Danish Hazelnut Butter Cookies Two Ways

After a welcome respite from hosting Thanksgiving, my husband and I have the house and yard decorated and now I'm ready to start baking for Christmas!  The first new recipe I wanted to try were these flaky and delicate Danish Hazelnut Butter Cookies from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book. 

Filled with toasted and ground hazelnuts, I topped each cookie with a whole hazelnut before baking, because I LOVE hazelnuts.  Not to worry if hazelnuts aren't your thing. You could easily substitute pecans or almonds in this recipe with great results. 

Never one to leave a good thing alone, I was inspired by some thumbprint cookies I had seen on Pinterest and decided to try the idea with the same hazelnut cookie dough and created Hazelnut Caramel and Chocolate Cookies. A marriage made in cookie heaven!  You will find instructions for both variations below. 

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  We had our first measurable snowfall early this week.  Even though much of has melted already, I couldn't help snap a few shots while the tree limbs were coated with pristine, white snow in the evening. 

Have you done any holiday baking yet? What is your favorite Christmas cookie recipe?

Danish Hazelnut Butter Cookies

Printable Recipe

Makes about 48 cookies

2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fresh baking powder
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 300F to toast the nuts. Spread them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes until fragrant and toasted. Allow to cool and place in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground, being careful not to turn the nuts into a paste.

In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the egg and mix until light and fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder and chopped hazelnuts and mix just until incorporated. Gather dough together and place in a smaller bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F.

Place parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a large, rimmed baking sheet. 

Shape dough into balls about the size of small walnuts and place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Press tops of cookies with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Top each with a whole hazelnut, if desired.

Bake for about 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Hazelnut, Caramel, Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Use same recipe as above to make cookie dough.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Roll chilled dough into 1" balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each piece of dough.

Bake for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and, using the back of a round, 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, press lightly into each indentation in cookie, being careful not to break cookie. Cool completely.

To Make Caramel Filling:

14 Vanilla Caramels, unwrapped
2 Tablespoons heavy (double) cream

In a small saucepan, melt caramels and cream together over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Spoon about a teaspoon of caramel mixture into the center of each cookie. Cool completely.

To Make Chocolate Drizzle:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 teaspoon shortening or butter

Microwave for 30 second intervals until just melted, stirring after each interval. Allow to cool slightly and pour into a small pastry bag fitted with a tip with small round hole and pipe back and forth onto cooled cookies. Allow chocolate to cool completely. Refrigerating cookies will help the chocolate to set.

Basic cookie recipe adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojankangas.

Danish Frikadeller ~ Family Food Memories

As Mother's Day approaches, we all start thinking of motherhood and family, both of which are very important to me. Although my mother and father have passed away, my family now includes a wonderful husband,  two lovely grown daughters and two small grandsons that my husband and I adore. 

We all have memories of the food we ate while growing up and it's amazing how eating that food, years later, can transport us emotionally back to our childhood and thoughts of a mother's kitchen. I wanted to share a recipe from my childhood that most clearly stands out in my memory.

Since my ancestry is Danish with grandparents or great-grandparents from both sides of my family immigrating from Denmark, frikadeller were something that was a recurring dish on our family table. 

Paraphrasing from Wikipedia...Frikadeller are flat, pan-fried patties of minced meat, often compared to meatballs. Although there are many variations of frikadeller, they are usually made with a combination of of ground pork and beef (salted pork was a staple in early Danish kitchens).  They include chopped onions, eggs, milk (or water - sometimes selzer water), bread or bread crumbs, salt and pepper and sometimes allspice. They are made by forming the meat mixture into slightly flattened patties and pan-fried in pork or beef fat. Today, butter, margarine or vegetable oil are used for frying. Small patties would be made for lunch and larger ones for dinner. At dinner, they would be served with boiled white potatoes and gravy and accompanied by pickled beets or cooked red cabbage. Cold frikadeller and potato salad is a popular choice for picnics or potlucks and cold, thinly sliced fridadeller are also enjoyed as a traaditional Danish open faced sandwich on rye bread topped with pickles or red cabbage. 

They were an inexpensive and filling way to feed a family.  I remember my mother making a pan gravy from the browned bits in the frying pan after frying the frikadeller. 

