Christmas to most of us means baking, and at Christmas I always go back to my Scandinavian roots to make those wonderful treats of my childhood.

I made Rosettes and thought I'd show you just the way my Nana showed me when I was a newlywed.

First you need a rosette iron, like this.
It comes with a recipe and it's easy: 2 eggs and 2 spoons of sugar (???! I use 2 TBLS), pinch salt and 1 C milk and 1 C flour. Beat well. Nana's secret: Let this rest for 1/2 hour.

My recipe calls for a vessel of hot grease. Yikes. I manage to do this by using a bottle of corn oil and a small can of shortening. Heat until very very hot. I have never taken the temp., but it's super hot. At the same time season the iron by heating it up in the oil.

Dip iron into batter, just almost up to the top, place iron in hot oil. Rosette cookie will bubble and sizzle off the iron. I use a fork to turn upside down, then remove and drain excess oil and rest on paper towel covered surface. This process takes seconds per cookie. Repeat.


This recipe makes a lot. You will tire of making these long before you are done with the batter. Also, you will think you have made enough sweet, fried food for your loved ones. Just toss out that extra batter, you've made enough!
If you don't consume them right away, they store nicely in shirt boxes. Nana's trick #2: Freshen up before you eat them by placing on a cookie sheet covered with a brown paper bag. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees, turn off and let cookies sit in oven for 10 minutes, this will release a little more fat and crisp them up. Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.


These lovely treats, Rosettes, Sandkaker and Spritz will be served tonight, Christmas Eve, with cream and berries. What a treat.


I hope that this finds you enjoying the wonderful chaos/calm that to me, means Christmas joy with family and friends.

Below is a baby quilt I made and never gifted! Yet.

This bin holds years of collected Redwork embroidery patterns. Often called Penny Squares, in the 1800's a square of muslin with a little design cost one penny. Designs were wildly collectible and girls and their mothers would share and trade.

BTW, this is a great travel project; a dozen squares, an embroidery hoop, a few needles and a half dozen skeins of floss and you are ready to go with a very light-weight project.

This last quilt below is vintage, not sure of the exact date. I found the finished squares at a flea market for $10 for the lot! I assembled the squares and quilted them. It's pretty delicate but did hang on our guest room wall for a time. I especially like the Little Red Riding Hood scenes, look at the one with "grandma" knitting a sock!

I love this square where "grandma" is at her dressing table!

For years I spent many happy hours stitching away, I still do when I would rather not knit, although that is a rare occasion. Writing this post was taking a little trip back in time, before knitting, when redwork was my passion. Thank you for coming with me!