Swedish Tea Cakes

This is a recipe that my family always made together for the holidays every year.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups butter (340 grams)
1 cup brown sugar
3.5 cups sifted flour
2 egg yolks (plus egg whites for dipping)
1 tsp. vanilla
Chopped pecans
Raspberry jam

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks, then add flour. Put dough in the refrigerator for a day. Roll in balls the size of a walnut. Dip in slightly beaten egg whites, then roll in pecan nuts. Leave a slight imprint in the top (but not too deep). Put on lower shelf of oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 10 minutes. Take out of oven and add raspberry jam. Put back in oven for another 10-15 minutes on middle shelf.

Rice cooker corn bread

Having lived in the south for half of my life, corn bread is something that I occasionally get a craving for. I'm scared to make it in our tiny Japanese oven, because it burns things on top and under-cooks the bottom. So I decided to give it a try in our fancy new rice cooker (a wedding gift!) using the "bake" function.

200 g yellow cornmeal (1.5 cups)
100 g flour (1 cup)
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter – melted

Grease the bowl of the rice cooker. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt and milk together. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring only until moist. Drizzle in the butter, stir slightly, and pour the cornbread batter into the greased rice cooker bowl. Put the bowl into the rice cooker and set on "bake." (If your rice cooker doesn't have a "bake" function, just press "cook" like you would for rice and make sure it stays on "cook" for about 40 minutes). Carefully remove the cornbread from the bowl to a plate to cool slightly. Cut cornbread into pieces and serve warm.