Above, my mother with me in her arm, my big sister and my dad.  A crocheted tablecloth that my mother made as young wife before I was born, a craft I'm happy she taught to me.

When I became a mother, my two daughters grew up enjoying frikadeller often in our home as well. Made with love, as my mother made them.  I usually made them without gravy and my girls would eat them with ketchup on the side, along with a green vegetable and sauteed potatoes. Although mine were most often made with plain, lean ground sirloin, for this post, I decided to add the traditional ground pork and prepared some beets (pickled beets would also be a traditional side dish).  I made a pan gravy, like my mother's, which my husband really enjoyed.  

One of the best things about making a big batch of frikadeller is using the patties the following day to make Danish open-faced sandwiches! I found a very good substitute for Danish rye bread in this Sunflower rye by Rubeschager.  No need to go all Danish though, a good hamburger bun is fine :)

Frikadellers (My Mother's Way)
Printable Recipe

This is a simple and traditional recipe. Make them with love for your family.    

1 pound lean ground beef or a mixture of half ground beef and half ground pork (ground veal may also be used)
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 large slice hearty white bread, cut into small cubes - about 1 cup (day old is good but not necessary)
1/4 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste (feel free to add your favorite seasonings)
Pan Gravy - Recipe Below

Soak the cubed bread in milk for 5 minutes - do not drain.

Place the ground meat in a large bowl and add the soaked bread cubes along with any remaining milk.  Add the beaten egg, chopped onion, and salt and pepper and mix until blended. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to make handling easier.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add about two tablespoons of butter or vegetable oil to the pan.  

Form the beef mixture into patties with your hands. You can make them as small or large as you wish. Flatten slightly with your palms. Add to the preheated skillet and brown the patties well on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. After they are well browned, add some water to the pan (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup).  Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, covered, for about 20-25 minutes.

You can make a gravy with the pan drippings and serve with boiled potatoes.

To make the pan gravy, remove the cooked frikadeller patties from the skillet, leaving the juices in the pan.  Place 1 heaping tablespoon of all purpose flour into a glass or small bowl.  Stir in about 1/2 cup of water, a little at a time, to the flour, mixing until smooth.  Add this to the pan juices and turn the heat to high.  Stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add a little more water, as needed if the gravy is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the frikadellers.  Strain the gravy through a sieve, if necessary. 

Danish Almond Wreath Cookies

I'm back with another Danish wreath shape and this time it's for your holiday cookie tray.  These are also from the cookbook The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas that I mentioned in my last post.

The ingredients are simple and I had everything on hand that I needed to make these, including my almost antique Super Shooter cookie press!  Great manufacturing because it still works. You could also use a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch star tip to form the wreaths.  I added slivered almonds for the bows on my wreaths. White on white is a very popular theme in Scandinavian baking :) These are crunchy and delicious and even better the second day. 

  

May the joy and wonder of Christmas be with you!

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Danish Almond Wreath Cookies

Adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas
Printable Recipe

These are the best known of the Danish cookies. Eating them freshly made is much better than buying them in a tin which has traveled a few thousand miles!

Makes about 8 dozen cookies

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup finely minced almonds (I added almost 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla (almond extract would also taste great in these, or you could use half vanilla and half almond extract)
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

In a bowl, cream the sugar and butter until blended. Add the egg, almonds, vanilla and flour and mix until dough is smooth. Chill 30 mintes. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

Pur the dough into a cookie press or pastry bag with a 1/2" star tip. Press out into circles about 2" in diameter. You may add slivered almonds for the 'bows' on the wreaths.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes - or until golden.

Danish Wheat-Walnut Wreath Bread

This bread brought back memories.  Memories of a nut bread that my mother used to buy from a Danish bakery in my home town. Memories of Danish relatives and delicious baked goods. Perfect memories for this time of year.

I found this wonderful whole wheat and walnut bread in The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas. It gave me the opportunity to try Red Star's Platinum yeast which I won from Barbara at Barbara Bakes (along with a wonderful apron and bread board).  Thank you, Barbara, and Red Star Yeast - the bread turned out beautifully!

The recommendation was to serve the bread with cheese or flavored butters.  It was perfect served with cheese - especially a Wisconsin-made Lake Country cheese from Costco which has a delicious sharp and nutty flavor.

