Saturday, December 20, 2014

Lefsa!

I love lefsa! It's one of those treats that we only have around the holidays (although I have been known to buy it in the grocery store other times during the year because I love it so). Growing up, lefsa was always part of our Christmas celebration, usually made by a great-auntie or neighbor and given as a gift. Unfortunately our lefsa making great-aunties and neighbors are gone. Which is normal  as families grow older and change. The last time my mom, sisters and I made lefsa was in 1993. I remember it was very good but I don't remember us being able to make enough to share or bring home. I know our kids were young and I would like to think that it's they ate it as quick as we could make it, but I'm sure that's not the case. I do remember us having a few bumbles making it that year. Like pre-rolling our lefsa. Seems like it would be a great idea. With lefsa.... not so much. It sticks.... We were using my Aunt Christine's recipe which is a wonderful recipe. But our wonderful great Auntie and grandma failed to tell us there are secrets tips to making good lefsa. You need to make the mashed potatoes a day ahead since they need to chill. The dough must be COLD. We kept our dough in the fridge between rolling this year. A rolling pin sock works miracles. It is also helpful to have a lefsa rolling mat. Flour..... lots of flour..... your kitchen may look like a small snowstorm blew thru, but it's totally worth it! This year we tried making lefsa again, and was a great success! We are now the Aunties and grandma who will make lefsa for the holidays. My Norwegian grandma Gena would be so proud.


Grandma Gena's original recipe....

A rolling mat and rolling pin socks are a must!
Roll it out super thin.... 
Cooking it on mom's lefsa griddle at 400 degrees...
Yum! We have Lefsa for Christmas Eve!

Homemade lefsa makes a wonderful gift packed in a pretty box. To make it even extra special, add a 'Garden Gnome' tea towel, it's a cute design for the holiday season! Your family and friends with love it.

Happy Holidays,

6 comments:

  1. I got so excited to see the word "Lefsa" in your post because I grew up on it, too! My Norwegian mom, grandma, and gr-grandma made it every year at Christmas. I've made it a couple times, but not this year. Now I want to! Thanks for this great post!

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  2. Great to see this recipe here...I got a Lefse recipe in 2009 from the Little House in the Suburbs blog. It was delicious and so worth the work and the seemingly endless clouds of flour. I learned to serve ith with cinnamon sugar and it is in high demand here! Only thing is, that first day I spent so much time making puns using the word lefse...my son remembers to this day. I'll have to check, but I think I still even have photos of my darling eating his lefse from that very first batch lol. Guess I'll be baking up more puns over the holidays!

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  3. Small world, Cindy! Just like Carol, I reacted to the title of your post! I am Norwegian, and I ate a lot of lefse growing up. My mother and grandmother made potato lefse and also other types of lefse. It is not that common to eat it in Norway now, but I think that Norwegians moving abroad 50-100 years ago took the tradition with them, and kept it alive more than the average Norwegian family does now. Your post makes me too crave for lefse!
    I have to agree with Carol, you wrote a great post!

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  4. The WA high school I attended offered a Norwegian language class (also German and French) so I enrolled in Norwegian because of my heritage. A friend's mother sold her homemade lefse and her lefse rounds were huge. Nothing better with butter, sugar or Lingenberry jam. I haven't made the Poor Man's Cookies for years......Fattigman Sprockles. Just eggs, butter and cream with a little sugar, Cardamom spice and flour. Roll out, cut into strips then counter cut into about 3' lengths with a slit in the center where one end is pulled through...deep fry and sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar.

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  5. I have never heard of a rolling pin sock - why is it necessary? Can you wash it or do you throw it away after one use? I adore trying new recipes and this is a totally new one for me.

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  6. Oh YES! Lefsa! Memories of visiting an older relative who came from Norway. She would have lefsa and many other traditional foods. Thank you for bringing a special memory to mind.

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