December 13th marks St. Lucia Day a holiday celebrated in Sweden. My father’s side of the family are from Sweden and when I was younger I learned to make these traditional buns. My whole family looks forward to these each year.

Swedish St. Lucia Buns

I always double this recipe because we can never have enough!

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 package dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon saffron

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon oil

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

raisins

Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Set aside to cool. Measure the lukewarm water into the large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Stir well and set bowl aside for 5 minutes. Add the warm milk and butter to the yeast. Stir in the sugar, egg, salt and saffron. Then add 1 1/2 cups of flour and stir until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour so you can shape the dough into a ball. Turn dough onto the counter and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place dough into a bowl and coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.

Divide the dough into 6 sections. Take 1 section and divide it in half. Roll each half into an 8-inch rope. Cross the 2 ropes in the middle and coil in the ends, or take one rope and coil in the ends. Place the buns 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise 30 more minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix the egg and water and brush the egg mixture over the buns. Add a raisin into each coil. Bake buns for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Move to a wire rack to cool.