Danish Wheat-Walnut Wreath Bread

Adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book
Printable Recipe

Makes 1 Wreath

My Notes: I used 5 cups of bread flour, buttermilk rather than yogurt, and 1 cup of chopped walnuts. My loaf took closer to 45 minutes to bake. I used a bread machine to make the dough through the first rise stage.  You could also use a stand mixer with a dough hook. 

1 cup boiling water
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water, 105 to 115F
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup unflavored yogurt or buttermilk
4-1/2 to 5-1/2 cups bread or unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the whole wheat flour, stir to mix and let stand until room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add the corn syrup, salt and yogurt (or buttermilk)

Add the cooled wheat flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. (The whole wheat flour mixture may be lumpy.) Stir in bread or all-purpose flour 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition until the dough is stiff. Let stand 15 minutes.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Clean the bowl, oil it, and add the dough to the bowl, turning to grease all sides. Let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled. Knead the walnuts into the dough.

Lightly oil a work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Divide into 2 parts. Roll each part into a long strand, 25 to 30 inches long. Twist together to make a 2-strand rope.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it. Place rope onto the baking sheet to form a wreath; pinch ends together. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap or a towel, until puffy but not quite doubled, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375F. Bake wreath for 30 to 35 minutes or until the loaf is lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

Pecan Shortbread Cookies~

Get out your rolling pins and cookie cutters, here is the other award-winning cookie recipe that I promised to share with you from our newspaper's Christmas cookie contest.  This cookie won first place in the "Cut Out" category and took second place overall.  Shortbread has been one of my favorite kinds of cookies for many years and I loved the idea of a shortbread with pecans.

The heart shape also appealed to me since it is also used extensively in Danish Christmas decorating.  

 

The original recipe had white and dark chocolate drizzles but I stuck with my fave - dark chocolate.  These are delicious even plain without the chocolate drizzle. This recipe also called for cornstarch, which many shortbread recipes do,  but I substituted rice flour, which I use in my regular shortbread recipe. You can find rice flour in the Bob's Red Mill section of the baking aisle.

Help yourself to a very, Merry Christmas!

Pecan Shortbread Hearts

Adapted from the Cutout Winner of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Cookie Contest 2011
Printable Recipe

1 cup flour
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used rice flour instead)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup very finely chopped pecans (I used my mini food processor to chop them)
Powdered sugar or 2 ounces each dark chocolate and white chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Into medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch or rice flour, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture and mix until the dough begins to gather together. Mix in nuts - do not over mix.

Gather dough into a ball and place on a sheet of waxed paper. Flatten dough with a rolling pin between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Remove top piece of waxed paper and cut out dough with a 1-3/4 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Place hearts on a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet about 1/2 inches apart. Bake until form to the touch and just beginning to color on the edges, about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle cooled cookies with powdered sugar or pipe melted chocolate decoratively across cookies or just enjoy plain.

Strawberry and Lemon Curd Aebleskivers

This post is inspired by the painting Strawberries by Renoir below. Since strawberry season has already arrived for some parts of the country and will arrive here in another couple of months, I thought I'd share this breakfast idea that I had that brings together the lemon and strawberries in the painting. Aebleskivers with lemon curd and strawberries!

I made Microwave Lemon Curd which you can find at the bottom of my post here. This a great recipe which was first shared on a cooking forum a few years ago. 

Here is my version of Renoir's still life:

If you have never made aebleskivers, they are light, fluffy pancake balls made in a special aebleskiver pan. They are traditionally filled with slices of apple sautéed in a mixture of butter and brown sugar.   This is what an aebleskiver pan looks like:

Don't worry if you don't have an aebleskiver pan.  You could add diced strawberries to regular pancakes, top them with a dollop of lemon curd and dust them with some sifted powdered sugar.   

Here is my recipe:

Aebleskivers with Strawberries and Lemon Curd
Printable Recipe

Makes about 28 aebleskiver

2 eggs
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
Lemon curd - about 1/4 cup
5-6 fresh strawberries, diced

Prepare lemon curd with your favorite recipe, or the one found here. You can also find lemon curd at your grocery store.

