Around the World in 12 Dishes: Sweden

When I came across the Around the World in 12 Dishes project and knew it was for us!  Each month the hosts are picking a country to explore with the little ones through food and crafts.  Fun fun!  This month the spotlight is on Sweden.  We were just hosting family from Sweden, so this should be extra enjoyable for my guy! 

We had a hard time narrowing down our food options, but we ended up going with Swedish rye cookies.  Rye cookies are often made around Christmas in Sweden.  They can be hung on the Christmas tree or served as a treat.  

We followed an updated recipe at 101 Cookbooks that substitutes whole-wheat pastry flour for white and included cream cheese for a little extra something.  The dough is nice and heavy, perfect for a 2 year old wielding a cookie cutter.  Taste wise I like a more decadent cookie, but they were a huge hit with my little one.  They aren’t too sweet and would make a good base for a snack bar. 

For our art project we did Swedish flag inspired sponge painting.  I cut two sponges, one blue and one yellow, to make the respective shapes of the flag.  We got out the yellow and blue paint and headed to the art table.  

 I had thought we would end up with lots deconstructed flags, but instead it turned into a game—I would make a flag and he wanted me to say “I ONLY want a yellow and blue flag on my page, NO GREEN ALLOWED.” Then he would quickly squish and squiggle his hands through the flag mixing the colors to make green, laughing hysterically the whole time.  We did this about 30 times!

We are looking forward to having our passports stamped again next month!