Want to try a new traditional Christmas cookie recipe? Give Norwegian Kringla cookies a try.
Kringla cookies are a soft, buttery treat to add a touch of tradition to your holiday baking. These twisted cookies are known for their light, tender texture and subtly sweet flavor. They are easy to make and use common ingredients.
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Traditional Kringla Recipe
Imagine soft, pillowy sugar cookies. That’s what these are, but SO MUCH better. Kringla cookies are baked just long enough to just barely turned a faint shade of gold/light brown. By doing that, you get this soft cookies without any crispy edges. Added bonus, this kringla recipe is REALLY easy to make.
When I was still homeschooling the kids, we did a yearly Christmas Around The World unit study. One year we studied the country of Norway and made these as part of the unit study. The origin of the recipe is Norwegian, but this version came from my paternal grandmother.
My grandmother was an amazing baker. We would get in the kitchen together and she’d let me help her cut out sugar cookies, add almonds to the lebkuchen, and roll out the dough for these Kringla.
She wasn’t always in the kitchen, but she ALWAYS had homemade cookies on hand. Whenever we came over, which was often because we lived next door, she had these for us. Turns out she would make huge batches and freeze them. This Kringla freezes really well.
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Ingredients for Norwegian Kringla Cookies
Ingredients for Norwegian cookies are probably already in your kitchen. There is nothing fancy or expensive required. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Sugar
- Egg
- Sour cream
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
How to Make Kringla
Above is a visual look at the different steps from mixing to rolling and baking. First, you combine the wet and dry ingredients separately. Then you add them all together and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but overnight is best.
the dough should be sticky at this point. Look closely and you can see that in the picture. When ready to bake, divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a long strip of dough resembling a log.
Next cut individual sections and roll into thin 7-8″ strings that look a like a pencil. Last you’ll shape each dough strip into a a figure eight shape and bake.
How to Store Kringla Cookies
Store these holiday Norwegian cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. They are perfect to have on hand for Christmas time.
Kringla cookies also freeze really well. Place them in a freezer-safe container or bag and keep frozen for up to three months. When you’re ready to eat them, just let them thaw.
Kringla Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 cups sour cream
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, egg, and sour cream.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the cream mixture and combine completely. Dough will be a little sticky.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Divide dough in half and return 1/2 to refrigerator.
- On a floured surface, form dough into a 18" long roll with your hands.
- Cut off a narrow (1/2" more or less) slice of dough. Roll lightly with hands on lightly floured board into a pencil width strip about 7-8" long.
- Create a figure 8 and pinch the ends together to fasten securely.
- Place on lightly greased baking sheet or one topped with a silicone baking mat. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake 8-9 minutes or until just barely lightly golden.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
48Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 87Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 2g
I’m thrilled that I can make this easy cookie recipe with my kids now. My grandmother has passed on but I remember her every time we make one of her cookie recipes. There’s nothing like an old family recipe to start the retelling of stories. I hope you enjoy baking these as much as my family and I do.
Holiday Cookie Exchange
One of my favorite holiday traditions is my annual cookie exchange. I invite friends and neighbors to come over and exchange homemade cookies and candies. Everyone bakes/creates dozens of one type of cookie and then when we gather, we swap cookies. At the end of the night, everyone goes home with an assortment of homemade goodies.
When I host a Holiday Cookie Exchange, I almost always make this Kringla cookie recipe. It’s almost guaranteed that no one else will be making them. Everyone really enjoys the fun figure eight shaped cookie. Plus, they are nut-free for those with allergies.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- German Sour Cream Twisted Sugar Cookies
- Double Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies
- German Lebkuchen Cookies
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- Lemon Snow Drop Cookies
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Skip to Recipe
These look like a cookie my Grandma used to make. Thanks for the recipe, though it’s different than my grandma’s. 🙂
Nicky, I love old family recipes and I love the fact you are sharing with your children. I hope they continue the tradition you have started with their children. Thank you very much for joining in the celebration of #purebloglove, we enjoy having you each week. I hope to see you on Thursday at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee
I have my grandmother’s recipe as well. This one is very similar except hers is without the egg. I collect kringla recipes and this one is the first that is so similar to my grandmother’s, who was from the West Coast of Norway. We made the figure 8 shape by bringing the ends together in the middle, crossing them, then twisting 2 times and bringing the ends to the middle of the other side and press lightly to secure. Baked at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Enjoyed your post. Thank You.
Have you collected any recipes for gingerbread or chocolate flavors?