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until creamy. Sift together flour and baking powder and gradually stir flour and buttermilk, alternating with each 1/2-cup addition, into egg mixture. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Preheat aebleskiver pan over medium-high heat. Butter should sizzle on the surface. Place 1/8 tsp. butter into each well to grease, using a pastry brush to coat surface of wells entirely.

Spoon batter into each well, filling half-way using about 1-2 teaspoons of batter. Place about 1 teaspoon of lemon curd on top of the batter followed by a few diced strawberries. Then, spoon enough additional batter over to cover and fill well to the top. Allow to cook until the edges of each “pancake” begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the wells.

Flip pancakes over with two wooden skewers (or knitting needles) and cook through - about 2 minutes more.

Remove the aebleskiver to a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar (if desired) to serve. Garnish with additional lemon curd and sliced strawberries.

This would be a wonderful for breakfast, brunch or even dessert!

Three Recipes from My Mother

My mother wasn't a gourmet cook by any means. She never had a mother to teach her and almost all of the family recipes came from aunts or other relatives. What she knew was how to be a wonderful and gracious hostess to anyone who would visit and visitors were many. She always had something ready to offer guests. She was cheerful, adventurous, outdoorsy and had hobbies and collections that fascinated everyone.

I tried to choose a few recipes that brought back the most vivid memories of my mother while growing up with my older sister. The first is her simple cucumber salad. This was often made with fresh cucumbers from her garden.

Since my family was Danish, frikadellers were something that was a recurring item our family table. There are many recipes for frikadellers, some of which include ground beef, veal and pork and some that are pork only. Some are bound with flour and egg, some with bread and egg. My mother usually used ground beef and sometimes pork as they were the easiest to find at the grocery store. They were often served with potatoes and pan gravy from the frikadellars. They were an inexpensive and filling way to feed her family.  My family grew up enjoying them as well. 

My mother loved making refrigerator cookies. They were always baked with either black walnuts or hickory nuts that she had gathered and dried herself. My father would crack them with a vice and then she would  pick out the nut meat. Now that black walnuts are readily available at the grocery store, I used them in my cookies. These are the cookies that were almost always on the table when friends and family stopped in to visit.

I was a little worried that I would be overcome with emotion the first time I made them after she passed away but, as I tasted the cookies, I remembered all the good times and conversations we had while eating them :)

Lastly, another treat that was always on the table when company dropped in was Danish Kringle. Growing up in a predominantly Danish city with Danish culture and bakeries, you never had to make Kringle at home.  You could buy wonderfully flaky pastry Kringle in several well-known, authentic Danish bakeries in town. My favorite was and still is pecan Kringle but it's made with all sorts of delicious fruit and nut filling varieties. Raspberry is another favorite.

I hope you enjoyed this tribute to my mother and Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers!

Mother’s Pickled Cucumber Salad
Printable Recipe

1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon salt

3 cups peeled and sliced cucumbers
1 cup peeled and thinly sliced red onion

Mix first three ingredients and stir until dissolved.

Place cucumbers and onion slices in a large enough bowl to fit them plus the liquids. Add liquid mixture, celery seed and salt and stir to combine.

Keeps in the refrigerator for 2-3 months.

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Frikadellers - My Mother's Way
Printable Recipe

• 1 pound lean ground beef or a mixture of ground beef and ground pork
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 slice hearty white bread, cut into small cubes - about 1 cup total (day old is great)
• 1/3 cup milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Soak bread cubes in milk for 5 minutes. Add soaked bread cubes with milk, egg, onion, salt and pepper to meat and mix just until blended (don't overmix).

Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to make handling easier. Form into small patties with your hands - using about 1/8 cup or more of mixture - you decide. Flatten slightly.

In large, heavy skillet (seasoned cast iron is preferred), over medium heat (with a tiny bit of oil or butter, if needed) brown patties well on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Continue to cook until no longer pink in the middle - about 20 minutes.

You can make a gravy with the pan drippings and serve with boiled potatoes.

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My Mother's Refrigerator Nut Cookies
Printable Recipe

1 cup sugar
1 cup margarine
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup finely chopped black walnuts or hickory nuts

Cream sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, baking soda and nuts. Divide dough into three parts. Shape each part into a roll 1-1/2 inches in diameter and about 7 inches long. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Heat oven to 400F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

Immediately remove from baking sheet.

