Some Christmas-goodies!

Today I thought I would share some of my favorite Christmas recipes if you still have time?!

This year Christmas, of course, will be very different for all…. here in Sardinia, they have announced a total lock down of all festive days… the more important to hold onto nice traditions at home and take care of those few you’re allowed to see!
Sooo, here comes recipes for Swedish Glögg (Gluhwein), filled saffron buns, and cinnamon cookies!

Glögg

2 cinnamon sticks
1 orange peel
10 cloves
3 star anise
1 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds
1 dl caster sugar
1.5 dl water
1 liter of red wine
1 dl cognac

Put all the spices together with the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil under a lid and then simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. Strain the spices from the syrup and mix with red wine and brandy. Heat the mulled wine and serve with almonds and raisins. Remember that the alcohol disappears when the mulled wine boils, so just let it simmer when you heat it up.

Saffron buns filled with vanilla cream

About 20 saffron buns

The dough:
4 dl milk
1-2 g saffron
50 g fresh yeast
Salt tsp salt
2 dl sugar
250 g quark or mild fat youghurt
150 g room temperature butter
14-15 dl wheat flour

Filling:
2.5 dl milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
0.75 dl sugar
4 egg yolks
0.3 dl cornstarch
50 g soft butter

Heat milk and saffron to about 37 degrees. Dissolve the yeast in the dough liquid. Mix in salt, sugar and quark. Add soft butter and a little wheat flour at a time. Knead the dough well. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, put vanilla powder and milk in a saucepan and bring to boil. Whisk powdered sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch with an electric whisk. Then pour this over the milk while stirring. Then continue to heat gently on low to medium heat while continuing to stir. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the cream starts to thicken. Add the butter and let it melt in the cream while you stir. Allow to cool in the refrigerator and pour into a pipe bag
Divide the dough into about 20 pieces and shape it into balls. Cover with a kitchen towel. Flour the table and roll out a piece of dough into a rectangular plate. Cut out strips until the plate looks like a "comb". Sprinkle vanilla cream on the edge, roll up from the long side, and shape into a bun. Place on a baking sheet with baking paper. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to ferment for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 225 ° (top and bottom heat). Brush the buns with egg and bake them golden for about 9-11 min. Allow cooling. Then brush with melted butter and dip in sugar.

Cinamon Cookies

Melt together and let cool:
500 g butter
6 dl sugar
3,5 dl syrup or honey

Mix together:
2,5 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon finely ground cardamom
2 tbsp ground cloves
3 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon bicarbonate
1,5 l wheat flour,
2-3 dl of almond shavings

Add the butter mixture and stir together. Divide into 4 rolls, put in plastic in the fridge until hard.
Take out the desired amount and cut into thin slices, bake in 200 degrees celsius för approximately 7 minutes!