Scandinavian Flavored Recipes
Past featured recipes are linked at the bottom of the page.
Sigrid's Skaarne Pepperkaker Print Recipe
This recipe is very special to us here at Ingebretsen's, and it was the very first to be selected for the cookbook we are creating in honor of our 90th anniversary. We share it with you here in memory of Sigrid Christiane Brown, our much-loved colleague. Sigrid worked in our needlework department and was a talented knitter of Norwegian sweaters. Every single one she entered in the Minnesota State Fair came back home with a blue ribbon pinned onto it. Sigrid knit her family and circle of friends together with equal skill. Sigrid didn't want a memorial service or flowers. She asked instead that each of us be aware of those around us, helping those in pain, hunger or need. Every Christmas, Sigrid baked Skaarne Pepperkaker for all her friends. The tins in which the pepperkaker were delivered were faithfully returned in hopes that a new batch would be forthcoming the following Christmas! A gift of Sigrid’s delicious spice cookies would certainly brighten anyone’s day, and this generous recipe makes plenty to share.
This is a refrigerator cookie, so once it's mixed, it's a snap to make. Chopping the almonds does take some time, so don't make this if you're in a hurry, as chopping by hand produces the best size of cut almonds. This recipe makes about 250 little cookies. The name, Pepperkaker in Norwegian, means cut or sliced spice cookies.
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. molasses
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. chopped almonds
3 tbsp. cold water
In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter, then add the molasses and powdered sugar, stirring after each addition. Heat to a low boil and boil a couple of minutes. Cool. Combine the flour, baking soda, cloves and cinnamon and add to the butter mixture. This is a stiff batter. Stir in the almonds and water. Mix well using your hands, and form into five or six logs approximately two inches in diameter. Wrap well in plastic or foil and refrigerate for several hours. Working with one roll at a time, remove wrapping, slice thinly (aiming for one-eighth of an inch) and place on greased cookie sheets. These do not spread. Bake in a preheated 450° oven for five minutes or until they begin to brown. Cool and store in an airtight tin.
Enough to Feed a Threshing Crew Cucumber Salad Print Recipe
August 8th is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night, but gardeners, let's 'fess up, there are a few other things we'd like to unload as well. The garden dreams that sustained us last winter have come too true.
The following recipe will help you out with at least the cucumber part of your garden glut.
There are probably as many pickled cucumber recipes as there are Scandinavians, but this is one we submitted to a vote on our Facebook page. The main question was “To Dill or Not to Dill?” Overwhelmingly, our readers replied “Yes!” True Scandinavians, every one of them.
1 ¼ cups distilled vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
a few sprigs of dill
8 cucumbers
Thinly slice the cucumbers, ideally with a mandolin so you can have paper-thin slices.
Thin slices let the marinade seep into the cucumbers and make them crisp and tangy.
Put the sliced cucumbers in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir continuously to help the sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly
(warm, not hot, to the touch).
Pour the vinegar and sugar over the cucumber slices, toss in the sprigs of dill, and mix carefully.
Let everything sit for a couple of hours, then gently mix again. Chill or serve at room temperature.
If your garden didn’t explode and you aren’t desperate to use cucumbers or if a threshing crew did not show up at the door for dinner, you can cut this recipe in half. Pickled cucumbers are a tangy accompaniment to meat dishes, delicious on smørrebrød, and great on burgers.
NORWEGIAN BURRITOS Print Recipe
Featured below is a sneak preview of the new cookbook Ingebretsen's staff is creating in honor of Ingebretsen's 90th birthday this year. We are having a lot of fun with new twists on traditional Nordic foods and even more fun taste-testing them. This recipe stars lefse and smoked salmon. Salmon is one of five anti-aging superfoods regularly included in the healthy Nordic diet. Salmon helps maintain a sound body and slows down the outward signs of aging, including wrinkles and sagging skin. Must be something to it because we think Ingebretsen's at 90 is looking pretty good!
