Inspirational author, Mary Hamilton shares her grandmother’s recipe for Norwegian Pastry. Comment or answer the question at the end of the post to enter the drawing for winner’s choice of ebook or print copy of her Cozy Mystery, Pendant. Deadline: Dec 30th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Mary:
In Minnesota in 1919, it was politically incorrect for a Norwegian to marry a Swede. But my grandmother ignored society’s rules, and the marriage stood strong until her death nearly seventy years later.
Grandma Asp was known for her rosettes, a delicate Norwegian pastry tipped with sugar granules. She always kept some in a tin for when visitors arrived, and Christmas just wasn’t Christmas without her rosettes. When her health declined and she could no longer make them, Grandpa took over the job. He became so good at it, he was invited to demonstrate his skill on Minneapolis television.
I’m still practicing my rosette-making skills and haven’t figured out how to make them as light as Grandma and Grandpa did. But it still isn’t Christmas without some rosettes.
Gramma Asp’s Norwegian Rosettes
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. butter, melted
Crisco
Bowl of granulated sugar
1 rosette iron
Mix ingredients slightly. Strain to remove lumps.
Using a deep fat fryer or a pan on the stove, heat Crisco to 370º. To test when ready, dunk rosette iron in hot grease. Remove and allow to drain a moment or two. Dip into batter. If batter falls away without adhering, wait and try again. When batter sizzles and stays on iron, it’s ready. Immerse into grease until lightly browned.
Remove with fork.
Dip tops in granulated sugar.
About Mary: M L Hamilton recently released her first cozy mystery, and plans to write many more. Previously, she wrote a series of contemporary middle grade/YA stories under her full name, Mary L Hamilton. She prefers almost anything over cooking, but makes an exception with her grandparents’ rosettes. She also enjoys knitting and photography. She and her husband live in Texas. Learn more and connect:
Mary’s Website Mary’s Facebook Mary’s Instagram Mary’s Pinterest
About the book – Pendant: 
A field trip gone awry. A student gone missing.
Haunted by a teacher’s worst nightmare for more than a decade, Elaine finally stumbles across a vital clue—and discovers someone is desperate to keep the truth buried. When her life is threatened, she allows the one person she trusts to whisk her away to safety in Texas. But assuming a false identity and hiding among the quirky residents of a retirement home is not what she had in mind. Now Elaine must solve the mystery from afar, as soon as she figures out whether her friend is keeping her from danger…or keeping her from the truth.
Question for Readers: What’s your favorite holiday sweet treat?
Come back Dec 26th for Tanya Eavenson!
Merry Christmas!
Norwegian pastries are the best!!!! Igo with my Norwegian friend to the Lubbock, Texas Sons of Norway chapter. Those ladies can bake and cook!!! Come join us in February when we make all the traditional pastries. The day is finished off with lots of soups and breads!
Jennifer, that sounds wonderful. Hubby and I went to a Norwegian dinner at a local church. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy some of those Norwegian dishes! thanks for joining us.
I love fudge!!
Hi Shelia! Fudge is my favorite, too, but I rarely make it because I eat the whole batch! Thanks for stopping by.
Apple pie. Any day of the year.
Mmmm. That sounds good! Warm with a scoop of ice cream over it. Thanks for joining the conversation, MH! (Great initials, BTW!)
My favorite are Spritz cookies. They are made with a cookie press and a special treat at Christmas. My Grandma always made rosettes and I haven’t had any since. I may have to give it a try! The book looks so good. What a nightmare it would be to be a teacher and have a student go missing!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net
I love Spritz cookies, too, Beth. Definitely make them every year. Thanks for your interest in my book! Merry Christmas!
I love those Reese’s Christmas trees. They are so yummy!
Seriously, what did we do before Reese’s came along?! Thanks for joining us, Dianna. Merry Christmas!
I was tempted to say divinity. My mother would make that and fudge every Christmas. She’s almost 101 years old , so she hasn’t made it in a long time. Guess I’ll go with fudge.
Divinity is delicious, too. I’d forgotten about that treat.
I love Ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle and dipped in white chocolate. Oh my…..what a treat!
Oh, yum, Melanie! Another treat I forgot about!
Hallo, Hallo Ms Vannatter & Ms Hamilton! 🙂
I remember visiting this lovely blog ahead of having a blog myself – I lost track of the lovely blogs I used to frequently read when my computer died and then, once I sorted out my notes of the web urls, time swiftly took me away to sort out how to be a book blogger and manage everything else going on in my life during those years. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to returning visiting the bloggers I once knew and meeting new ones along the way as well. To reaffirm why I loved commenting and visiting – therefore, I happily made my return to your beautiful blog today, Ms Vannatter!
In regards to reading Cosy Mysteries – these are some of my absolute favourite kinds of crime stories – I grew up reading Agatha Christie alongside Nancy Drew – however, nowadays I’m positively addicted to the series of Anna Lee Huber, Susan Spann, Jennifer Kincheloe, Charles Todd,… whilst my first favourite of INSPY Crime/Suspense were the novels of Dee Henderson. I musefully remain hopeful Ms Deeanne Gist might revisit her style of the craft within “Beguiled” as I was quite literally glued to my seat!! I get so caught up in the historical past, I sometimes forget to re-emerge into Contemporary settings! lol
I love learning about traditional treats rooted in ancestral heritage – recently, my Mum and I reunited our ancestral lineage to our Swedish relatives (smiles) which is why this particular story on behalf of Swedes and Norwegians interested me as much as it did! I couldn’t believe my eyes reading how Ms Hamilton’s grandmother had to go through such turmoil for the bloke she loved but then again, my great-grandfathers had their own difficulties to circumvent as they were abolitionists striving to help free everyone on the Underground Railroad who passed through their lands. As we re-look through History we find quite a lot of hidden truths of how lives were upturnt by social prejudices and of how freedoms we (generally) take for granted were once afflicted by life / death consequences. Our ancestors were incredibly strong to stand their ground, defend their beliefs and to honour their faith by owning their moral principles for what was truly ethical right in their lives.
Thank you for sharing this slice of your living history – I personally love family histories – they are such a treasure when we find them for our own family trees – but to read other antidotes like this, it helps paint a wider portrait of the conjoined timeline we’re all a part of.
Speaking about *Christmas treats!* – I’ve had several favourites – from my grandfather’s Swedish baking delights (he made Santa Lucia cake every year and an assortment of cookies) to chocolate truffles or peppermint bark. If I had to pick a perennial favourite I’d have to say sweet potato pie! I could quite literally have a slice from Thanksgiving straight til New Year’s and never tire of it!
Ooh! I had forgotten to say, our Swedish Cousins surprised us with a book from Sweden about holiday customs, traditions and cookery delights! Mum and I are so eagerly anxious to start incorporating these lovelies into our holiday plans next year!! And, I’ll be saving the ingredients to make your grandmother’s rosettes! What blissitude! A new tool to collect and a new ambrosial goodie to experiment with making! Bless you! I am not just knitty, I’m a girl who loves to bake!
Blessed New Year cheers to you both – I appreciate the unexpected joy of finding a bookaway but visiting with you, finding a new author to seek out and sharing our memories is sweet happiness, too!
Jorie, what a family you history you have with the Underground Railroad! That’s fascinating. I love almond bark too, but have yet to try sweet potato pie. I’ll have to look up a recipe and try it. Thanks so much for participating!
I have a winner! Jorie won the drawing. I appreciate Mary for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.