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Queen Elsa’s Sweet Snowflakes

Queen Elsa’s Sweet Snowflakes

In Norway, where the royal sisters Elsa and Anna reside, crispy flatbread is a traditional and versatile snack that can be served with butter and jam, topped with cheese, or even dipped in soup or stew. Inspired by the Norwegian staple - along with Queen Elsa’s knack for whipping up a winter storm - this simple recipe turns homemade flatbread into a flurry of sweet snowflakes “frosted” with a lemony glaze.

by Cindy Littlefield

What you'll need

  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling the dough
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk with a few drops of apple cider vinegar stirred in)
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons water
  • Decorator sugar or granulated sugar

How to make it

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl, then make a well in the center. Pour the butter and buttermilk into the well, and stir the dry ingredients into them, adding a little more buttermilk or flour, if needed, to create a dough that’s fairly stiff but still pliable. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it briefly.
  2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the dough into eight equal-size pieces. Working on a floured surface with one piece at a time (while keeping the others covered), roll the dough into a thin, thin circle. Dust the top with flour, then fold the circle in half three times, lightly dusting the dough with flour each time so it won’t stick together.
  3. Trim off the curved edge of the folded dough to create a triangle. Then use a kitchen knife to cut notches in the dough in the same manner you would to make a paper snowflake. Carefully unfold the dough to reveal the snowflake. Now you can use tiny fondant cutters to cut additional shapes in the snowflake, if you like.
  4. Bake the flatbread snowflakes on ungreased baking sheets until lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
  5. For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, stirring until smooth and thin enough to spread easily with a pastry brush. If the glaze is too thick, stir in a little more water.
  6. Brush the cooled snowflakes with glaze and sprinkle them with decorator or granulated sugar before the glaze sets.

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