Aebleskiver Sunday - Danish Pancake Balls

 
I have always been intrigued by Aebleskivers but I had never made them. There was a pan at Williams Sonoma that I was looking at before Christmas and when I went to buy one they were sold out! Last week, I was in the store browsing and saw that they had them in stock again so, naturally, one came home with me :)

My new pan worked beautifully and I was very pleased with my first attempt. I had been worried if I would be successful at flipping them over!


I filled them with diced apples that I had sauteed in butter and then added some cinnamon and sugar. The result was very tasty but there was just a little something missing in my mind. I looked in the frig and found a jar of Sarabeth's Plum and Cherry preserves. I added a heaping tablespoon of the preserves to the sauteed apples before making the next batch and that did the trick! They were puffy, light and delicious on the outside and moist and flavorful inside!


If you are lucky enough to have an aebleskiver pan you probably have a recipe already but I am sharing it for those of you who may be thinking about buying one :)

Aebleskiver – Danish Pancake Balls
Printable Recipe

The recipe is also located here.

One of Denmark's most famous types of pastry, Aebleskiver (in Danish, "Apple Slices") are light, melt-in-your-mouth pancake balls that taste like a cross between a pancake and a donut. Once you master the knack of using an aebleskiver pan, you may never buy fat-filled commercial donuts again!

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled, cored, pared, and chopped into 1/2” pieces
1 Heaping Tablespoon Preserves, such as plum or cherry (optional)
2 Tbsp. butter plus butter to grease aebleskiver pan
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preparation:

Place aebleskiver pan over medium-high burner and bring up to heat (to the point where butter sizzles on the surface).

In a separate pan, lightly sauté apple pieces in 2 Tbsp. butter until softened but still firm. Sprinkle with cinnamon. (Or in my case, add a little sugar and a tablespoon of your favorite preserves).

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until creamy. Sift together flour and baking powder; gradually stir flour and buttermilk, alternating with each 1/2-cup addition, into egg mixture. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Reduce heat under aebleskiver pan to medium. Place 1/8 tsp. butter into each well to grease, using a pastry brush to coat surface of wells entirely.

Spoon batter into each well, filling half-way (about 1-2 teaspoons). Place a teaspoon of apple filling on the batter, then spoon enough additional batter over apple to cover and fill well to the top. Allow to cook until the edges of each “pancake” begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the wells. Lightly run a knife (I used two wooden skewers) around the edge of each ball to loosen, and then flip over to cook through (about 2 minutes).

Remove the aebleskiver to a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve.

Alternative: Although aebleskiver are commonly filled with apple slices, you can substitute jam, dried fruit, or even cheese to create a delicious range of both sweet and savory variations.

Yield: 28 aebleskiver.

Danish Potato Soup

Leftover ham from your holiday dinner? I would like to suggest trying this creamy and delicious Danish Potato Soup.  Topped with a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg makes this soup even more delightful.

Try a chaser of Akvavit to complete your Danish experience if you dare.  It's strong stuff! 

Danish Potato Soup

My hubby and I both gave this Taste of Home recipe two tubers (or thumbs) up~

Printable Recipe

SERVINGS: 6

Ingredients:

1 meaty ham bone
Water
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
6 green onions, sliced
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 cups chopped cabbage
2 medium carrots, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half cream
Ground nutmeg

My notes: I used a smoked ham shank and increased the number of potatoes and carrots and would even add more next time I make this recipe. Instead of regular half and half I used fat free and I used Savoy cabbage. Also, the original recipe calls for no salt and pepper so I added a little of the former and a lot of the latter ;)

Directions:

In a soup kettle, bring ham bone and 2 quarts water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until meat pulls away from the bone.

Remove ham bone. When cool enough to handle, trim any meat and dice. Discard bone. Return ham to kettle along with potatoes, onions, celery, parsley, cabbage and carrots; cook 40 minutes.

Combine flour and 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Slowly pour into the soup, stirring constantly. Bring soup to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in cream. Remove from the heat. Garnish with nutmeg. Yield: 6 servings.