Many of the early traditional cookies were made in irons. Some of the m ore well to do, had their own design and often inscribed their initials.

Beat together egg yolks, sugar and cream. Add cardamom to flour and sift half of the flour, a little at a time, into the egg mixture and mix well. Put the remainder of the flour on counter and place dough on top. Roll dough out to a tick flap, and spread butter in thin layers across the dough. Fold over and roll once more. Roll up and chill for 24 hours. Roll out thin. Cut a cardboard template the size of goro iron; trace and cut cookies from the pattern. Bake in hot, ungreased goro iron until a light golden color. Wipe fat off as it trickles out. Remove from iron with a spatula onto a cutting board. Cut off the frayed edges and cut apart while still hot. Cool completely. May be frozen.

Ekte Norsk Mat--Authentic Norwegian Cooking is available for purchase, through the Vesterheim bookstore. Call toll free at 1-888-979-3346.