Hi. I'm new to this sub and really fell down a rabbit hole with it today, wanted to give a little something back.
Last winter I got really into making fried dough and got some antique cast iron rosette irons. Some of them are more like fried dough/fritters (top L ones that look like flowers) and there's another kind of rosette iron that makes little tart shell shapes to fill with sweet or savory fillings..
I had to throw the original box for these away as it was gross and falling apart but I took a photo of the lid and saved the little antique recipe booklet that came with it.
When I figure out where I put the recipe book I will transcribe that too as it's really a definite product of its time–late 1800's Midwest Minnesota cooking very influenced by Scandinavian/German/Dutch immigrants (hence the multi lingual recipe), plus some "fancy" Victorian style appetizers.
I have also cooked the rosettes with this recipe and it comes out delicious though we have to disable the smoke alarm in our tiny apartment and open all the windows when we do it and use the very heavy cast iron dutch oven that keeps the oil temperature up. I will try and post an additional photo of the cooked results in the comments.
I have not tried making the tart shell shapes yet.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have in the comments.
by Hyracotherium
12 Comments
Where did you find the rosette irons? I have been looking to get some for a long time.
Recipe for Rosettes
Number 1 – the batter is made of 4 eggs, 1 pint sweet milk, 2 teaspoonfulls sugar. Whip the eggs well and put in enough flour to make the batter as thin as batter for pancakes.
Number 2 – 1 egg, 1 teaspoon-full sugar, 1 pint milk and flour as above. These cakes can, if you wish, be filled with whipped cream and served this way.
This sub is so great for finding other obsessive people. I too have spent a winter getting into fried dough. I’ve always wanted to try these, you’re inspiring me to find the rosette irons.
I have this exact set.
Belonged to my late wife’s mother.
I used to have rosette irons, maybe they were my mom’s. I made those cookies a few times, but the smell of deep fat frying lingered in the house for days, so I got rid of those things when we moved across the country 8 years ago.
More trouble than they were worth
Notes:
Oiling the irons thoroughly first with bacon drippings or crisco is very helpful in getting the mostly set dough to release cleanly.
You can season these like a cast iron skillet and it works great. Mine had a lot of use so they kind of came pre-seasoned, I just washed them and quickly dried and recoated with thin layer of grease to store so they don’t rust.
I personally found thinner batter (more like crepe batter texture than the suggested pancake texture) to come off the hot iron easier.
I make a whole batch at once and keep them warm on a cookie sheet in the oven set at 150 deg F and we just eat them all day or freeze.
Also during the holidays if you have spare eggnog you can use that (with or without a tiny splash of orange extract/orange juice) in the batter instead of milk.
“Sweet Milk” = not buttermilk or sour milk (milk w vinegar)
I found some photos I took earlier of the recipe book. When I find the book again I will transcribe the whole thing. [Antique Rosette Irons Recipe book](https://imgur.com/gallery/rosettes-antique-recipe-book-alfred-andresen-co-mLUtkIn)
I make the Rosettes every Christmas. As soon as they come out of the oil, I coat them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture. They’re delicious!
I’ve made them and like them best quickly coated with sugar! I’ve seen them frosted on one side, but that isn’t as pretty or as yummy imo.
I make rosettes every year for the holidays. They are delicious but so labor intensive. One batch is a several hour long ordeal with varying degrees of success.
I have some that were my moms. Haven’t had since I was a kid so will probably make around holidays.
Making the Christmas rosettes was always a point of discussion between my mom and my grandmother. And whether milk or water would yield the best rosettes.