Gingerbread Snowman Cookies #fillthecookiejar

Too cold to go outside to make snowmen, you can still make them in your cozy warm kitchen.  Make them with gingerbread and chocolate... and enjoy as many you want with a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate ~ your choice!

PIkkupullat ~ Finnish Sweet Buns

Last week my furnace decided to that it needed to take a break.  While I was waiting for the repairman to come ~ and as the house got colder and colder I decided to do some baking.  Sweet bread making as that way I could keep the oven on for a long period of time.  Instead of making my pulla into loaves, I decided to make them into "Pikkupullat" ~ small buns.

Merry Christmas and Finnish Prune Tart

We woke up to a wonderful beautiful day this morning.. The sun was shining brightly and the snow was glistening...

A perfect Christmas Eve Day!

picture taken this morning.

This Christmas season I didn't do as much baking or even candy making.  Last night I did make some tarts, so that we would have a little Canadian and Finn in our Christmas.  I made some Butter Tarts and also some Finnish Prune Tarts called Joulutorttu.  Some of the tarts I put Apricot Jam in them, along with prunes.

Finnish Prune Tarts  

Ingredients:

7 oz Prunes

water to cover prunes

1/8 cup sugar

1 pkg Puff Pastry sheet

1 egg white beaten

Directions:

In small saucepan, place prunes, sugar and enough water to cover prunes.  Cook on medium-low until prunes are soft and water dissipated .  At this point you can blend the prunes or mash them  with a fork. Set aside.

Roll out Puff Pastry and cut each sheet into 9 squares.  Cut slits into each corner of each square.

Add a teaspoon of prune filling in the center of the square and fold one end of pastry to center so that it looks like a pinwheel.

Brush top with beaten egg white.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until pastry is slightly brown.  

Let cool.

Make glaze with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp of vanilla and enough milk to make glaze runny.  Pour glaze over top of tarts.

Cook's note:

You can also use apricot jam instead of prune filling.  I usually make some of each.

Tray of tarts to give to the neighbors

Wishing All a Merry Christmas!

Thank you for all of your support.  

Linked to these great parties:
Craft Frenzy Friday, Twirl & Take A Bow

Rice porridge and prune soup.

Every once in awhile I get a craving for rice porridge 

or as it is called in Finland Riisipuuro.

Growing up we would make riisipuuro when we had extra rice leftover, 

so that is always how I make it... I don't really have a recipe,

I just add to my  rice.

In Finland they will also add an almond in the riisipuuro

One almond and the one that gets the almond will 

receive good fortune.

Riisipuuro is also good with Marja Soppa (berry soup) made with prunes and raisins.

It is also called Luumukiiseli 

Rice porridge with prune soup in my Iltila 

Riisipuuro

2 cups cooked rice

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups milk

1 egg

Add sugar to rice.  Whisk egg and milk together well and add it to the rice mixture.  Cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. 

You can also eat this with more milk and cinnamon.  I will also add raisins when I am cooking the rice porridge.  Or eat it with Prune soup.

Prune Soup ( Marja Soppa)

2 cups prunes

1 cup raisins

1 cup dried apricots (optional)

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups water

1-2 sticks of cinnamon

1/2 cup cornstarch with small amount of water

In medium pot, add prunes, raisins, apricots, sugar, water and cinnamon stick.  Boil on medium heat for 1 hour.  If soup is very liquid, add cornstarch and water and boil for another 5 minutes.  

Enjoy alone or with rice porridge.

Links Carole's Chatter , Foodie Friends Friday