A soft and pillowy cookie of supposed Norwegian and/or Swedish origin (see note*, below) Kringla are shaped like a pretzel before baking. This recipe is updated with eggnog spices.
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup dairy or nondairy eggnog
sifted powder sugar
ground nutmeg
Directions
- In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Add the flour mix and eggnog alternately to the sugar/butter mix. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. Dough may still be sticky but it is a soft dough.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Take out half the dough at a time (leaving rest in the fridge). On a lightly floured surface, take one tablespoon of the dough and roll into a rope shape (about 1/2 inch thick and 8 inches long) On an ungreased cookie sheet, place the rope in a loop, cross one end over the other. Make the shape slightly oval. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies and cool on wire rack. While still warm, sprinkle tops with powdered sugar and nutmeg.
Notes
- * Kringla cookies are practically unknown in Norway/Sweden today! They are family traditions for many North Americans of Swedish and Norwegian descent, but they are not, today, a Scandinavian tradition. This was confirmed to me by a Norwegian cultural historian, a Norwegian chef and a couple of Norwegian foodies (who were all mystified by Americans insisting that this Kringla is a Norwegian national culinary treasure while they themselves have never seen it in Norway). The words Kringle and Kringla (in Norse and Swedish respectively) refer to a savory pretzel, not a cookie. Sukkerkringler look somewhat similar in photos but it is a yeast dough topped with sugar.
Two possibilities exist:
– That Kringla cookies are indeed from some local region of Norway or Sweden, but they only became popular once reaching the US, and they died out in Scandinavia or at the very least, never reached widespread popularity there.
– That Kringla cookies were developed in the USA by recent immigrants from Scandinavia
There is no way to really know!
If you want a Norwegian cookie that is traditional in Norway today , try Krumkake, Berlinerkranser, Fattigmann, Goro, Peperkaker. - Photo courtesy of Peaceful Cooking, used with permission. Head on over to her excellent blog post about these Eggnog Kringla, with lovely photos of all the steps required to make them.