In this section:
In this part:
Krumkakor, Ice Cream Cones, Fortune Cookies and Pipes
In the middle 1970s, I gave my mother a krumkake (kroom'-kah-keh) iron for Christmas. I guessed that date because the recipe cards I sent with it are in calligraphy (sorry—no scans), so I must have been still active in the Society for Creative Anachronism. What was I thinking? Maybe a little nostalgic for Sweden?
Nostalgia aside, wouldn't it be fun to have home-made ice cream cones? or fortune cookies? So here is a basic recipe that can be varied with different flavorings, shapes and fillings.
Preparation:
Flat wafers may be a solitary meditation, if you are so inclined. Otherwise, this recipe takes a village. Once the batter is ready, it's a good idea to have a baker making the wafers and some engineers to fold the wafers into shapes while they are still warm and pliable. Depending on their age and (un)ruliness, this gang may need a foreperson—preferably someone who isn't holding a hot krumkake iron.
Before you start baking, gather everything you will need to make the shape you want.
- The baker, of course, needs a krumkake iron (or pizzelle press or any wafer maker in the language of your choice).
- For ice cream cones, each engineer should have a cone-shaped mold to fold the wafers over. You can make them out of stiff paper or cover party hats with waxed paper.
- For fortune cookies, each engineer should have a supply of fortunes (this is the previous day's community project) and a wooden spoon, or some other small cylinder so the wafers don't fold flat.
- For pipes, each engineer should have a wooden spoon handle or a medium-long cylinder about the same size.
Grease the iron with unsalted butter and preheat it to about 350°F
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 or 3 egg whites*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- optional flavoring:
- 2 tablespoons ground almonds or
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange rind
- up to 1/2 cup flour (enough to make the desired consistency)
*The recipes for vanilla wafers call for 2 egg whites; those for wafers flavored with ground nuts or rind call for 3. Save the yolks to make custard or ice cream.
Making the batter:
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the egg whites and fold them in. Add the vanilla and other flavoring, if you are using it. Gradually mix in the flour, testing after additions until 1 tablespoon of batter spreads easily but doesn't overflow.
Baking:
Pour 1 tablespoon* of batter into the center of the preheated iron and let it spread. Close the iron and toast on the stove over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Turn the iron over and heat for another 2 or 3 minutes.
*To make smaller disks for fortune cookies, use a little less batter.
Finishing:
Krumkake wafers
Leave the wafers flat. They will get crisp as they cool.Ice Cream Cones
While the wafer is still warm, fold it into a conical shape. It helps to have a stiff paper cone to wrap the wafer around.Fortune Cookies
Have your fortunes prepared ahead of time. While the wafer is still warm, lay a fortune on it and fold it loosely in half over the handle of a wooden spoon with the fortune inside. Then bend it into a fortune cookie shape.Pipes
Loosely roll a warm wafer around the handle of a wooden spoon. I haven't tried making pipes. I've seen them filled with fudge frosting or custard, I suppose with an icing bag and a thin tip.