Krumkake and Norwegian Pancakes: Holiday Traditions Old and New

Krumkake. Try pronouncing it out loud and you’ll understand why I was always hesitant to bring these cookies to school with me. All the other kids had easy-to pronounce, non-embarrassingly named cookies: sugar, shortbread, chocolate chip, pizzelle. Although most of the kids (especially the boys) laughed at the name of these cookies, everyone always loved them.

Krumkake is a traditional Norwegian cookie that has a slight buttery, sweet flavor and is rolled like an ice cream cone. Ever since I can remember my family has made these cookies only once a year: Lille Julafen, or “little Christmas eve” on Dec 23^rd. In Norway, this is a day where everyone stays home to decorate for Christmas and bake cookies. At my house, the tradition was we could eat any of the other Christmas cookies, like my mom’s shortbread, but we couldn’t eat the krumkake cookies until the 23^rd, that’s probably why we started making them on that day – it’d was too hard to wait.

Probably not the most sanitary....

I’ve read that some Norwegian families fill their krumkake with a sweet cream (kind of like a canoli), but my family has always just eaten them plain – I like how they’re not as sugary as some of the other traditional Christmas cookies and they are great dipped in coffee or tea!

The only downside to this recipe is that you need a krumkake iron, but I think it’s totally worth it! You get the whole family involved: have one person responsible for putting the batter in the iron and then have two people ready to start rolling the cookies immediately after they come out.

Krumkake

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 6 Tbsp. water

What to do: 

1. Cream butter and sugar together
2. Spray both sides of the iron with cooking spray 
3. Okay, here's where I take the easy way out: follow the instructions on your electric krumkake iron. 
4. Once cookie is ready, open iron, and immediately remove and roll into a cone shape 
5. Store in air-tight container

Making krumkake is a very old tradition that has been passed down on my dad’s side of the family for generations. A couple years ago my brother and I added to our family’s Christmas traditions: grilled cheese and tomato soup for Christmas Eve dinner. So much better than short ribs! This year my mom and I have decided to continue adding to tradition by having a Christmas brunch rather than an expensive, stressful Christmas dinner. Although we haven’t figured the whole menu out, we have decided on Norwegian pancakes. If you’ve never had them before, they’re similar to a crepe, but a bit thicker.

Norwegian Pancakes 

Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

What to do:

1. Combine egg, milk, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, and sugar. Whisk until smooth. 
2. Heat small pan on med-high. Spray pan with spray before each pancake
3. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan while tilting pan so that the batter spreads evenly. Cook until top looks dry, about 30 seconds. 
4. Carefully flip pancake over, cooking on other side for only a couple seconds until golden brown. 
5. To keep pancakes warm, I usually place the finished pancakes in a 125-degree oven
6. To serve: fill with whatever you like! My family usually does butter, syrup, and powdered sugar. For the leftovers, wrap in foil and store in fridge. They are delicious for breakfast the next day. My favoriet way to eat them is to put cream cheese and jam, roll it up, and place in microwave for a few seconds. 

We'd love to hear your family traditions! Leave us a comment :)

--Kelli