THE FIRST SNOW

Finns await for the first snow as enthusiastic as children await for the Christmas. Snow dresses the landscape with pure white scarf and a dark winter day feels instantly a lot brighter. Snow covered trees, frozen lakes and white fields that dazzle like diamonds all look magical. Every single snow flake is different and unique. The frosty winter weather is pinching your cheeks, finally the winter has arrived.

According to the Finnish folk tradition one can predict the snow conditions with a sorbus tree. If there's lots of sorbus berries in the autumn, there will not be too much of snow in the winter to come. In Kalevala, the national epic of Finland, the sorbus belonged to Rauni, the wife of Ukko, the god of thunder. That's why the sorbus tree was believed to be sacred and to bring good luck. Sorbus was not only used to predict how much snow the winter would have, but also to predict the harvest, marriages and wars.

According to the Finnish Institute of Meteorology the official first snow has landed only when there's at least a 1 cm thick snow cover in the morning. For ordinary Finns even the tiniest snow flurry will count. In the mountain range of Lapland, the northern Finland, snow can arrive as early as August or September, but in the southern Finland the first flakes are seen normally around November.

The very first snow often melts away, but there is no limit of joy when the weather is cool enough to finally hold the snow. Slides, skies, and the kicksled are brought outdoors from the storage, the back pack is filled with sweet snacks and families and friends head together outdoors. The winter fun can start.


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SNOWBALL COOKIES
200 g butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
70g (1 dl) brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
260g (4 dl) wheat flour
pinch of salt
120 g round, snowball shape chocolate dragees
(chocolate candies with hard shell, like M&M*s, but preferably white to imitate snowball)

Beat butter and sugars in a bowl with electric mixer until fluffy, beat in egg.

Stir in flours, salt and the snowball shaped chocolate bits.

Place level tablespoons of the mixture well apart on a lightly greased baking tray. Reshape and flatten the cookies before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes in the oven of 200 degrees of Celcius, or until lightly browned. Let stand on trays 5 minutes before lifting onto wire racks to cool.

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CARAMELIZED ALMONDS
85 g (1 dl) sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardemon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
100 g almonds
Melt the sugar in a saucepan, but do not let it burn. Stir in all of the spices add the almonds. Mix all together so that the almonds are sugar coated all around.

Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet and let it harden.

When cooled and hardened, brake the almonds loose, and store in an airtight container.


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BANANA MUFFINS
100 g (1dl) sugar
200-270g (3-4dl) wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs (room temperature)
200 g melted butter
50 milliliters (1/2dl) milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed
70 g chopped walnuts

Sift dry ingredients into large bowl, stir in combined eggs, butter and milk.

Stir banana and the walnuts into muffin mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared pan or muffin cups.

Bake in the oven of 200 degrees of Celsius for about 20 minutes.