Swedish rosettes

These cookies have lost part of their charm for me, now that a similar confection is so widely available at street fairs. Sometimes called an elephant ear, sometimes just “fried dough,” it’s all basically the same – a very simple batter deep fried and then dusted heavily with powdered sugar. The addition of the lemon … Read more

Krumkakker

Along with sandbakkles and pepperkakker, krumkakker are one of the cookies that form the Norwegian triumvirate. If you ever go to a Swedish market, or a Scandinavian Christmas mart, you’re guaranteed to find these for sale – often with a cream filling. But as purists, we Oksendahls/Sahlbergs serve the cookies plain, no filling. Making this … Read more

Xmas Wreaths

These are my favorite cookies, hands down. They’re also my brother Jay’s favorites, as well as the favorite of all his kids. They’re really simple, but there are a few tricks I’ve learned over the years: Don’t make a double batch. The marshmallow will harden before you’re done shaping all the wreaths; and if you … Read more

Rum Balls

These look very pretty on the cookie plate, because they’re visually really different than the others – small, round, and dark. Plus they come together really easily. I personally prefer using kalhua to the rum. Bourbon is also good! 1 c Nilla water crumbs 1 c chopped pecans 1 c powdered sugar + extra for … Read more

Pistachio Fingers

I love these cookies! They’re rich and buttery, not too sweet (like a shortbread), with lots of flavor. Plus they’re almost “easy” to make – especially if you use a Cuisinart to chop the pistachios. I do recommend a Cuisinart, because the key to this recipe is chopping the pistachios as finely as possible. Otherwise … Read more

Pepperkakker

These spicy, crisp, cookie-cutter cookies are similar to a traditional gingersnap. However, the ginger-spice bite is stronger than many recipes call for, and they are meant to be quite crisp, which means they have to be quite thin. You’ll notice in the picture that the cookies have a hole near the top. This is so … Read more