Melt the 200g butter and let cool. Slightly head the milk and pour into a bowl. Add the yeast and dissolve. Beat in the egg and butter. Rub the saffron with a bit of sugar, than mix with the remaining sugar. Stir sugar, vanilla and salt into the milk mix.

Sift the flour onto the milk and stir it in. Fold under the chopped almonds. Knead the dought until smooth and elastic. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

Cover 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Knead the dough well one more time and divide it into 30 pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-20 cm long log. Roll up the two ends so they curl inwards toward the center. Put the Lucia Cats on the baking sheets and set aside to rise for another 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Celsius. Beat together the egg yold and the table spoon of milk and brush the cats with the mixture. For decoration, place one raisin in each curl (like eyes). Bake for 12-15 minutes on the center rack.