Across the sea, winter darkness cloaks frosty fjords and snow-capped glaciers. But Scandinavians (and their brethren who settled the upper Midwest) have an antidote for the long nights: sugar, spice and candlelight. Inspired by old-world flavors and traditions, these cookies and other treats will brighten your home and sweeten your holiday season.
Cardamom-Rye Cookies
Cardamom-Rye Cookies.
Blaine Moats
Rye flour lends whole-grain nuttiness to Finnish ruiskakut. We used this rich dough for decorated cut-out cookies, but the cookies taste great un-iced, too. (The same dough is also used in the top photo to make the triangular tomte, or elf, cookies.)
Orange-Saffron Stamp Cookies
Orange-Saffron Stamp Cookies.
Blaine Moats
On St. Lucia’s Day in mid-December, Swedish girls don crowns of candles and serve coffee and rolls before dawn. The flickering flames and soft, saffron-tinted lussekatter buns warmly herald the Christmas season. Saffron also lends its sunny hue and floral flavor to our tender cookies. Press them with a stamp, a glass or a fork.
Scandinavian Almond Bars
Scandinavian Almond Bars.
Carson Downing
These buttery slices are loaded with almond flavor. Though called bars, they aren’t a bar cookie, per se, but a thin slice, perfect for pairing with a cup of coffee. The recipe comes from perennial Iowa State Fair ribbon-winner Robin Tarbell-Thomas.
Pepparkakor
Carson Downing
Kim Van Patten, who created this recipe for the Iowa State Fair, says these Swedish spice cookies are popular at Christmas. Heart shapes are traditional to encourage kindness and sweetness. Her blue-ribbon winners are mixed up in one saucepan!
Sandbakkels
Sandbakkels.
Blaine Moats
Sandbakkels means “sand tarts” because the cookies (which, flipped over, can double as tiny shells to hold cream and fruit) have a fine, crisp texture. Find these Norwegian treats in Shauna Sever’s excellent cookbook Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland.
Kringla
Kringla.
Kringla is an Old Norse word that means circle or ring. This version, a family recipe from a retired Midwest Living staffer who grew up in rural Iowa, is a soft cookie traditionally made into a figure eight shape.
Lingonberry Hearts
Lingonberry Hearts.
Blaine Moats
Ruby-red lingonberries grow in Scandinavia’s mountains, and sweet-tart jam made from the fruit is a regional staple. Our buttery cookies are crisp on the first day but soften in the most scrumptious way as they meld with the preserves. (Lingonberry jam is available at some large supermarkets or online. You can use raspberry, too.)
Scandinavian Brownies
Scandinavian Brownies.
Blaine Moats
Ground almonds and cardamom transform the fudgy American classic. For wintry flair, use a cut-out paper snowflake as a powdered sugar stencil.
Honey-Spice Waffle Cookies
Honey Spice Waffle Cookies.
Blaine Moats
Waferlike Norwegian krumkake cookies, made in an ornate press, inspired these waffle-maker treats. They have the best texture on the first day, so the recipe makes a small batch, just right for whipping up when friends and family visit.
Tosca Diamonds
Tosca Diamonds.
Blaine Moats
Norwegian tosca cake layers caramelized almonds on sponge cake; a bar-cookie version swaps the cake for shortbread and has icing on top. We married the two and added our own gooey twist to these rich bars: buttery cookie crust, baked almond filling and warm caramel drizzle.
Brown-Butter Kringler
Brown-Butter Kringler.
Blaine Moats
In Denmark, the golden kringle (pretzel) is an old guild symbol that often hangs outside bakeries. This version of the beloved cookie uses browned butter for deeper, nutty flavor.
Triple-Almond Haystack Wreath
Triple-Almond Haystack Wreath.
Blaine Moats
Almond butter and extract, plus slivered nuts, flavor a sweet and-salty, no-bake cookie that was inspired by traditional Swedish straw Christmas ornaments. Make a big wreath to slice at parties or small ones for gifts. Or just drop haystack-style mounds.
Blueberry-Almond Fika Biscotti
Blueberry-Almond Fika Toast Biscotti.
Blaine Moats
Wild blueberries thrive in Sweden, where fika refers to a midday break for coffee—often accompanied by a treat like these biscotti-style cookies. These coffee-spice flavor cookies bake twice to crisp thoroughly—perfect for dipping in hot drinks.
Crispy Gingerbread
Crispy Gingerbread.
Blaine Moats
The nose-tickling scents of ginger and clove float from ovens as pepparkakor bakes. Gingerbread is a Scandinavian holiday staple, with crisp cookies shaped into animals, hearts or petite cottage walls. Our gingerbread recipe yields cookies sturdy enough for houses but delicious for snacking in any shape.
Hazelnut Macaroons
Hazelnut Macaroons.
Blaine Moats
We traded Scandinavia’s beloved almonds for toasted hazelnuts in spice-kissed, six-ingredient drop cookies that look like little snowballs. We love these simple cookies plain, but if you want to dress them up, dip the bottoms of the cooled cookies in melted bittersweet chocolate.
Cookie Inspiration
Blaine Moats
Love our cookies? Here’s our inspiration for some of these creations:
Read We consulted The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Duluth resident Beatrice Ojakangas. It’s an outstanding guide to traditional Nordic breads, cookies and cakes.
Shop We ordered our gingerbread house cutter and snowflake cookie stamp from Ingebretsen’s, a treasure trove of Scandinavian gifts and baking gear and a Minneapolis institution since 1921.
Decorate Kansas paper artist Angie Pickman created most of the snowflakes, paper trees and luminaria featured in our photos. She has made similar pieces available on her Etsy site.