Swedes sure love their fika, which is a coffee break enjoyed with a sweet treat. While Swedish buns (like these cardamom buns) and cake (like silviakaka) are popular for fika, you’ll also see Swedish cookies served for fika as well. In fact apparently before fika became an established tradition in…
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Continue ReadingI 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…
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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 ReadingFattigmann, or “poor man’s cookies,” are some of the most nostalgic Norwegian Christmas cookies for me. When I ate the first fattigmann of this batch it instantly felt like Christmas (it also helps that it snowed in Bergen last night!). Fattigmann are made from a simple cookie dough spiced with cardamom,…
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Continue ReadingIf you ask a Dane about classic Danish Christmas cookies, I’m sure they’ll mention brunkager, or “brown cookies,” which are a crispy gingerbread cookie with almonds, spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. They’re sort of like a larger version of pebernødder, except with almonds. Personally my favorite Danish Christmas cookies…
