Scandinavian Christmas Cookies Bring Old-World Tradition to Your Holiday

Recipes for Scandinavian Christmas cookies are handed down from generation to generation. Find recipes and learn about age-old cookie traditions.

Rosettes
Rosettes | Photo by jewels77b.

A Taste of Tradition

Beloved recipes for Scandinavian Christmas cookies are handed down from generation to generation. Although recipes might vary between families and locations, timeless favorites exist, and even overlap national borders. Read on to learn about traditional Scandinavian Christmas cookies and get favorite recipes to try.

A Long History

Scandinavian Christmas cookie baking traditions have deep historic roots and influences:

  • Keeping the pantry filled to guard against famine during fierce northern winters.
  • Pre-Christian, winter solstice celebrations of feasting and beer drinking.
  • Viking hospitality, welcoming travelers and guests with a fine feast.
  • Medieval baking traditions using spices and sugar to mark church events, especially Christmas.
  • Culinary influences adapted from France, Germany, and Austria.
  • Widespread popularity and availability of coffee in the 1860s, inspired after-dinner coffee table gatherings.
  • Finely milled flours, white sugar, and spices becoming available for the average homemaker in the 1880s.

You might be interested in more Scandinavian Recipes by Country.

Scandinavian Cookies to Try

Rosettes

A crisp, decorative cookie from Sweden and Norway made by dipping a rosette iron into a simple, sweet batter and deep frying it in oil. Here's a video showing you how to make rosettes.

Sandbakelser I

(Sand tarts) from Norway are almond-flavored cookies baked in decorative molds.

Sandbakelser I
Sandbakelser | Photo by Victoria Warren-Mears.

Pepparkakor

Crisp, very thin gingersnaps from Sweden, traditionally cut out in heart and flower shapes.

Pebber Nodder

Pepper nuts from Denmark and peppernotter from Sweden, are the oldest Christmas cookie in Scandinavia and Europe, dating to medieval times when spices were used exclusively for holiday baking.

Pebber Nodder (Danish Christmas Cookies)
Pebber Nodder (Danish Christmas Cookie) | Photo by ashley c.

Fattigmann

(Poor Man), from Norway, also dates to the Middle Ages, and, along with Rosettes, is typical of traditional cookies deep-fried in unsalted fat.

Krumkake

Vaffler, and Goro from Norway date to the 1700s. Originally made over open fires using decorative irons, modern cooks use electric or stovetop irons to bake paper-thin wafers imprinted with delicate filigree patterns. Krumkake, wrapped around a wooden cone, are named for the buttery crumbles left in your hand when you take a first bite.

Norwegian Krumkake
Norwegian Krumkake | Photo by ange.

Pepparkakorhus

The traditional gingerbread house, often a family project, is a centerpiece on many Christmas tables.

Drommar

A light and airy cookie with a pleasantly crumbly texture when you bite into it.

Drommar
Drommar | Photo by Avon-status quo PRO.

Aebleskiver

Plump doughnut-like round balls are a favorite in Denmark, served when friends and family go visiting between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Aebleskiver
Aebleskiver | Photo by Kristin Lang Eoff.

More:

Traditional Ingredients

Special care goes into choosing the highest quality ingredients.

  • Sweet, uncultured butter
  • Vanilla sugar, similar to vanilla-flavored confectioners' sugar
  • Sliced, ground, or whole almonds for dough and decoration
  • Marzipan paste made of ground almonds and fine castor sugar
  • Spices, especially ground ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon
  • Hornsalt, or baking ammonia--the Scandinavian equivalent of baking powder-- makes cookies crisp and light
  • Pearl sugar (large sugar crystals) for decoration

The Cookie Baking Season

Baking is a fine art year-round in Scandinavia. But come late November, the serious Christmas baking begins.

Danish and Norwegian home cooks bake at least seven different kinds of cookies -- a carryover from the 19th century when the number reflected a family's wealth and status. The buttery treats are packed away in tins awaiting the first Sunday of Advent and the official start of holiday entertaining. That's when Scandinavians especially love the ritual of gathering around the living room coffee table to enjoy after-dinner coffee and a dazzling array of cookies.

More Christmas Cookies

We've gathered an impressive collection of Christmas cookie recipes for you to explore. And if you're looking for more cookie recipes from all over the world, we've got you covered.

You Might Also Like

First-time baker? Here are helpful tips for baking the best cookies. If you're interested in decorating cookies, we've got you covered, too.

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