Fattigmand Food

FATTIGMAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Cream together eggs, sugar, and brandy, if using.
• Stir in melted butter.
• Gently fold whipped cream into batter.
• Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.
• With a light hand, mix dry ingredients into batter to form a soft dough. You want to avoid handling dough too much. Otherwise, cookies will end up tough.
• Chill dough, covered, for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
• Roll chilled dough out on a floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
• Using a fattigman cutter or a pastry cutter, cut dough into diamond shapes about 1 1/4-inch wide by 3 1/2 inches long. If you're using a pastry cutter, cut 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-inch slash in the middle of each diamond.
• Twist one corner of each diamond up through center slash to make a knot.
• Heat 2 inches of oil in the bottom of a heavy pot to 375 F.
• Drop in pastry knots and fry until golden brown, turning occasionally.
• Remove and drain on paper towels.
• Sprinkle cookies with vanilla sugar or confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

FATTIGMAN

Steps:

• Beat together egg yolks and sugar.
• Whisk in cream.
• Stir in cognac and spices.
• Beat egg white until it's stiff and carefully stir into other ingredients.
• Mix in a little more than half of the flour.
• Let dough stand, covered and in a cool place, overnight.
• Use the remaining flour (as little as possible) for rolling out the dough; the less flour you use, the more tender the fattigman will be.
• Roll the dough out a little at a time and as thinly as possible.
• Use a fattigmann cutter to cut out diamond shapes.
• Make a small diagonal cut in the center of each diamond, and "thread" one point of the diamond through the cut.
• Heat lard to 350º F.
• Fry fattigman until golden brown.
• You must flip the fattigman to brown both sides.
• A chop sticks works great for this.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Best when 2 people work on these, one cutting/flipping and the other flipping in the hot oil.

FATTIGMANN

Steps:

• Beat together egg yolks and salt until thick and light. Beat in light cream, sugar and butter. Sift together flour and nutmeg. Add to egg yolk mixture with lemon rind. Mix well, then chill 1 hour.
• Roll out 1/4 of the dough at a time, keeping the remaining dough chilled. Roll 1/16 inch thick. Cut in 1 1/2-inch wide strips. Cut diagonally at 4-inch intervals. Make 1 inch slit lengthwise in center of each piece. Slip one end through the slit. Fry a few at a time in deep fat (350 degrees F) for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden. Remove from fat with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container.

FATTIGMAND

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until mixed well. Roll out half the dough at a time on a lightly floured work surface into a large near-rectangle shape. Dough should be rolled to less than 1/8" thickness. Cut dough into diamond shapes, approximately 3" long. Do this by first cutting long rows into the dough, then slice across the rows diagonally to form the diamonds. Discard the unused end pieces and mix back into remaining dough. In the center of each diamond, cut a small slit lengthwise (about 1/4" long). Take one end of the diamond, and put through the slit, and gently pull through, creating a knotted shape. Put shaped cookies into a plate or cookie sheet. Heat enough canola oil in a large, deep skillet to be about 2" deep. Heat over moderately high heat until hot. Drop a single cookie into the oil to test temperature -- cookie should have bubbles form around it immediately, float to the surface, and begin to brown on the bottom side in about 20 seconds. Flip over, and brown other side. Remove to opened and spread out brown paper bags to drain and cool. Do the next cookies in batches of 10 or so, but do not overcrowd the pan. When cookies are completely cool, they should be crisp. Roll in powdered sugar, and place in air tight cookie tin.

FATTIGMANS BAKKELSE (NORWEGIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES)

Steps:

• Beat egg yolks, sugar and salt in a large bowl until thickened.
• Beat in cognac & heavy cream.
• Stir in flour & cardamom until dough forms. Knead dough on floured work surface. Cover & chill 4-8 hours.
• Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 365 degrees. Roll dough out on floured work surface. Do this a little at a time and VERY thinly.
• Cut dough into strips, then into diamonds 2x4".
• Cut vertical slit in middle of each diamond and "thread" one end through slit.
• Fry cookies a few at a time. Flip as they rise to surface and cook until golden and lightly puffed.
• Drain on paper towels & let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar & serve.