Serinakaker
Author Notes: These are my very favorite Christmas cookies. They're a traditional Norwegian holiday cookie, and one of the few we ever baked in my family. (Growing up, the only time there were *ever* cookies in the house was Christmas. My brothers and I hated only getting cookies once a year, but because of a few failed batches of cookies at other times of the year, we were also convinced that because of some curse, the only time of year that our oven could actually produce decent cookies was at Christmas!).
Serinakaker are extremely simple—basically just buttery shortbread thumbprint cookies. Yet somehow they taste so much more complex and delicious than you might expect. They're so good that one of my friends became completely addicted to them, and last winter, when out cross-country skiing, he got really tired and refused to go any further unless I came skiing by to offer him cookies. Miracle of miracles, my parents stopped by and they happened to be carrying some serinakaker in their pockets (this is what we do around Christmas instead of using energy bars), which they offered to him, and he finished the ski tour!
So yeah, they're that good.
The recipe I have is scrawled in Norwegian, in metric measurements, in an old, falling-apart notebook of my mother's. This version is my attempt at making it understandable for friends and others who wish to be able to make serinakaker. —fiveandspice
Food52 Review: With her Serinakaker, Fiveandspice has given us a classic cookie. It is all that is warm and comfortable in a butter-sugar cookie and, as promised, it is the perfect cookie to stash in a backpack for a wagon ride to feed the ducks at the pond. These cookies are a little denser than the soft cookies you can buy at the grocers but not at all heavy. And you can eat one with your morning cup of coffee and feel both full and not at all guilty. The one-bowl preperation method makes it ideal for cooking with children and the fact that you mush everything up with your hands had my four-year-old in paroxyms of joy! I took fiveandspice's suggestion and sprinkled some crushed pecans over the top in lieu of the pearl sugar and added just a drop or two of almond extract to go with the nuts and they were warmly received. What wasn't devoured by my family this weekend I brought into work today and they were gone before nine! —Niknud
Makes several dozen
- 4 cups (500 grams) sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (300 grams) softened salted butter
- 1 1/3 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten (or one big old American-sized egg)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract if you have no vanilla sugar)
- 1 egg white, for brushing the cookies with
- Pearl sugar and/or chopped almonds, for sprinkling
- Blend the flour, baking powder, and butter together in a bowl until it looks kind of like sand, using your fingers to rub the butter into the flour. Next, blend in the sugar with your fingers. Finally, add the egg and vanilla. I still use my hands for this but you can also use a wooden spoon, and mush, smash, stir, and push the dough until it comes together into a ball (it often seems a bit on the dry side).
- Once you've formed it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight. When you are ready to bake, let the dough warm up a bit; otherwise, it will be nearly impossible to work with.
- Break off pieces of the dough, and roll them into balls that are about 1 to 1 1/2 inches across, and put on cookie sheets. Once all the dough is made into balls, press your thumb into each to make an indentation. Most of the cookies will crack around the edges as you press into them. If they totally fall apart, just smash them up and roll them into new balls, but if there are just some cracks, that’s part of the look.
- Brush the tops of the cookies with the egg white to glaze. Then sprinkle some pearl sugar and/or chopped almonds into each indentation. (Pearl sugar is a special type of sugar for decoration that looks like tiny white rocks, or something of the sort. If you can’t find any, you can use just finely chopped almonds.)
- Bake the cookies at 350° F for about 16 minutes, until golden. Move to a cooling rack and allow to cool. These cookies are delicious with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, or a mug of hot spiced wine. However, they are the absolute very best as a snack while you’re out on the cross-country ski trails, if you happen to be a cross-country skier. They keep for a week or two sealed in cookie tins, and they also freeze and defrost well, if you want to make them ahead.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Holiday Confection
More Great Recipes: Rice & Grains|Cookies|Snacks
Topics: Cookies!, Christmas, One-Bowl Baking, Winter, Heirloom Recipes
9 months ago melissa
i enjoyed this recipe -- it's very likeable, a pretty mild cookie. i used 2 large eggs (about 58 g each) instead of medium and added a little bit extra flour to compensate. i was only able to chill the dough for four hours instead of the suggested overnight, but i think they still taste great!
9 months ago rlsalvati
Can't wait to try these. Did a bit of scouting, the conversion for unsalted butter is 1/4 tsp. table salt per 1/2 cup (1/4 pound) butter. I've got pounds of butter in the freezer for holiday baking, none of it salted.
9 months ago Joanna
I only have unsalted butter, if I use that, would I need to add some salt?
9 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I would. A couple pinches!
9 months ago TimandKendra Zimmerman Jr.
I added some extra flour to compensate for the little extra egg :) praying and believing they will still taste amazing! :)
9 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Hope they worked out! :)
9 months ago TimandKendra Zimmerman Jr.