This is my grandmother’s Lebkuchen cookie recipe. It’s a German spice cookie. https://littlefamilyadventure.com/lebkuchen-german-spice-cookies/
Thanks for participating in this year’s #HousefulOfCookies! Don’t forget to link the other participants so they can feel that same love! <3 Now to check to see if I have all of the ingredients for these. We need something to snack on while making our memories!
Many of my favorite recipes are ones passed down from my grandmother. It’s like we’re sitting together whenever I make them. I’ll definitely be making these this holiday season. Thank you for sharing your memories with us!
Looked just perfect the Kringla. Can you make preparation. I think it’s legs.
Hi – Fellow Norwegian here! I’m making these for the first time and the dough seems very thin-sticky. Planning on refrigerating it overnight and baking tomorrow. Hoping it will firm up? Looks more like quick bread dough right now.
It is sticky before it goes in the fridge. It does firm up after being in the fridge. If it doesn’t for some reason, add a little more flour and then form it into logs before cutting into small pieces. Hope that helps.
Thank you! I added more flour and popped the dough in the freezer. Took a little bit to get used to forming the dough into figure eights, but they turned out great!
I had a hard time with this dough, even after refrigeration. I ended up with globs of dough. No way could I form them.
I remember the first time I made Kringlas I was a little worried about how sticky the dough was too! I flour my surface and my hands for rolling, but try not to get too much flour mixed in the dough. It takes AIM’s getting use to.
I can’t find my grandma & grandpas recipe, but these are very similar! I may have had too much wet ingredients or too little dry ingredients as I had to bake mine closer to 15 minutes otherwise they were still dough-ey. Tasted delicious. My pregnant sister was very happy!!! Thanks for sharing!
In our family we always called them Kringles and they were cut out with a doughnut cutter! Our family recipe has a dash of nutmeg in it too! It took my quite some time for me to figure out that Kringla and Kringles were the same cookie! My mom was not convinced when I told her. My Grandma’s and aunties loved Kringles with their coffee. I prefer to bake them until they are just barely browning on the bottoms but my mom likes them more golden on top, either way they are a favorite family Christmas cookie.
My grandmother always called them Kringlas and I’ve seen them sold that way in Illinois. It’s also the way the danish ring is spelling, but it can be a bit confusing.
Love the idea of cutting these out and adding a bit of nutmeg. How thin do you roll the dough?
I am from Illinois and Kringlas were my family’s favorite cookie. My grandmother made them and then I took over as the Kringla baker when she got too old. Our recipe is made with buttermilk instead of sour cream and no egg. Also we do not refrigerate the dough. We scoop out the dough one and roll out the cookies one at a time. The trick is too use only as much flour as needed to be able to handle but if you use too much they will be hard and dry. Takes some practice.
I made this recipe over the weekend. Dough came out to too moist. Added flour. I think the moisture issues is coming from how you measure the sour cream. If you measure the sour cream in a measuring cup you end up using many more ounces than if you use ounces per based on ounces in the packaging.
A “little” sticky? I was so discouraged because even after adding additional flour and putting the dough in the freezer it was very difficult to handle. I hate to leave a negative review but my experience was not of the fun nature I thought it would be. They have not been taste tested and I’m a little concerned because of the extra flour, but even if they are good they will not be worth the trouble to make again. The paper I printed the recipe will become scrap. 😞
This is no Norwegian tradition at all. Where do you get this from????? We do not have sour cream in cookies…..WHO is fooling you to beleive this???? Best regards from a Norwegian
I have my grandmother’s recipe. She came from the West Coast of Norway. Many who lived in the Norwegian settlement where I came from made kringla. You have to admit that the ingredients used are very similar to many recipes found in Norwegian baking. Do you suppose it is possible that it once was made but is no longer? I find it interesting that the bakers symbol on bakery signs in Norway is the same shape as kringla!
My mom’s recipe came from my farmor. She made her own sour cream by combining heavy cream, and lemon juice letting it sit outside the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Kringle is very much a regional specialty. I agree this is a very Norwegian cookie! Our family flavors the dough with anise seeds and anise extract. Our family emigrated from Hordaland/Hardanger in 1887. We still are very close-knit with our Norwegian relatives.
Also, many of the Norwegians immigrating to the U.S., came in the 1800s. Just as the culture in the United States has changed since that time, if I were to go to Oslo in 2022 and speak my grandparent’s dialect, I guess most people would not be able to understand me, just as we in the U.S. would have difficulty if the situation were reversed. The same applies to food and what was/is available.
