Advent and Ebelskivers ● by Jess

Although most of my (and Jon's) ancestry is English, our most recent ancestors to move from Europe were Danish. For me, my most recent immigrant ancestor Ane Sophie Hansen, came over in the 1890s. She immigrated to Utah where she married Walter Francis Bingham, and then had my great-grandfather. Ane brought several Danish traditions with her, but one of the few that has really withstood the test of time in our family are Ebelskivers, which are little puffs-- kind of like a mix between a doughnut hole and a pancake.

Traditionally, Ebelskivers are eaten on Advent. Jon and I have resurrected the holiday somewhat in our family and celebrate in December.  Last year we celebrated with a big party, and this year it is just a quiet holiday with the two of us.



The image above shows my great-grandmother Nona (who learned how to make Ebelskivers from her immigrant mother-in-law, Ane) and her Ebelskiver pan, which I inherited. 




So now here is my Advent present to all of you... the official Bingham/Young Family Ebelskiver recipe:

Bingham/Young Family Ebelskivers

3 Eggs

2 Tbs Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 cups Flour

2 cups buttermilk

3 large bowls

1) Take the first two bowls and yolks and whites. Mix the yolks with a fork and set aside. Next, whisk the egg whites until you have stiff white peaks, then set aside.

 2) In the third bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Then, add the dry ingredients to the bowl with egg yolks, then add the buttermilk. Mix until ingredients are just barely blended together. 

3) Take a small amount of the batter and add it to the egg whites (this allows the whites and batter to mix together more easily). Then gently fold in the remaining batter into the egg whites. 

4) Pre-head your Ebelskiver pan on the stove. Melt a half stick of butter and brush each cup thoroughly before pouring batter in. 

5) Let puffs cook for a minute or so until they start bubbling and the edges get slightly brown. Using a knitting needle, toothpick or other similar long, thin tool, push the tip into the middle of the batter to the bottom of the cup and gently lift the ebelskiver so that it turns and the cooked part is lifted out of the pan. Flip it so that the golden cooked part is on top and the raw batter is underneath. 

6) Make sure your pan is not to hot, otherwise you'll end up with puffs that are a little raw in the middle. 

7) Serve with syrup, berries, nutella, or anything else you'd like!

The way we celebrate Advent (which may not be totally authentic, but who cares! Its fun!!) is to have each person light a candle while someone reads the book of Luke. I love this holiday because it gives us a chance to focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. At least for me, the glitter of Christmas makes it hard for me to give little baby Jesus the attention he deserves, so this is one of my favorite days in the season. :)

Happy Advent!