Holiday Fattigman, a Scandinavian Treat

Welcome to Always with Coffee, a brand new food photography blog. My name is Amy Johnson, and I am a Seattle based food photographer.  I have been wanting to start a blog for a while, but I was having trouble coming up with a name. I was sitting at my house drinking my coffee one rainy Seattle morning, thinking, and the name always with coffee seemed a perfect fit.  It is one of the things I could never do without. ever.  

A little bit about me.  I love food, cooking, and photography, among other things, so I am hoping to document that here, and add recipes as well. However, I may add other adventures in photography, friends, snowboarding, etc. Only time will tell what the future holds.  For now I am planning on posting new cooking feats at least a few times a month.  

Last weekend I went on a trip to visit my parents with my sister for early holidays and we made Fattigman.  It's a Scandinavian cookie, made by rolling and cutting dough, tying it and then deep frying it.  Of course also coating with powdered sugar and grated nutmeg.  I always had such fond memories of these as a child. They remind me so much of my Grandpa, who I loved so much and my Scandinavian heritage. Not to mention that they are also delish!

Happy Holidays!! 
 

Recipe:

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Baker's (superfine) sugar
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (whipped to stiff peaks)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• vegetable / canola oil for frying
• vanilla sugar or confectioner's sugar

Preparation:

Cream together the eggs, sugar, and brandy (if using). Stir in the melted butter. Gently fold the whipped cream into the batter. Sift together the remaining ingredients; with a light hand, mix the dry ingredients into the batter to form a soft dough. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Roll the chilled dough out on a floured counter to an 1/8" thickness. Using a fattigman cutter or a pastry cutter, cut the dough into diamond shapes (approximately 1 1/4" wide by 3 1/2" long. If using a pastry cutter: cut the dough first into 1 1/4" inch strips and then cut across these diagonally to form diamonds. Use a knife to cut a 1/2" slash in the middle of each diamond). Twist one corner of each diamond up through the center slash to make a knot.
Heat two inches of vegetable / canola oil in the bottom of a heavy pot to 375.º Drop in the pastry knots and fry until golden, turning occasionally. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle with vanilla sugar or confectioner's sugar and serve immediately. (Note: if preparing ahead, store in an airtight container without sprinkling with sugar. Warm in a low oven before serving, then sprinkle with the sugar).
Yield: 4 dozen fattigman cookies.