Lefse Recipe

Lefse is a Norwegian staple that migrated its way to the United States when many Norwegians immigrated to the Midwest, many years ago. Lefse can be eaten as a sweet or savory dish paired with foods like cinnamon butter or smoked salmon and cream cheese. Try out this delicious bread substitute for a holiday meal this year.

How to make Lefse

Ingredients

• 10 pounds potatoes
• ½ cup butter
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until tender. Potatoes should be soft when stuck with a fork.
2. Once soft, drain the pot and peel potatoes when they are warm to the touch.
3. Dice the potatoes.
4. Put potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl while they are still warm. Beat the butter, cream, salt, and sugar into riced potatoes. When fully mixed, cover the bowl and chill for several hours or overnight.
5. After dough has chilled, take mixture out of the fridge and gently stir in flour.
6. Scoop and roll dough into about tablespoon sized balls (about the size of a cookie scoop).
7. Lightly flour counter and roll out lefse balls to 1/8” thick (easiest way to transport rolled-out lefse dough with a lefse stick).
8. Preheat griddle to about 375 degrees. No butter or oil needed for griddle/pan.
9. If you are cooking larger batches, store excess rolled out dough in the fridge to keep it cool.
10. Cook lefse for about 45 seconds until you see some light brown spots and flip to cook both sides.
11. Let each sheet cool before stacking otherwise they will stick together.
12. Put your lefse filing of choice in lefse, roll it up and enjoy!

Lefse Fillings:

The most traditional lefse filling is just spreading butter and sugar and rolling it up. But there are many other options that make lefse extremely versatile. Savory lefse fillings can include cured ham, cheese, smoked salmon, or cream cheese. Other sweet options are cinnamon sugar, fruit and syrup, or jam.