Christmas! A time of snow (except we haven't got any), good cheer, presents and good old family traditions! ... And food. Because for those of us who aren't religious, Christmas is mostly about food.
I've said that I'm going to use this blog to spread a few Swedish recipes around - and now I'm putting those words into action, by introducing you to some of my Christmas-y baking traditions.
First up - knäck and Chessboard Cookies!
Knäck
Because you weren't using those teeth anyway.
Knäck is a bit like toffee, except stuffed with almonds and usually a bit tougher on your teeth. There's a reason why the word "knäck" translates into "break" or "crack". This year, the duty of making knäck was handed over to me, after many years of my mother utterly failing to make it properly. I decided to ask my grandma - who is a master of knäck - for advice.
She gave me her trusty, failsafe recipe - which she has been using since 1952.
To make this stick-to-your-teeth-treat, this is what you will be needing:
2 dl sugar
2 dl golden syrup
2 dl cream
1 tbsp butter
1/2 dl chopped almonds
1 dl breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp baking powder
lots of small paper cups, about half an inch (1.5 cm) across.
Knäck is one of those things that are deceptively easy to make. On the one hand, the method and ingredients are uncomplicated, but on the other hand, it's easy to get wrong.
Get yourself a thick-bottomed saucepan, and pour in the sugar, golden syrup, cream and butter and bring it to the boil, stirring every now and then to keep it from burning. Then keep it boiling for 35-45 minutes. The point is to boil it until it will set once it cools, but not to boil it for too long - if you do, it becomes so hard that it's practically inedible.
The mixture will look something like this when it's boiling.
Once you've reached the consistency you're after (you can check it by getting a cup of cold water and dribbling a spoonful of the boiling mixture in; if, once it cools down, you're able to roll it into a small ball, it's done), it's time to mix in the remaining ingredients - take it off the heat and in no particular order, pour in the almonds, the breadcrumbs and the baking powder and mix well. Then immediately spoon the mixture into your paper cups and leave to set.
The baking powder will make it brittle, and thus a little easier to eat.
Super-extra bonus recipe - Chessboard Cookies!
This recipe is dead simple - and it's a staple in my house around Christmas-time.
It's basically a sweet shortcrust pastry (basic recipe being 4 1/2 dl flour, 1/2 dl sugar, 200 g butter), divide it into two equal halves, and mix some cocoa powder into one half - just enough to turn it brown. You can also, if you want, mix some vanilla flavouring into the plain half.
Then roll them out and stack them up like so:
Slice them up into roughly 1 cm thick slices and bake them on a parchment papered baking tray at 175 C for 7-10 minutes.
Recipe summary - knäck
2 dl sugar
2 dl golden syrup
2 dl cream
1 tbsp butter
1/2 dl chopped almonds
1 dl breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp baking powder
lots of small paper cups, about half an inch (1.5 cm) across.
Mix sugar, golden syrup, cream and butter in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 35-45 minutes. Mix in almonds, breadcrumbs and baking powder. Spoon into paper cups and let it set.
Next up - saffron pancake, the food of the gods!
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