Hi
This has never been a traditional cookie in Norway. Neither me, my mother, my grandmother or anybody I’ve asked, has never heard about this.
There may be in another country, but NOT in Norway.
I think you have to check your sorces.
Best regards from Norway.
L. Helen, Sorry you seem so angry about someone else’s tradition.
I have my Great Aunt’s recipe for Kringla. She was born on the west coast of Norway and came to Illinois with her family as a child. I remember visiting her and she always had some of these ready to share. It’s definitely a Norwegian tradition from the west coast area and the nearby islands. Maybe it’s more of a regional Norwegian tradition.
I agree with Diane!
L. Helen, what part of Norway are you from?
These “cookies” are wonderful! They’ve been a favorite of mine since childhood and I am also fortunate to be passing the tradition down to my children. I had to laugh at two things in your column—chill time of 30 min and 44 min total time to make. I don’t know what your secret is, but baking 12 to a pan, and rolling out 4-6 doz (my recipe is slightly different and we get about 6 doz, though we might just make them smaller), it takes at least an hour just to roll and bake them! We also chill for at least three hours if we do them the same day. If I did not have experience with making these, I would feel highly misled by your time estimates, and I really think you just update them to be more accurate. How long does it actually take you to completely make and bake a whole batch?? Use that number, not an artificially low 44 minutes.
Must depend on the person. I can roll out and bake about 96 kringla in an hour. Of course I have made thousands of them!
Ida Von Rudden –
You must be a superhero! 96 an hour?
WOW!!!!
Hi, Nicky! I absolutely ADORE your caffeinated squirrel spirit animal and would LOVE to learn more about it. My group and I are using your BEAUTIFUL recipe for a school project (hopefully we don’t fail haha).
My recipe for Kringla was handed down from my grandmother also. My mom used to make them, and she taught me. My sister was never interested in learning how though. I never had any children so I couldn’t pass them on to my kids. But my sister had a daughter, but she wasn’t interested in learning either. Her daughter, my great niece, has tried making them once, but got a little discouraged. I hope she keeps trying or the tradition will end in our family after me. I am 65 years old.
Our recipe uses buttermilk instead of sour cream but it also calls for an egg. My recipe has you cream the egg, sugar and butter, then alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. I mix by hand and usually start with 1/3 dry ingredients and 1/3 buttermilk until it’s all mixed together. I have made thousands of these during my lifetime. Everyone in the family loves them, but no one wants to learn how.
so wet!! I promise followed the recipe carefully and they came out like pipe-able blobs – I even refrigerated the dough overnight!
Oh No! That’s awfully wet. I’ve found that sometimes I have to add a little(up to 1/2 cup) more flour before refrigeration.
Fun to read the comments! My mother’s family came from Balestrand, Sognefjord to north-central Iowa in the late 1800s. They use sweet cream and sour cream with baking soda. Two of my cousins and I make them. I learned to use an ice-cream scoop to dole out the dough from my niece who unfortunately no longer makes them due to gluten intolerance in her kids. They never flavored them but I sometimes experiment with various spices.
My family is from the west coast of Norway & this recipe is very similar to my Mother’s recipe. The only difference is she added anise seed to hers. Delicious! 😋
So nice to see a very similar recipe! My Great-Grandmother made them and has passed from Gen to Gen. The family immigrated from Norway to Illinois then as farmers in Iowa. Ours is a VERY sticky recipe as well and takes patience and just a bit more flour on the surface when rolling, so hopefully people don’t get discouraged. We bake ours at 500 degrees for 5-6 min. I cheat and use a silpat so they don’t burn. We cook ours at Christmas time. TY for your recipe!!!
I can’t say for sure, but kringler like these doesn’t seem to be a tradition in Norway. I’ve never heard of them, and never seen any Norwegian online sources for them either.
Also, the spelling in Norway would be «kringler» or «kringle», not kringla. I notice this a lot with Norwegian words used by Norwegian-Americans, ending with an «a» instead of an «e». It probably develops over time as the years and generations go by.
Oh, by the way, in the part of Norway where I’m from, we have a VERY traditional kringle, that is only made here. I live in the eastern part of Norway, in a place called Toten. We have our own traditional kringle called «Totenkringle». It is made with yeast, has to rise three times, and are baked fast at a very high temperature. They have lots of cardamom, cream and butter in them.
These are so addictive! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfectly. This is an easier recipe then the one I had. My husband has requested that we make these cookies our new Christmas tradition. Thanks for sharing this recipe!