What holiday season would be complete without an incredible variety of cookies and baked goods. In Norway, these are referred to as julekaker.
In the 18th century, baked goods were not made in the home, but rather in bakeries and large farms that had access to large ovens. The concept of cookies and baked goods relating to Christmas did not exist at this time or before. In fact, little reference has been made to what was served during the holidays, but it would have included speciality goods served for other celebrations and high holidays throughout the year. Later, in the 19th century and after the introduction of the household oven, baking became widespread and Christmas cookies and baked goods started to become defined, especially following the Second World War.
The term syv slag småkaker (seven types of cookies) refers to an old tradition of having seven different kinds of cookies in the tin as the number 7 was thought to bring luck and is an important religious number. There are many ideas as to which cookies fall into the original list, but it is generally thought that sandkaker, fattigmann, goro, berlinerkranser, sirupsnipper, and krumkaker should be on there.
To help you find inspiration for bringing some holiday sweetness into your kitchen, I have compiled a list of all of the Norwegian Christmas cookies / julekaker recipes you’ll find on my site. I’ll keep this list updated as more recipes are added. Happy baking!
Aniskringler (Anise Pretzels)
Berlinerkranser
Brune Pinner
Brunost Pepperkake Cake
Fattigmann
Glitre Kringle
Julekaker (Christmas Bread)
Kakemenn
Kling (Lefse) from Eksingedalen
Kling from Rollag
Kling from Uvdal
Krumkaker
Knekk-Kaker
Marzipan Wreath with Dried Fruits (Julekringle)
Nordlandslefse / Hardangerlefse
Pepperkaker (Spiced)
Old Fashioned Pepperkaker
Pepperkaker Buns
Rømmebrød
Serinakaker
Smultringer
Snipp
Sandnøtter
Sirupskake
Sirupsnipper
St. Lucia Buns (Lussekatter)
Sugared St. Lucia Buns
Terteringer (Pastry Cookies)
Vepsebol (Meringue Cookies)
Vørterbrød (Wort Bread)
Enjoyed reading the history of baking in the 18th Century, I don’t think we thought to know how baking was done at that time. Love all the variety here and would like to know how to download them as single recipes! Thank You.
Hi Martha, so happy you enjoyed reading more about the history! I’m afraid I do not have a function to download all of them into single recipes. You’ll have to click on each one, then copy and paste into a Word document to print. Maybe one day there will be cookbook with all of these recipes in one place 🙂
A cookbook would be great! Both my parents were from Norway 🇳🇴 and a lot of these meals and kakker are old friends for me (except Lutefiske! No thanks!). I would really love a cookbook by you, Nevada!
It’s so nice to connect to heritage through food! I do have two cookbooks available internationally, which are filled with sweet and savory traditional recipes and newer ones – North Wild Kitchen & Norwegian Baking through the Seasons. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! Loved learning a little tid- bit about my heritage. My moms side of the family came from Norway. I am excited to try these recipes!!
Julekake, lefse, krumkake, sandbakkels, rosettes, spritz, fattigman, and pepparkakor are all Christmas to me. Yours all look amazing!
Thank you, Jennifer!
We are preparing for a Christmas around the world with our Utah based homeschool group. My husband has Norwegian heritage so my son has chosen Norway as our country to host and tell about the Christmas traditions. We will be making several of these treats to share.
Thank you for sharing with us!
How fun! I hope everyone enjoys them!