I have to confess it has been many, many years since I have had lefse, that thin-as-paper potato flatbread that graces tables set by those of Scandinavian descent.

So long, as a matter of fact, that I was just a little girl in the north woods of Minnesota. Outside, it was December and the temperature, no doubt, dipping into the single digits: below zero, of course.

My Grampa and I sat that afternoon beneath the glow of the overhead light, the yellow painted walls of the kitchen pretending to offer warmth, and we ate lefse.

We ate and we ate and we ate lefse, chattering away to each other as we spread a layer of butter on each tortilla-like circle of bread, sprinkled it generously with sugar, and rolled it up. That, my Grampa instructed, was the way a real Norwegian liked to eat lefse. Others, he confessed, added cinnamon to the sugar, but he was a purist.

Was I distracted by my Grampa’s tales and sparkling blue eyes as he laughed at memories and wiped the butter off my chin? Maybe that’s why neither of us noticed that my tummy was beginning to bulge, the fifth — or was it the sixth — serving of lefse suddenly just a little too much deliciousness for my system to handle.

I am certain that the cup or two… or three… of hot chocolate Grampa and I sipped as we snacked had some impact on the end result of that winter afternoon indulgence: a stomach ache to end all stomach aches.

Grampa, naturally, felt terrible.

Well, it was no disaster. Some rest, a heating pad on the offended stomach, and a couple of missed meals set everything right again. Unfortunately, lefse fell to the bottom of my favorite snacks list for quite a few years. The scent of lefse warming, its distinct potatoey aroma, had the effect of making me want to leave the room.

Then time and travel whisked me away from the land of lefse, and more years intervened. But recently, I’ve felt a calling to retrieve my Norwegian roots, beginning with lefse. I spent a bit of time reviewing recipes for this delicacy, settling on this one from “Recipes From the Kitchn.”

I’m looking forward to introducing my family to this forgotten pleasure of my younger years. But you can believe, I’ll be counting — for their sakes.

Norwegian Potato Lefse

(Yields 16 small flatbreads or 8 large flatbreads)

1 pound starchy or all-purpose potatoes

¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste

1 to 1½ cups all-purpose flour

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large, uniformly-shaped chunks. Place in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Over medium-high heat, bring the water and the potatoes to a gentle boil. Cook until the potatoes are very soft and easily pierced with a fork, 10-12 minutes from the start of the boil. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Using a potato masher, potato ricer, or a dinner fork, mash the potatoes as thoroughly as possible; you don’t want any lumps. Cut the butter into small chunks and mix it with the potatoes. Add the cream and salt. Keep mixing until the butter and cream are completely absorbed. Taste and add more salt if desired.

Transfer the potatoes to a storage container and refrigerate overnight or up to three days.

(Or use 2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes.)

When ready to make the lefse, clear a large workspace for dividing and rolling out the flatbreads. Lefse are traditionally made with grooved wooden rolling pins, but a standard rolling pin will do the job just fine. A pastry scraper or sturdy spatula for lifting and transferring the rolled-out flatbreads is also handy.

Mix the mashed potatoes with 1 cup of the flour. At first this will be very crumbly and floury, but the mixture will gradually start coming together. Turn the dough out on the counter and knead once or twice to bring it together into a smooth ball. Roll it into a thick log and then divide it into 16 equal portions for small 6-8-inch lefse or eight equal portions for large 10-12-inch lefse.

Roll each portion of dough between your palms to form a small ball. Cover all the balls with a clean dishtowel off to one side of your workspace.

Set a cast iron skillet or flat grill pan over medium-high heat. When a bead of water sizzles when flicked on the pan, it’s ready.

Dust your workspace and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll one of the rounds of dough in the flour and then press it into a thick disk with the heel of your hand. Working from the center out, roll the dough into as thin a circle as you can manage. Lift, move, and flip the dough frequently as you work to make sure it’s not sticking. Use more flour as needed.

Roll the lefse gently onto the rolling pin, as if you were transferring pie dough, and lay it in the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until speckled with golden-brown spots. Transfer the cooked lefse to a plate and cover with another clean dish towel.

While one lefse is cooking, roll out the next one. Keep all the cooked lefse under the towel to keep them warm and prevent them from drying out. If the lefse start to stick to the pan, melt a small pat of butter in the pan and wipe it away with a paper towel to leave only a very thin coating of fat on the pan.

Spread the lefse with your topping of choice* and roll it up to eat. Leftover lefse can stacked with wax paper between the layers to prevent sticking and kept refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for three months. They can be eaten cold from the fridge or warmed for a few seconds in the microwave.

*See above!