For Drumheller resident Judy Deardoff, her family’s Christmas get together involves a lot of food. Not only eating it, but baking it.
Judy Deardoff’s family her and her eight siblings holds their annual Christmas get together on the long weekend in November, and the family focuses on baking up a storm during that time.
“Everybody from newborn babies and up. Anybody who is old enough to use a rolling pin, and even if they’re not, they help make lefsa and cookies,” explains Deardoff.
Lefsa is Scandanavian, which is a part of Judy’s heritage from her father’s side, and also part of her husband’s heritage.
Lefsa is a combination of cold mashed potatoes, flour, salt, cream, and butter. After it’s mixed well, it’s formed into balls, then rolled out and fried on a grill. Electric grills with a large, round surface that looks similar to an extra-large pizza pan, specifically for cooking lefsa, are available.
Deardoff describes lefsa as similar to a nan bread or pita, with people adding butter, sometimes sugar to enjoy on it.
Other Scandanavian treats include krinkle cake (deep fried dough rosettes), and krumkaka (cream cake), which is made on a round press that looks similar to a waffle press.
The krumkaka dough is cooked, removed from the press and shaped into a tube while still warm. Judy describes krumkakas as similar in flavour to waffle cones. Often people drape the warm shells around small dish, to form a dessert cup.
Once the krumkaka cools, it can be filled with pudding, whipped cream, etc, and decorated, often with a little bit of chocolate; often it is enjoyed as a treat on its own.
Deardoff said her family’s baking tradition started in 1972 when her Mom organized a baking weekend at Judy’s twin sister’s Joyce’s. Joyce was a new mom on a farm north of Mannville, Alberta, and needed some family around.
The Christmas get-together/baking spree that began with Deardoff’s Mom and sisters now has anywhere from 25 to 65 family members attend annually. Deardoff said she had about 30 family members for this year’s get together held at her and her husband’s Drumheller home.
Family members bring their favourite recipes along with their ingredients and at the end of the day, the result is a mountain of baked goods.
Deardoff estimates the family bakes up a minimum of 35 different cookies, plus the popcorn treat with almonds and sugared coating called poppycock.
Although Judy’s mother passed away in 2002, the family holiday baking tradition has carried on. One of Judy’s brother-in-laws compiled a cookbook of family recipes used from 1972 to 2002, so the kids and grand kids will have that special piece of their family heritage to help carry on their family’s wonderful holiday tradition.
