Making Potato Lefse

Since my family has grown with the next two generations, my siblings and I do not all get together for Christmas like we used to. Instead we spend the holiday with our own children and grandchildren. We decided several years ago to start another tradition, the combination Family Heritage Fest/Celebration of our Mother's Birthday. Her birthday is December 28th, so we set a time as close to that date as we can. Our heritage is northern European, chiefly Swedish, Norwegian and German. We try to incorporate some ethnic foods in our fest feast. I am the lefse maker in the family. Potato lefse starts with mashed potatoes, made the usual way, with salt, butter and milk. This is about four cups of mashed potatoes. The potatoes must be completely chilled. Then I add just enough flour to make a dough that can be shaped and rolled out. I added about one and a half cups of flour to this mix. The trick is to add the least amount of flour possible to the dough and then keep lots of flour on the rolling surface. I have an old cotton flour sack that fits perfectly over a pull out cutting board. Shape the dough into balls.

Roll out each ball as thinly as possible, trying to keep the shape as round as possible. Keep adding flour to prevent sticking to the cloth or the rolling pin. You will end up with flour all over the place. It's just part of the process!

A special lefse stick is used to slip under the dough circle and lift it onto the griddle.

When brown spots form on the bottom, flip it over to cook the other side.

Get a buddy to help. It's more fun and much easier.

Stack the cooked lefse rounds to cool, keeping them covered with a towel so they won't dry out. You want them to stay soft.

When the cooking is complete, you can wrap the completed rounds in plastic and refrigerate until you prepare them for serving. To serve:

Brush each round with melted butter.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Cut the circle into wedges and roll each wedge.

Before serving, warm the lefse in the microwave (just like the ancestors did, of course.)

Stand back and watch it dissapear. The big kids love it, and so do the little ones.