Cosy Christmas in Biscuit Form
Brunkager are classic Danish biscuits – to a Dane like me, they taste like CHRISTMAS.
They’re also called brune kager, which literally means “brown cakes” – but don’t let the name fool you: these are crisp, spiced biscuits, not soft cakes.
Brunkager = Danish Christmas hygge
Crisp, aromatic, and full of festive flavour, they’re a staple on the Danish Christmas table – often served with coffee, tea or gløgg (Danish mulled wine).
These are AUTHENTIC brunkager that both SMELL and TASTE exactly right.
THIS is the flavour of old-fashioned Danish Christmas – cosy holiday hygge in biscuit form.
You’ll get a recipe for traditional brunkager – a sliced biscuit dough that gives slightly rustic biscuits if you don’t shape the dough into a roll or log.
These classic brown biscuits are packed with almonds, candied citron peel (sukat), candied orange peel – and a good kick of spice.
Tips
I’ve used homemade brunkage spice mix (recipe below), but you can use a shop-bought version, or one of the other biscuit spice blends, which you can find recipes (and labels) for here (in Danish).
Just like honningkager (recipe in English) – Danish honey biscuits or gingerbread – the brunkage dough must be prepared at least the day before you bake the biscuits.
The dough keeps 1–2 weeks in the fridge and longer in the freezer – super convenient once it’s made.
Candied citron peel (Citrus medica – sukat in Danish) is a citrus fruit that resembles a knobbly lemon.
I haven’t seen fresh ones in Danish shops, so I BUY candied citron peel.
You can candy your own orange or lemon peel (recipe in Danish).
It’s also delicious as homemade sweets or confectionery.
If you’re in the mood to try something different, candied ginger is a bold twist on tradition.
If you’re not keen on candied citron peel, orange peel, lemon peel or candied ginger, replace the candied fruit with more almonds – or add pistachio nuts, the green colour is lovely in the biscuits.
Of course, you can bake brunkager with no filling at all.
I haven’t tested whether the dough can be shaped with cutters.
When we make biscuit shapes, we use the Swedish version – pepparkakor (recipe in Danish).
But sometimes it’s nice to have a recipe for a biscuit that’s quick to get onto the baking trays – like these sliced brunkager.
Quick Summary
- Use homemade brunkager spice mix or a gingerbread/mixed spice blend.
- Prepare the dough at least one day in advance – it needs to rest overnight.
- The dough can be stored for 1–2 weeks in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
- Sukat is candied peel from Citrus medica – a knobbly citrus fruit, not lemon.
If unavailable, use candied orange or lemon peel. - Try adding candied ginger or pistachios for colour and flavour – or skip the fruit and use extra almonds.
- This dough is for slicing, not shaping.
Spiced Christmas biscuits – in desserts
Use your brunkager for Christmas desserts.
Or for your biscuit selection during the Christmas month – perhaps together with a few of the other Christmas biscuits.
Brunkager are a great crisp biscuit for ice cream – and ice cream sandwiches.
Use them as an alternative crunchy base if you’re making your own version of Christmas flødeboller – see photos.
Share your biscuits
Did you make the recipe?
How do you enjoy your brunkager?
Feel free to leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.
Or share your photos with me on Instagram @danish.things ❤
Don’t forget to tag them with #danishthings
Brunkager - traditional spiced biscuits, the authentic taste of Danish Christmas
Ingredients
Wet 1
- 125 g butter
- 75 g dark baking syrup - alternative - dark corn syrup or 50/50 golden syrup and black treacle/molasses
- 125 g sugar
- 4 tsp “brunkager spice mix” * - or gingerbread spice, mixed spice, speculaas spice...
Wet 2
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp potassium carbonate ** - potash/baker's ammonia
Dry
- 250 g plain flour or cake flour
- 50 g almonds *** - blanched or unblanched
- 15 g finely chopped candied citron peel **** - sukat in Danish
- 15 g finely chopped candied orange peel ****
Instructions
Wet 1
- Place butter, syrup and sugar in a saucepan. Melt over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture is warm but does not boil.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl for your stand mixer/hand mixer, add the spices, and use the dough hook(s). Mix until the mixture is lukewarm.
Dry
- Combine the dry ingredients, ensuring the candied peels are well coated with flour.
Wet 2
- Dissolve the potassium carbonate in the water BEFORE stirring it into the mixture, then add it to the dough, alternating with the dry ingredients.
- Mix until smooth and uniform.
Resting
- Place the dough in a freezer bag, form it into a long roll or log, and then place it in the fridge.
- You can also divide the dough into 2 and put the other half in the freezer.
- The dough must rest overnight in the fridge before baking, but it keeps for much longer (see notes).
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 175°C fan (conventional: 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5).
- Slice the dough into thin slices 1-2 mm, place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
- Bake the biscuits for about 5 minutes. KEEP AN EYE ON THEM - they darken quickly.
- Allow the brunkager to cool on a cooling rack.
- Store your biscuits in an airtight container in a dry place. If they lose their crunch, reheat them at 150°C fan (conventional: 170°C/340°F/Gas Mark 3) for 3–5 minutes to restore their crispness.
Notes
** Potassium carbonate (potash/E501) is a traditional leavening agent used in Scandinavian Christmas biscuits. It gives a crisp texture. Available from specialist baking suppliers or Scandinavian food shops. Can be substituted with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) mixed with 1 tsp cream of tartar if necessary, though the texture will differ slightly.
*** Almonds can be blanched or unblanched.
**** Sukat and orange peel can be substituted with each other, with candied lemon peel, candied ginger, pistachio nuts or extra almonds.
The dough can be stored for 1–2 weeks in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
If you use US customary units, remember that the recipe is made using Metric and converted via a plugin.
Private notes
Brunkager Spice Mix
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground cloves
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp cardamom
Instructions
- Shake all ingredients together in a jar.
- Store the spice blend in an airtight container in a dry place.
Notes
If you use US customary units, remember that the recipe is made using Metric and converted via a plugin.
Private notes
