Heritage

This week I explored my Scandinavian heritage. My grandmother used to always make these delicate, lacy, scroll-shaped holiday treats and I inherited the special iron which has been cooling it's heels in the back of my cupboard for almost four years. My brother loved grandma's scrolls and a few years ago his wife gave me a cookie cookbook with the recipe for krumkake. I had no idea it had a name other than "scrolls." I figured that cookbook gift was a serious hint to put my iron to good use, but still, it remained cold. My mother told me that it was really a project for two people. She said my grandma and her friend used to get together to make the treats. One would tend the iron and the other would roll the krumkake. Could this specialty really be made by just one girl? On Monday I decided to finally give it a try. Nervous about the whole process, I diligently set out everything I needed and I turned the burner on. The recipe warned that the first few may turn out dark, but after four or five scorched treats, I turned the burner down. I decided that the cookbook's suggestion of fifteen seconds per side wasn't working for me. The krumkake really stuck to the first side, so I reduced the length of time on the first side before flipping the iron over. Apart from burning myself on the metal (and very hot) handle, I was actually getting the hang of it! The first few beautifully light-colored scrolls I made brought joy to my heart. I could actually do this! It is a wonderful thing to teach yourself something new and it is even better to be able to share the product of that with my family who have gone without scrolls for far too long. Happy holidays.

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