With the holidays fast coming up, you may be thinking of what you should bring to your celebrations. Everyone loves dessert, but you don’t want to offer dishes that everyone’s already tried. Whether you have Norwegian heritage or otherwise, bringing classic Norwegian desserts with you is a great way to introduce your guests to something new yet equally delicious as their holiday favorites.
The good news is that you can enjoy traditional Norwegian desserts at any time of the year, but they take on an even more special taste at the end of the year. Here are seven delicious Norwegian desserts to consider bringing with you to your festivities:
1. Fattigman
One of the most popular guilty pleasures in the world is fried food, and what better way to indulge than eating fried cookies for dessert? Instead of being baked on a sophisticated cookie iron like other cookies from Norway, fattigman are diamond-shaped cookies fried quickly in hot oil to give them a scrumptious crisp. These delicious treats are sweet and full of irresistible ingredients like heavy cream, superfine sugar, and cognac or brandy.
2. Norwegian Krumkake Cookies
These cookies, pronounced kroom-kah-keh, are delicate rolled waffle cookies filled with sugar. Norwegians tend to eat this during the holidays. These cookies are made with a krumkake iron, which looks like a waffle iron, imprinting them with a uniquely beautiful pattern. You can use them as cookie swaps and store them in airtight containers to keep their crispness.
3. Julekake
Also known as Norwegian Christmas bread, it is relatively simple to make compared to the traditional British fruitcake, which requires weeks of preparation, as it can be done in just one afternoon. Julekake consists of delicious loaves filled with candied fruits that are most popular during the holidays. You can eat it warm as a treat or a snack topped with some salted butter.
4. Kransekake
Known as Norwegian ring cake, it is a magnificent, tall, and flourless cake that Norwegians enjoy during all kinds of celebrations, like birthdays, weddings, and baby showers. It’s gluten-free since it uses ground almonds instead of wheat flour. It is a towering cake made of concentric rings layered on top of each other, stuck together with delicious almond paste.
5. Berlinerkranser
While the name translates to Berlin wreaths, these delightful butter cookies are distinctly Norwegian and ideal for gifting during the holidays. They’re similar to Danish butter cookies, although they use hard-boiled egg yolks for their batter instead of raw egg yolks. The result is tender cookies that crumble even more.
6. Skolebrød
Referred to as Norwegian school bread, this dessert resembles a filled donut more than a bread, which is why it is extremely popular as a lunchbox snack for Norwegian children. It uses sweet, yeasty dough molded into buns, then filled with delicious, creamy vanilla pudding. It is baked until it attains a golden-brown hue, then it is glazed with sugar and dipped into sweetened shredded coconut. It definitely makes for a genuinely addictive dessert!
7. Scandinavian Rosette Cookies
These tasty, vanilla-scented cookies are delicate and crispy because they’re fried in oil instead of baked. As implied by the name, the rosette cookies look like flowers, making them a gorgeous contribution to your celebration. Top them off with cinnamon and powdered sugar to serve them immediately, or freeze the fried cookies for up to two months, where they’ll still be just as delicious!
Conclusion
These traditional Norwegian baked goods are perfect for any occasion, but they’re best enjoyed in the company of your loved ones. By bringing these to your celebrations, you’ll undoubtedly bring the warm festive cheer to mark the season.
Ana’s Norwegian Bakeri sells delicious Scandinavian desserts of all kinds. Our best-sellers include Norwegian cinnamon bread, rosinboller, sweet cardamom rolls, sunshine butter rolls, and many more. Try out these delicious Norwegian baked goods at our bakery today!