It’s that time of year again so I sent out a text asking all family members if they wanted lefse this year. Bless my son-in-law. He was quick to respond with a “Yes, please.” One enthusiastic “YES” was all I needed.

My Grandma Mundahl made lefse every year. Then my mom took over the task once my grandma went home to heaven. Now that my mom has joined her there, my daughter, Jamie and I have continued the lefse-making tradition.

What is lefse you wonder? It is a Norwegian flatbread made of potatoes, cream, butter, salt, and a little bit of sugar. Below is the recipe if you’d like to give it a try:

Peel and boil five pounds of Russet potatoes then drain. Make sure they are Russet. We used red potatoes once, and we didn’t have lefse that year.

Rice the potatoes in a ricer. Some ladies like to rice them twice. Not us. Once is enough.

Add 1 cup cream (or a little less), 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar.

Let stand until cold – this is a VERY important step! No exceptions.

Mix 4 cups of the cold potatoes with 1 ¾ cups flour. Roll into balls a little smaller than a tennis ball. Repeat with the last 4 cups of cold potatoes.

Place the balls in the refrigerator overnight.

Using a lefse cover over the rolling pin, roll out the ball of dough on a lightly floured board. We use a white pillow case that has been stretched out and taped down then lightly floured.

Bake on a lefse grill at 500 degrees (ours is a Heritage Lefse Grill).

Once the piece of lefse looks done on both sides, make a pile and cover with a dish towel in between grilling each piece. After it has cooled, package it up and deliver to those begging for some (right, Dr. V.). 🙂

How do you eat a piece of lefse? One scrumptious bite at a time. 🙂 My mom ate hers with just butter spread on it then rolled up. My dad, he covered his with sugar and cinnamon. That is how most of my kids like it too. Me—I put brown sugar and cinnamon on it, roll it up, and savor every bite.

So what do you think? Will you give lefse a try? Let us know your thoughts if you do. Also, let us know what foods are holiday traditions in your family, and please share the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours. ~Wendy

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.