Gløgg Boller
Gløgg is a Norwegian Christmas drink with cinnamon, cloves and other spices. Traditionally it was made with red wine and a spirit such a brandy but over the years a child-friendly syrup is now the norm. There are many different flavour traditions from place to place but is it most often served with nuts (hazelnuts or almonds) and raisins that is placed inside the cup before pouring in the gløgg. As gløgg is one of the flavours of Christmas, here is a gløgg bolle recipe to put a double amount of Norwegian into your Christmas.
Because my boller will be eaten by the whole family I am using a syrup for my gløgg. This particular one is made in Northern Norway by Nordlys Mat in Alta. The flavour is a lot more elegant than most gløgg syrups and it is made with native meadowsweet (mjødurt), cinnamon and clove. (They do ship over Norway but no international shipping – sorry. You will just have to come to Alta and get some!) If you plan to make your gløgg with alcohol, remember that you don’t boil gløgg, you only heat it so the alcohol will not evaporate – and yes, the more the merrier.
What you need:
50 grams of yeast
3.5 dl of gløgg
100 grams butter
500 grams flour
1teaspoon of baking powder
raisins
Glaze:
1 cup Icing sugar
Water
Sliced almonds
First have your gløgg prepared. Make sure it is not too strong as it is only supposed to replace the subtle flavour of cardamom.
After the gløgg is prepared, set aside. In a bowl mix flour and baking powder, then pinch in the butter. When the gløgg is lukewarm, put in the yeast and stir. Then add the liquid mixture to the flour mix. Knead in the bowl (good to use electric beater with a kneading tool). Leave to rise for 20 minutes in a warm place under plastic.
When risen, roll out gently with a little flour and sprinkle in raisins. Fold over and then cut off slices and roll them into balls.
Place on a baking tray with paper. Glaze with a beaten egg and put in a hot oven – 210 degrees Celsius for 12-14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Mix icing sugar with a couple of drops of water according to desired thickness. Drizzle on the boller and sprinkle on almonds. Serve at room temperature.
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