This weekend was a true “hygge” weekend. After returning from Denmark last weekend – and a veeeery long airplane trip with two young children – all you need is “hygge” and relaxation. We even got a little snow and extremely cold weather which made the need for “hygge” even bigger. And I learned that the thought of “aebleskiver” and hot chocolate awaiting inside actually made me enjoy being outside with the kids in spite of what felt like minus 17 degrees celsius. Danish “aebleskiver” is the ultimate Christmas/winter comfort food. They are little dough balls made out of a pancake-like batter, baked on a special “aebleskive pan” sprinkled with powdered sugar and dipped in strawberry jam.
When we didn’t eat comfort food and sip hot chocolate we cleaned up all (almost) our clutter, making room for more “hygge-space”. I have finally realized that clutter/mess interferes with the “hygge” feel and it is more pleasing to only have a small amount of decorative items on display. This way you can fully enjoy looking at your favorite things!
As you can see in these photos I am working hard on making our mantel more pretty and “hyggelig”. I call it a “Hygge hylde” (meaning a “hygge shelf”) which is a place to put happy and hyggelige things that I love looking at. I got the idea from my aunt in Denmark who had a shelf with pretty and colorful tins in her otherwise white kitchen.
For “aebleskiver” I found this old Danish family recipe:
Aebleskiver
Ingredients:
125 g all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 liter buttermilk
1 egg yolk
50 gram melted butter
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg white
How to make them:
Mix flour, salt and sugar.
Stir in the lemon juice and buttermilk a little at a time. Then add the egg yolk.
Just before you bake them on the “aebleskive pan” stir in the melted butter. Whisk the egg white and baking soda stiff and gently fold it into the dough.
Heat the “aebleskive pan” up on the stove. Add a little butter in each hole of the pan and fill them 3/4 full with dough. Flip the aebleskiver when the bottom is firm and bake them for about 8 minutes total on medium heat. Turn them frequently with a fork.
Eat them right away or keep them warm in a baking pan in the oven on low heat, covered with silver foil. Serve with powdered sugar and strawberry jam…
For Kirsten’s Hot Chocolate recipe see this link: Hot chocolate in the snow! It is addictive though – once you start you will want to make it every day!
Happy as a Dane 