Lussekatter (Swedish Saffron Buns)

On December 13 Norwegians celebrate Lucia day. It is a celebration imported from Sweden.

Before our modern calendar this date was regarded as winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Lucia day was celebrated as a festival of light amidst the darkness of winter.  And Saint Lucia herself is the queen of light donning a  large lit crown (used to be real candles!), white long dress and red sash. Growing up in Norway we celebrated Lucia day in grade school. We would parade through the school singing the Lucia song. It was a big honor to be picked to be the actual Saint Lucia and wear the lit up crown. Alas, I was never picked, but the rest of us girls would wear the white dress and a smaller candle. The boys would wear pointy hats with stars. Here is a cute picture depicting the scene.

An important part of this celebration was handing out Lussekatter. These sweet cardamom buns have a yellow hue from the addition of saffron into the dough and are made into many different shapes.

Ingredients:
950-1000 grams (2 lbs) all purpose flour
5 deciliter (Scant 2 cups)l milk ( Warmed to 80-85 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
25 grams fresh yeast
150 grams plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
150 grams unsalted butter, cubed

Egg for egg wash
Raisins for decor

Preparation:
With a mortar and pestle, grind the saffron and 1 teaspoon sugar together until saffron is finely ground.

Warm the milk to approximately  85 degrees and stir in the saffron sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, mix all ingredients except butter. Mix about 10 minutes. Add the cubed butter and mix for another 10 minutes, or until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Add small amounts of flour if dough seems very sticky. Cover the bowl and let dough proof for an hour or more. Empty dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 25 pieces. Roll each piece out to a roll, approximately 2 inch in thickness. Make into shapes as suggested below.

Transfer to parchment covered baking sheets and cover with a kitchen towel. Let buns rise for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. When ready to bake, brush tops of buns gently with egg and decorate with raisins. Bake on the middle rack about 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly and enjoy!

Makes approximately 25 Lussekatter depending on size