Making these now! Looking forward to trying something new. I don't have medium eggs so I used two large. Do you think it will still turn out ok?
10 months ago KH
These were very yummy! They reminded me a little of shortbread as you mentioned. I used a gluten free flour blend and they turned out great! (mine were probably more crumbly because of the GF flour which is pretty normal, but so delicious!) thank you! My almost 2 yr old daughter enjoyed helping too!
10 months ago Julie Margaret
Thank you for the salt update! We will try these! I was about to set out our unsalted butter, glad I checked with you :)
10 months ago Julie Margaret
Is there no salt in this recipe? Should the butter be salted or unsalted?
10 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
The recipe itself calls for no salt, but I do use salted butter. I don't think I've ever come across unsalted butter in Norway! I'll update the recipe to make sure that that's clear.
10 months ago bex
I forgot to add that we are going skiing this weekend -- both downhill and xc-- so I will make extra cookies to bring to the mountains!
10 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
FUN! :)
10 months ago bex
I'm going to make these for our company holiday cookie exchange. Instead of pearl sugar or chopped almonds, I'll sprinkle red- and green-colored sugar to make them a bit more festive.
10 months ago Veggie Fabulife
I made these yesterday with my Norwegian friend at my home in the Netherlands! They made her feel so happy and at home. They are so tender and delicious; this will be added to my holiday cookie repertoire. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and for the clear instructions.
almost 5 years ago Greenstuff
Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking
I'm definitely adding these to my repertoire.
Have you made them with hartshorn instead of the baking soda? Years ago, I did a comparison of one of our favorite Swedish Christmas cookies--baking powder vs. hartshorn. I've pretty much stuck with the modern leavening, but sometimes it's fun to go back in time.
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Hi Greenstuff, sorry to be slow to get back to you! Somehow I missed your comment. I never have used hartshorn, but I would like to give it a try sometime! That's a great idea. That type of historical cooking and the changes in ingredients over time are so fascinating to me.
almost 5 years ago Greenstuff
Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking
I am still mulling this one over. We're thinking of adding some Norwegian recipes to our usual repertoire this year, and we are all cross-country skiers. So it seems like Serinakaker are a must! I've looked at a lot of recipes, and most seem to call for baking powder or hartshorn, not the baking soda your family uses. Any thoughts from the School of Nutrition part of you? Thanks!
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
You know that's a great question. Looking at the recipe and actually giving it some thought instead of just doing it as we always have without questioning, I think it probably should be baking powder rather than soda. It makes a lot more sense. Also, in Norway we almost always seem to use baking powder not soda anyway. I have a feeling that the scribbled recipe from my mom's notebook was from her watching her mom make them and jotting notes about what she saw and it might have been that she miswrote, or that that time her mom subbed because of missing ingredients or something. I'm going to ask my mom and get back t o you about it.
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Ok, I've looked into it some, and it seems like the recipe should have baking powder and it had just been miswritten in my mom's notebook. Obviously, it works ok with soda, but I think it'll be better with powder, and I'm going to try it and make the change!
almost 5 years ago Greenstuff
Chris is a trusted source on General Cooking
Thanks! I've been thinking about this issue off and on and had pretty much decided that they'd be really good cookies even if I forget to add any leavening at all! Especially if your mom meant just a half a teaspoon of baking powder. The baking powder recipe I use for Swedish dreams (drömmer), for example, calls for 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. But let us know! (And I'm still thinking about maybe making some with hartshorn.)
almost 5 years ago wssmom
Congratulations on the CP! These do sound utterly addicting, and I'd love to see the original recipe written in Norwegian someday!
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Thank you wssmom! Addicting is exactly the right word for them. Next time I'm around a scanner, I'll have to scan the Norwegian recipe and add it as a photo. It's one of those great recipes that tells you do things like "blend all ingredients in the proper order" and just "shape the cookies" (with no further instruction about how...)
almost 5 years ago wssmom
Congratulations on the CP! These do sound utterly addicting, and I'd love to see the original recipe written in Norwegian someday!
almost 5 years ago Ms. T
Looks like a lovely recipe, and what a great story. Congrats on the CP!
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Thanks Ms. T! It's a favorite!
almost 5 years ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Love a good butter cookies and I really love the simplicity of the recipe.. Perfect for the holidays.
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Thank you sdebrango! I completely agree about butter cookies. My holidays are all about family, love, good cheer, and high fat dairy products! hehe.
almost 5 years ago Bevi
These look so good fiveandspice! I used to be a xc-skier, but will settle for having these during a hike or long walk!
almost 5 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Thanks Bevi! And you know, I think they'll be equally good on a hike or long walk. :)