Happy St. Lucia Day

Good morning.....It's Saint Lucia Day. I have our breakfast table set and as soon as the kids wake up we are going to make our Lussekatter ("Lucy Cats") or Saffron buns for our little Swedish celebration. On the table is a traditional Lucia wreath that I was planning on having Abby wear this morning along with full St. Lucia costume along with Henry wearing a star boy costume but sadly I ran out of time this year and I couldn't pull it off...oh, well maybe next year. I also have one of my Yule goats, 2 Dala horses, a star boy hat and several Swedish Tomten. I can't wait to see their little faces when they come down the stairs. Today is going to be all about Sweden, where my great grandmother was born. I have some wonderful books to share with the kids as well as a few traditional crafts and maybe a few other surprises!

Because we are planning to make our Lussekatter this morning I borrowed a photo from the web until I can replace it with one of my own, but for now I wanted you to see what we will be making and share the recipe.

Swedish Lussekatter

About This Recipe

"A Swedish Tradition On 13 December the Swedes celebrate the Italian Saint Lucia with a remarkable enthusiasm, surpassing any Italian festivities devoted to the same lady. One mandatory constituent in the celebrations is a saffron-flavored bun, in Swedish called a lussekatt, a "Lucia cat". The shape of this bun might vary somewhat, but is always based on bread designs dating back to earlier Christmas celebrations in Sweden. 

300 ml milk

1 g saffron

50 g bakers yeast

150 g sugar

125 g butter

700 g all purpose flour

1 egg

salt

raisins

Directions:

1. 1Melt butter or margarine in a pan and add the milk and the saffron.
2. 2Warm the mixture to 37 oC (100 oF).
3. 3Use a thermometer; the correct temperature is important!
4. 4Pour the mixture over the finely divided yeast; then add the remaining ingredients (except for the egg and the raisins), which should have a temperature of 21-23 oC (72-75 oF).
5. 5Mix into a smooth dough.
6. 6Cover the dough with a piece of cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.
7. 7Knead the dough, divide it into 25-30 pieces and form each piece into a round bun.
8. 8Let the buns rest for a few minutes, covered by a piece of cloth.
9. 9Form each bun into a string, 15-20 cm long, then arrange the string in a suitable shape, e.g. an S or double S. Regardless of the shape, the ends of the string should meet.
10. 10Press a few raisins into the dough.
11. 11Cover the"Lucia cats" with a piece of cloth and let them rise for 40 minutes.
12. 12Whip the egg together with a few grains of salt, and paint the"Lucia cats" with the mixture.
13. 13Bake them for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 250 oC (475 oF) until golden brownish yellow.