Havrekjeks has a long history in Norway, dating all the way back to the 15th century. The story goes when the famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen packed up his provisions for his expedition to the South Pole, havrekjeks were at the top of his list. Many Norwegians remember eating havrekjeks when visiting their grandmother’s house. Recently, when looking through my grandmother’s cookbook, I found a recipe for these, which inspired me to bake them in my own kitchen here in New York. There’s nothing quite like biting into these cookies to get a true flavor of Norway. Perhaps it is the oats ..read more

I became sort of obsessed with baking bread last year when I was researching, preparing and filming my popular online course Norwegian Bread Baking, and started experimenting with a bunch of different whole grain flours and seeds. Now as I’m preparing for the follow-up to that course, The Flatbreads of Norway, I am getting into all sorts of history and research around Norwegian breads. What fun! My quest into the world of bread all started as I got a bit frustrated trying to find the type of bread stateside I was used to eating back home in Norway. They all seemed to have mostly white flour (e ..read more

This flavorful, hearty soup has a vibrant green color and consists of all the classic Scandinavian ingredients and flavors: cruciferous and root vegetables, leeks, dill and pickles. These ingredients come together along with a few other flavoring agents to create a delicious and umami-rich soup. Chopped pickles and the briny juice get added, as well as a little nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, and miso – all of which complement each other and result in a mouthwateringly delicious soup! I often find that Scandinavian cuisine bears a resemblance to the Eastern European table, and this soup ta ..read more

On December 13th you will smell the sweet scent of lussekatter, otherwise known as saffron buns, around the thousands of homes in Norway and Sweden, to signify the day of Saint Lucia, the protector of the blind. Lussekatter signify that Christmas is just around the corner and are some of the most fun pastries to make. Children and grown ups both love these fluffy, gorgeously yellow yeasty buns that have a slight sweetness, yet a nice savory character from the saffron.  The name “lussekatt” is borrowed from Sweden, where celebrating the day of St. Lucia has a long history.  The t ..read more

After living in the United States for three decades, I have finally learned to appreciate the pumpkin. I love carving them out for Halloween and to see everybody’s decoration with these glorious vegetables around my neighborhood and around the state of New York, but only lately have I really started baking with this delectable orange product.   I have mentioned in a previous blog post that pumpkin is not a traditional Norwegian food item, hence I suppose we never developed a taste for it in my country until just recently. My mom used to pickle pumpkin to use as a condiment for various di ..read more

Cardamom buns hardly need an introduction on this blog, as I’ve shared several recipes for these before. But the beautiful thing about these fluffy, slightly spiced, and sweet buns is that they are the perfect vessel for a variety of fillings that make them a new gustatory experience every time. I’ve been re-organizing my pantry the past few weeks and happened to notice I had a bunch of hazelnuts lying around, so decided to make my own vegan Nutella spread. Hazelnuts and chocolate are a magical combination that is hard to deny, whether you live in the United States or Norway. When I was little ..read more

As a Norwegian and a potato lover, I always look for creative ways to cook with potatoes. At my local market the other day, I came across a bunch of beautiful-looking baby potatoes that were too tempting not to pick up. Spending more time indoors is tempting as the days are getting colder and shorter, but that doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice getting together with friends over a glass of wine and some delicious snacks. Fun appetizers that are easy and quick are my favorite dishes to make, as they are both festive to look at and delicious; plus, they are easy to eat as you can just pop them i ..read more

Can’t decide if you want cinnamon buns or waffles? Good news: Now you don’t have to make a choice, you can have both! This ingenious invention most likely started here in the U.S. but has been all the rave back home in Norway over the last year. Inspired by Kanelbollens Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) earlier this week, I wanted to try it out to see what the fuss is all about. One can’t have enough versions of cinnamon buns after all! So how does it work? Make your cinnamon buns as you normally would, but instead of letting them rise for a second time and baking them in the oven, you just cook them in ..read more

In a few days the first day of fall is official, and I’m super excited because it’s my all-time favorite season! This is the time for apple and pumpkin picking, cooler mornings, sweater weather, beautiful foliage, cozy evenings in front of the fire with a glass of red wine, all things cinnamon and of course… lots of baking! Since I live in the apple state of New York, I had to come up with a recipe that uses apples. Apples are also super popular in Norway – we even have a dedicated apple day, always on the last Tuesday in September! Due to the long summer days and cooler weather, the apples ..read more

Today’s recipe is not mine but one that was created by pastry chef Elin Nilsen of krem.no who is an amazing Norwegian baker and food blogger. I tried her recipe out recently as I was researching more modern Norwegian recipes for matpakke, a Norwegian word for packed lunch, in conjunction with an upcoming virtual cooking class I’m hosting on the subject. I’ve made a few minor adjustments to her recipe but kudos to her for this invention! She also has many other delicious and creative recipes on her blog. So what exactly is a matpakke? A matpakke (loosely translated to “bagged lunch) is a centra ..read more