I thought I was done with my Christmas cookie baking, but then my friend Lisa mentioned that kakemenn are her favorite Christmas cookies. I was floored. You see, I’ve always thought kakemenn were the most bland and boring of the Norwegian Christmas cookies. So now I was intrigued. Maybe I had misjudged kakemenn? Kakemenn, or “cookie men,” are pale cookies with crispy edges and soft centers, cut into fun shapes and painted with food coloring. Their light color makes them perfect canvases. They’re only slightly sweet and keep for weeks, so they’re a nice complement to more extravagant Christmas cookies.…
Christmas
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Continue ReadingWednesday is St. Lucia Day, which means I spent my Sunday baking lussekatter, or Swedish saffron buns! Norwegians and Swedes traditionally bake these fluffy Santa Lucia buns for Saint Lucia’s Day, but they are delicious year round. And wow, they make my home smell so good. St. Lucia saffron buns…
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Continue ReadingSt. Lucia Day is this week, which means it’s time to bake some lussekatter, or Swedish saffron buns! Norwegians and Swedes traditionally bake these fluffy Santa Lucia buns for Saint Lucia’s Day on December 13th, but they are delicious year round. St. Lucia saffron buns are called lussekatter, or “Lucia’s…
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Continue ReadingWhile I love most cookies, cakes, and sweet buns, I’ve never been a big fan of donuts. However I’ve always had one exception: smultringer. Smultringer are traditional Norwegian donuts spiced with cardamom. I don’t know if it’s the cardamom or their being homemade, but I have always loved smultringer. They’re…
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Continue ReadingNorwegians typically make seven types of cookies for Christmas (7 slag til jul). Each family will have its own favorites, but there are a few traditional cookies that make it in most people’s seven, including krumkaker, fattigmann, and brune pinner. Brune pinner, or “brown sticks,” are sliced cookies that are…
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Continue ReadingI’m a big fan of leftovers, so I love that one of the main Norwegian Christmas desserts is made from leftover risgrøt (rice porridge) on Christmas. Norwegians eat rice porridge for lunch on Christmas Eve, and then we’ll use mix the leftover porridge with whipped cream to make rice pudding…
