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.
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,
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!
ReplyDeleteGreat 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!
ReplyDeleteSmall 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!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Carol, you wrote a great post!
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteOh 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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