Smor Kranser

These delicate little wreath-shaped cookies are a staple of the Norwegian holiday cookie platter, and once you taste one you’ll understand why they’ve survived generations unchanged.

The dough is beautifully simple: butter, sugar, egg yolk and flour. That’s it. No vanilla, no spices, nothing to distract from the pure, rich butteriness that makes Smørkranser (literally “butter wreaths") so irresistible.

Each piece of dough gets rolled into a rope, crossed into a wreath shape, brushed with egg white and sprinkled with colored sugar before a quick bake until barely golden.

They shatter when you bite into them. Melt-in-your-mouth tender with a sandy, shortbread-like crumb.

Kitchen Tips

• Chill the dough until it’s firm enough to roll without sticking. Too soft and it won’t hold the wreath shape.
• Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a rope about the thickness of a pencil for the most traditional look.
• Watch them closely in the oven. You want “very lightly browned," which means pale gold at the edges. Overbaked Smørkranser lose their buttery tenderness.
• These keep well in a tin for up to two weeks, making them ideal for holiday cookie boxes and gifting.