Kringle (, ) is a Northern Europe pastry, a variety of pretzel. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in Denmark, and from there they spread throughout Scandinavia and evolved into several kinds of sweet, salty or filled pastries, all in the shape of kringle.
In Danish language and Norwegian, the word is kringle, plural kringler; , plural kringlid; , plural kliņģeri; , plural kringlor; , plural rinkelit; and Icelandic: kringla. The word originates from the Old Norse kringla, meaning ring or circle.
In the Netherlands, a particular type of sweet kringle is well known under the Dutch language name krakeling.
The shape of the kringle has given name to a similarly entangled feature found in some , the so-called kringle domain.
Scandinavia
Denmark
In Denmark,
kringle denotes the
pretzel-like knotted shape rather than the pretzel pastry type. Kringler may be made from
puff pastry (like
Danish pastry) or
yeast dough, filled with
remonce or
marzipan and
, sprinkled with coarse sugar, nut flakes or icing.
Other types of kringles in Denmark include
saltkringler, which are small salty kringler - the Scandinavian equivalent of pretzels -, and
kommenskringler which are half-hand-sized breads in the kringle shape, made from unsweetened yeast dough spiced with
caraway seeds.
Sukkerkringler are similar, but sweet pretzels, sprinkled with sugar instead of caraway.
are a large sweet bread pretzel for birthday celebrations.
are large crusty and sweet pretzels with a spread of butter on the backside. Smørkringler are not as popular nowadays.
[ Official homepage of the Baker's Guild of Copenhagen.]
Kringler are pastries with a long history in Denmark, and are still popular items in modern Danish bakeries. Nowadays, kringles are usually made with only one crossing and not two, as in the original kringle and pretzel shape.[ Official homepage of the Baker's Guild of Copenhagen.]
Norway
In
Norway,
kringle or
kringla (the Norwegian
declension of the same term) often refers to yeasted, ring‑shaped pastries, sometimes filled with
cinnamon sugar, almonds, or jam. A common shape is the wreath made of connected cinnamon buns; similar to an almond kringle or “klippekrans” in Norwegian baking tradition.
Sweden
In
Sweden,
kringla (plural
kringlor) refers to small, pretzel‑shaped sweet or bread‑like pastries typically served with coffee (
fika).
One well‑known variant is the sockerkringla, a sugar‑twisted soft bun made from enriched yeast dough infused with
cardamom, dipped in melted sugar and also often enjoyed during Swedish fika, especially around holiday seasons.
Bakers in Södertälje and
Arboga are noted for local specialties such as
Södertäljekringlan; a coffee‑served kringla that helped earn Södertälje the nickname “pretzel city”.
Another variation, choklad‑kringlor, are chocolate‑flavoured, nut‑topped kringles, once so ubiquitous that old‑style bakeries would hang a kringle sign outside in Sweden.
Estonia
United States
In the
United States, kringles are hand-rolled from Danish pastry dough (
wienerbrød dough) that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking.
Many sheets of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped into an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combinations, the pastry is baked and iced.
[Marialisa Calta. "Fare of the country: Wisconsin, Danish Pastry With a Classic Twist". The New York Times, July 9, 1989.]
Racine, Wisconsin, has historically[ "Kringle becomes Wisconsin state pastry". WTMJ, July 1, 2013. Accessed July 26, 2013.] A Wisconsin distillery in Middleton, Wisconsin, makes a kringle-flavored cream liqueur from Wisconsin cream, rum, sugar, and natural kringle flavor.[ "GSN Review: Kringle Cream" December 29, 2013.]
In other parts of the United States, kringle may refer to a slightly sweet buttermilk cookie shaped like a pretzel or figure eight.
Other places where kringles may be found in the United States include the Ballard area of Seattle, Washington; Redmond, Washington; Solvang, California; Story City, Iowa; Burr Ridge, Illinois; Springfield, Missouri, and Watertown, Massachusetts. In 2005, Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, held a Kringle Kontest, which was won by Kirsten's Danish Bakery in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
Symbolism
Baker's
in
Europe have used the kringle or pretzel as a symbol for centuries. It is told (but currently unconfirmed by historic documents), that when Vienna was besieged by the Turkish Ottoman armies in 1529, local bakers working in the night gave the city defence an early warning of the attacking enemy. For this, they were later rewarded by the
Pope, with permission to use a crown as part of their kringle guild symbol.
The guild in Denmark is now the only baker's guild in the world with official authority to display a royal crown as part of their baker's guild trade symbol that is often hung outside of bakery shops.[ Official homepage of the association of Bakers and Confectioners in Denmark.]
See also
Further reading
External links
Racine Kringle Recipe] Food Network
