Pannukakku with Lingonberry Sauce

Our Alaska Lowbush Cranberries are actually the same berry as the Swedish Lingonberry. As I mentioned earlier, this year we have a bumper crop. If I continue and this cranberry kick I will have to change the name of my blog to "The Red Kitchen". This morning I decided that it would be great to make a traditional Lingonberry dish for breakfast, a celebration of a beautiful fall day and a bountiful harvest. Growing up the Suomi Cafe was the local place for a hearty breakfast and they served Pannukakku and although I have probably only eaten it once or twice, I have always wanted to try making it at home.
I started the Lingonberry sauce last night before bed. I like my sauce pretty tart, so up the sugar to 1- 1 1/4 cups if you like it sweeter. This can be served warm or cold. I put the sauce in the fridge overnight and served it cold on the Pannukakku. The Pannukakku recipe I found on the Kreative Kirstin blog was good, but I could tell that the amount of butter was WAY off. I used half a stick and it probably would have been fine with 1/4 stick.

Lingonberry Sauce
3 cups lingonberries or cranberries
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar

In a medium saucepan combine cranberries and water. Boil over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from head and add sugar, stir until dissolved. Let cool. Transfer to refrigerator. Serve.

Cranberry Liquor

This was a very poor year to grow just about anything in Fairbanks. It was also a really poor year for picking wild blueberries, but it was a steller year for cranberries. They are just dripping off the plants. We picked well over a gallon today and I got almost a gallon last week. They were really quite beautiful today. Most will get frozen and made into Cranberry Relish over the holidays. I couldn't resist getting a little cranberry liquor going that will be ready just in time for the holidays. Notice, I need to run out and get a little more vodka as mine did not fill my jar all the way!
Cranberry Liquor
6 cups cranberries
1 large bottle of vodka
Place clean, stem and leave free, dry cranberries in a 1/2 gallon canning jar. Put lid on jar and shake vigorously to break up cranberries and release their juice. Fill jar to top with vodka and place in a cool, dry place for about 3 months.
Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and strain mixture into a bowl. If you want the liquor to be clear, not cloudy do not press the cheesecloth.
Make a simple syrup by boiling 1 cup of water and adding two cups of sugar. Stir until melted and remove from head. Let cool and add to liquor. Return liquor to canning jars or individual bottles to package as gifts.