up with ease and then slide in the oven before going about your business trimming the tree or wrapping presents it bakes for about an hour leaving you plenty of time to get things done around the house or perhaps to take a shower before heading out to a christmas party for which this bread might be your hostess gift and then when it s done it keeps incredibly well staying moist for days if properly wrapped and while i haven t tried freezing it ojankagas says it lends itself well to storage that way too the only thing that might make this recipe any better would be a cream cheese frosting adding a sweet creamy touch to the top of each slice but then again that might just be excessive some things when made just right should be left alone and allowed to shine lingonberry walnut spice cake adpated from beatrice ojakangas lingonberry jam cake in scandinavian feasts 1 2 cup unsalted butter room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 1 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 4 teaspoon baking soda 1 4 teaspoon salt 1 2 cup sour cream 1 2 cup lingonberry jam 3 4 cup frozen lingonberries 1 2 cup chopped walnuts preheat your oven to 350 degrees prep an 8 5 by 4 5 inch loaf pan by greasing and flouring it cream the butter sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl until the mixture becomes light and fluffy in a medium bowl mix together the flour spices baking powder baking soda and salt then stir the sour cream and lingonberry jam together in a separate bowl add the flour mixture and the lingonberry sour cream mixture to the batter and mix just until incorporated and smooth add lingonberries and walnuts and stir gently to combine pour the batter into the pan and bake in the center of the oven for about one hour you ll know when it s done when you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean this probably goes without saying but err on the side of early when checking the cake as you don t want to overbake it the result should be perfectly done and deliciously moist when the cake is done remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about five minutes before removing it from the pan and allowing it to finish cooling on a wire rack makes 1 loaf posted in baking christmas tagged cake christmas lingonberry loaf cake recipe scandinavian christmas spices 2 replies simple christmas decorations fruit and nuts posted on november 19 2012 by outsideoslo reply who says that christmas decorations have to be elaborate and cost a lot sometimes the simplest ornaments can be the prettiest don t get me wrong i love walking on december evenings through neighborhoods that collectively decide to outshine all the rest with their christmas lights and i love it when people with an eye for decorating put together a winter wonderland that exudes all the warmth and joy of the holiday season but i also appreciate the elegance that goes along with simplicity something i ve seen in so many scandinavian settings with that in mind i d like to leave you with some ideas that i hope will inspire you as you plan your christmas decorating all it takes is some citrus cloves nuts cranberries glassware and a few ornaments to put together a lovely centerpiece or an arrangement for an entryway and don t forget the lovely scent of clove studded orange pomanders here are some photos to get you started i d love to see what you come up with you can post photos of your scandinavian inspired christmas decorations to my facebook page posted in christmas tagged christmas christmas decorations cranberries orange pomanders oranges pomanders scandinavian christmas scandinavian decorating leave a reply from my childhood scandinavian almond bars posted on november 16 2012 by outsideoslo reply as you know i ve been thinking a lot about traditions over the past few months it started with the onset of autumn which seems to be the most sensual of the seasons with its crisp quiet mornings and spice laden drinks a wealth of pears resulted in a few being sliced and used to line the base of a swedish chocolate cake while rest of them simmered on the stove breaking down into a luscious sweet sauce with the right amount of sweetness and a pale pink hue thanksgiving is still a week away yet my focus has already transitioned from autumn to christmas as i come up with ideas for holiday baking block out periods of time to pick out a christmas tree and celebrate holiday season birthdays and make a list of traditions i want to be sure to nurture one of those traditions is baking with my mom and grandmother we ve always baked together ever since i was a child but as time has gone on the focus has shifted from grandma being the primary baker with everyone else providing support to grandma teaching us the tricks of the trade as she strives to pass on a lifetime of baking knowledge and expertise to the later generations who want to learn while we bake together throughout the year the holiday season is a particularly important time as we list the traditional treats our family has enjoyed throughout the years my goal this year is to get through as many of them as possible both to give grandma the opportunity to bake them again and to give my mom and me the experience and memories of baking these alongside such an amazing woman as my grandmother during one recent baking session we tried out some old family recipes we hadn t made in a long time one of them was for scandinavian almond bars i remember baking these when i was a child joining my mom in the kitchen while we mixed the batter and rolled the cookies into logs before baking then cut them into slices