This is a recipe Mom got many years from Mrs. Stenvold, mother of Carl Stenvold. She was a great cook and many of her Norwegian recipes are still favourites. This one of Fattigman is especially wonderful. Mom made these every Christmas and we all got to help in different ways. The use of the deep-fat fryer was only Mom’s job. She didn’t share that as she was nervous of it.

6 whole eggs

4 egg yolks

10 tbsp. sugar

15 tbsp. cream(heavy and sweet) this is unwhipped whipping cream. 16 tbsp.=1 cup.

So, 1 cup less 1 tbsp. = 15 tbsp.

10-12 cardamon seeds- heat on paper or in small frying pan, on top of stove until crisp, take off shells and crush seeds with rolling pin.

1/2 cup butter, melted

6-8 cups flour

small glass rum, optional

Beat egg whites stiff. Beat yolks until thick and lemon coloured. Add sugar, then cream, rum, melted butter. Beat in egg whites. Add cardamon seeds, then sufficient flour for a nice soft dough. Store in fridge overnight.

When you are ready, dust the pastry board with flour and the portion of dough. Use a small portion at a time to roll out very thin. Dough stretches. When it is as thin as can be, rest it for a minute and then cut in diamond shapes about 2 x 3 ” and put a small cut in centre about 3/4 ” long. You now pull one end of the diamond shape through the slit in the dough and make a twist. This is where you need at least 2 other good helpers. One to roll out the dough, one to help cut and shape the fattiman, and NOW , one to cook them in the hot deep fryer, oil temp. about 360 deg. You’ll know how long to cook them as when done, they float to top of oil and become a wonderful shade of light brown. Take out of hot oil and immediately put on to brown paper to cool and drain oil, if any. You will be amazed at how many you’ll get from this recipe. And you’ll be thinking, next year I’ll make a double recipe. THEY ARE SO GOOD. Give me a call when they are ready.

They need to be kept in tight lidded tins so they stay crisp.