Every Christmas Eve, my family takes a long, snowy drive up to my grandparents. The drive was always tedious but once we arrived at the house, the warmth and light would embrace me as I entered. The warm scents of pork belly, potatoes and lefse would waft from the kitchen, inviting me in. 
“We were waiting for you to start the krumkake!” says my Grandma. Together we start carefully preparing the krumkake cookie dough as we’ve done a million times before. Once the dough is as smooth as silk it gets poured on the hot iron. The iron has always been special to me. It is a dark, simple iron and it belonged to my great great grandmother who came from Norway which makes it exciting to use.
Right as the thin cookie came off the iron it would be quickly wrapped around a krumkake roller. Krumkake is unique in its cone-like shape and designs the iron leaves. The taste is incredible with its buttery sweet cardamom flavor and the thin wafer that melts in your mouth. The swirling design and warmth of the cookie is unmistakable.
My favorite part of Christmas Eve is near the end of the night when all the voices of my family float around the house as they try the cookies. Everyone is glowing as I look around the room at the Christmas celebration. So the best part of Christmas every year for me is always making and sharing krumkake to embrace my Norwegian heritage.

– Ivy F

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more