Norwegian Burritos are fun to make right at the table. The amounts of the following ingredients you will need on hand depends upon the number of guests gathered 'round and how hungry they are, but we'll get you off to a start with an estimate for six servings (two burritos per person).
6 sheets lefse
Filling:
1/2 lb. smoked salmon
2-3 diced tomatoes and/or 2/3 cup thick salsa
2/3 cup sour cream
cilantro sprigs
Cut each sheet of lefse in half, spoon on the fillings, and roll the whole thing up. It's as easy as that. If you really love to slather on the sour cream and salsa, the burritos can get pretty juicy, so eat as a sandwich over a plate or use a knife and fork. To make cocktail-sized burritos, divide each sheet of lefse into sixths, fill, roll, and secure with a toothpick.
Try Ingebretsen's Homemade Lefse...
SWEDISH PANCAKES Print Recipe
(Lapper or Ohukkaat in Finnish; Lapper or Plättar in Swedish)
These pancakes are traditionally served with lingonberries or Lingonberry Preserves.
Swedish cooks use a special cast-iron pan called a Plett Pan (plättpanna), which has seven shallow depressions,
three inches in diameter.
Want to save time? Here's a good Swedish Pancake Mix...
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
3 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Sour cream and lingonberry, strawberry, or raspberry preserves
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the milk, cream, eggs, and melted butter and blend until smooth. Brush the griddle with butter and place it over medium-high heat. To form each pancake, drop 1 tablespoon of batter onto the griddle. After 1 to 2 minutes, when the edges begin to brown, turn each pancake over with a narrow spatula and cook the other side for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden. Serve immediately with sour cream and preserves.
4 to 6 servings
SWEDISH VÅFFLOR RECIPE Print Recipe
Here in this country, most of us are familiar with waffles as a breakfast treat on relaxed weekend mornings. But Swedish waffles are more typically served as an afternoon or evening dessert. Here is a typical Swedish Waffle recipe taken from a small treasure of a cookbook compiled by Dianna Stevens and edited by Miram Canter:
Waffles, Flapjacks, Pancakes, Blintzes, Crepes and Frybread from Scandinavia and Around the World
1 & 1/3 cups whipping cream, whipped
1 cup flour
1/3 cup ice-cold water (or snow)
2 T. butter, melted
Fold whipped cream into the flour. Add other ingredients. Let set for an hour.
Bake in a waffle iron until brown. This is a crisp waffle.
Cool and serve with powdered sugar or lingonberries.
(Cloudberries and whipped cream also make these waffles a dessert to remember.)
Note: Sour cream can be substituted for a third of the amount of whipping cream.
For a different, but equally delicious, version that adds eggs to the mix,
try the waffle recipe on the back of our Swedish Pancake Mix.
Here is a shopping list to help you make the most of International Waffle Day!
Heart Waffle Iron
Rosti Mixing Bowls
Lingonberry & Cloudberry Jams
Suzanne Toftey Waffle Girl Tile
Swedish Pancake Mix
ÆBLESKIVER Print Recipe
Danish Pancake Balls
Ingebretsen’s presents Lynn’s recipe…
Beat 3 egg yolks lightly
Add 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp melted shortening
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp grated lemon rind (optional)
2 cups buttermilk ( or whole milk)
Sift 2 cups four
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
Add dry ingredients to egg mixture alternately with 2 cups buttermilk (or whole milk).
Beat 3 egg whites until stiff – and fold in.
Fry in Aebleskiver Pan - put dot of shortening in each cup of the heated pan,
fill cups close to top with batter, fry till bubbly and underside seems brown.
Turn with fork*- a quarter turn over, and then again and again
until it forms a round shape and becomes cooked on all sides.
*A knitting needle works great for turning.
Try fruit filled with preserves or fresh fruit
- add a dot of fruit in center of batter in cup and then begin turning.
Try authentic (and delicious!) Scandinavian Preserves…
MORE SCANDINAVIAN FLAVORED RECIPES...