and drizzled them with icing they were flavored with almond extract and just the thing to satisfy a young norwegian s tastebuds i m not absolutely positive where the original recipe came from aside from remembering a large full page photo of the cookies in a spiral bound cookbook my mom also has a copy of the recipe that came from a friend once upon a time they re all over the internet too and seem to have an origin with taste of home when we made them recently we compared notes between two slightly different versions now we have a master list of ingredients that s one of the things i love about our baking tradition as we work through recipes we re taking notes and compiling the recipes all in one place with plans to create a family recipe book it ll be fun to see what ends up in the collection family classics such as these almond flavored cookies to be sure but perhaps some new ones as well what cookies or bars do you do you still make from your childhood scandinavian almond bars adapted slightly from a variety of sources if you know where the original comes from let me know for the cookies 1 2 cup butter softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 2 teaspoon almond extract 1 3 4 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 4 teaspoons salt milk enough for brushing on the dough 1 2 cup sliced almonds for the icing 1 cup confectioners sugar 1 4 teaspoon almond extract 1 2 tablespoons milk preheat oven to 325 degrees prepare the cookies by creaming the butter sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy add the egg and extract and mix until combined sift together the flour baking powder and salt and add to the batter mixing until incorporated turn out dough onto your work surface and shape into a ball divide it into fourths then roll each section into a log about a foot long divide the logs between two cookie sheets using the palm of your hand flatten the dough out until the log is an even 3 inches wide brush each log with milk and sprinkle on the almonds bake until the edge start to tun golden about 12 minutes remove from the oven and let cool slightly until still warm but cool enough to work with cut the cookies diagonally into slices 1 inch thick and then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely meanwhile make the icing by combining the confectioner s sugar almond extract and milk in a small bowl until smooth drizzled over the cooled cookies makes about 4 dozen cookies follow outside oslo on facebook twitter pinterest and the feed posted in baking christmas traditions tagged bars christmas christmas traditions cookies scandinavian almond bars scandinavian baking scandinavian christmas leave a reply book inspiration christmas baking posted on november 15 2012 by outsideoslo reply since we ve been on the topic of scandinavian christmas books lately here and here i d like to share with you another one that s inspiring me as i plan my holiday baking christmas baking fun and delicious holiday treats this newly published book from swedish pastry chef and food writer mia öhrn features a variety of candies cookies and other baked goods though the book is on the thin side with only 38 recipes it s full of so many photos which provide inspiration in and of themselves that this will be a book i ll return to time and time again for ideas some of the recipes i m considering making this holiday season include lingonberry toffee mozart almond chocolates made with homemade nougat and almond paste and covered in dark chocolate sugar coated gingerbread sticks made with leftover pepparkakor dough and rice pudding pie enjoy follow outside oslo on facebook twitter pinterest and the feed full disclosure a review copy of christmas baking was sent by the publisher posted in baking christmas cookbooks cuisine tagged christmas holidays scandinavian cookbook swedish christmas swedish recipes leave a reply the traditions we keep posted on november 14 2012 by outsideoslo 2 i ve been thinking a lot about traditions lately as i watch my life transition from being the child to being a parent with a child of my own i become more and more aware of my ability and perhaps responsibility to create moments that will become cherished memories as the years go on when i think back to my own childhood memories of christmas are filled with warmth and a sweet happy feeling though i was an only child holidays were filled with people my parents and grandparents of course but also aunts and uncles cousins and even further extended family our house would be decked out so festively that it felt like a bit of a wonderland with flocked greens framing doorways and wreaths and other decorations lining the walls i would sip hot apple cider from a disposable cup as we wandered the aisles of the local nursery looking for the perfect christmas tree to bring home and decorate i want my son to have the same fond feelings when he grows up and looks back at his childhood christmas celebrations though he will probably remember very little about how we spend the holiday for the next couple of years i see this as a good time to get started he will enjoy helping his parents pick out a christmas tree and watching us decorate it the christmas lights on neighborhood houses will seem enchanting he has fun playing with his grandma and great grandma as we get together weekly to bake christmas treats and most of all the time he spends with his dad and mom grandparents aunts uncles cousins and all those dear to him will fill him with a sense of warmth and love what are some of your most cherished christmas memories posted in christmas traditions...