early St Lucia's Day

So I'm still going through Ikea withdrawal, especially after getting an email about their "Swedish Holiday Smorgasbord". Because of that, I decided to make Lussekater, or Saint Lucia buns! I always remember St. Lucia's from reading American Girl books when I was little. St. Lucia's Day is a Swedish holiday celebrated on December 13th. It was around before Lucia was even a saint (as in, before Christianity), and was traditionally the day of the winter solstice (I suppose before they realized it actually wasn't?). In the book I read when I was little, the Swedish-American was Kirsten, and she wore a wreath with candles on her head and gave her parents breakfast on the morning of St Lucia's Day, which happened to include St. Lucia buns, all because she was the oldest daughter. Plus she had two looped braids hanging from the side of her head, which were awesome. See?

And here they are:

They are AMAZING! And you should try them, so here is the recipe, from the cookbook "The Swedish Table".

Lussekater
16 rolls

1 T sugar
1/4 c warm water
1 pkg. dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c butter
3/4 c milk
1 t saffron
3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 T water
raisins

In a bowl, combine 1 T sugar, warm water, and yeast. Let sit 10 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble.

In a saucepan, combine butter, milk, and saffron. Heat until warm and the butter is melted, but do not boil. Let sit until temperature falls below 110 degrees F.  Add milk mixture to yeast in the bowl. Add flour and 1/2 c sugar and stir until combined and the dough is smooth and workable. If necessary, add more flour, up to 3 T.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled (or buttered) bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Divide into 16 pieces. Roll into 1" X 6" lengths. Coil ends in opposite directions, forming tightly curved S-shapes. Let rise for 1 more hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush buns with egg yolk and place raisins in center of curls (two for each bun). Bake 10-15 minutes, but don't let the raisins burn!

Evidently they freeze well too. I kind of feel like making a whole bunch and sharing them with everyone, because they are that good!