Juleballar

Part of the charming ceremony of St. Lucia’s Day, Juleballar are offered to family and guests on the morning of December 13^th, the day that marks the beginning of the Christmas holidays in Sweden. In each household one of the young daughters (or a young maid), dressed in traditional white robe, red girdle and stockings, and wearing a crown of evergreen leaves and lighted candles, brings cakes and coffee to all the bedrooms of the house. She sings a traditional song outside the door, then enters and makes her ceremonial offering.

These are from The Scandinavian Cookbook.

Juleballar/Christmas Rolls

1 C milk

1 pkg OR 2 ¼ tsp yeast

¼ C warm water

½ C butter

1/3 C sugar

1 tsp salt

3 ½ C flour, divided

1 egg, beaten

Raisins

Scald milk. Meanwhile, soften yeast in warm water and let stand for 5 minutes.

Put butter, sugar and salt together in a mixing bowl and cream. Immediately pour scalded milk over ingredients in the bowl. When lukewarm, blend in 1 C flour, beating until smooth. Add softened yeast and mix well. Add half the remaining flour and beat until very smooth. Add in egg. Mix in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft, smooth dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and allow dough to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Knead dough. Form dough into a smooth ball and place in a deep, greased bowl. Allow dough to rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour.

Punch down dough and turn completely over in bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled again, for approximately 1 hour.

Break off pieces of dough and roll with hands into strips 4 in. long and ½ in. thick. Coil each end in to center of strip. Place two coiled strips back-to-back. Place one raisin into the center of each coil. Place rolls on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375^oF for about 15 minutes.

I liked the way these rolls looked – almost like butterflies! Even better, the dough rose so light and fluffy that these were really delightful as far as texture is concerned. We did decide that the rolls were a little bland – I might add a tad more sugar (say up the amount to ½ C?) and a little vanilla extract. But we enjoyed these light, airy rolls warmed up for breakfast with butter or jam.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!