Kolasnittar, also known as “Caramel Cuts,” are a traditional Swedish cookie typically served during the Christmas holiday baking season.
Our easy homemade Kolasnittar recipe has a distinct chewy texture, which contrasts nicely with the crunchy kosher salt sprinkled over each cookie. It’s the perfect cookie for fans of “salted caramel,” flavoured desserts.
Serve a plate of these addictive Swedish Caramel Slices at your festive dessert table this Christmas or at your next fika with friends, served alongside freshly brewed tea or coffee.
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What Is Kolasnittar?
Kolasnittar known in Sweden as “Caramel Cuts” are thin chewy cookies with the flavour of buttery sweet caramel.
The simple cookies are prepared in a similar way to another popular Swedish recipe called Chokladsnittar Chocolate Cookie Slices.
Also known as Swedish Toffee Cookies, Kolasnittar translates from Snitt (pluralized as Snittar) which means “cut” in English. It refers to the unique way the dough is sliced diagonally immediately after being removed from the oven. The Kola refers to toffee, caramel and fudge, which helps describe the cookies overall flavour profile.
While the typical shape is uniform, the thickness, length and texture can vary from one family recipe to another. One style are typically very long and thin, which make a snapping sound when broken in half. The other are shorter, thicker and have a chewier texture. This is the style we prefer.
While the history of Kolasnittar and its origins are uncertain, the beloved baked treat is a popular cookie served at fika coffee breaks in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.
All Kolasnittar recipes have one thing in common regardless of the exact ingredient proportions, golden syrup (corn syrup). This thick syrup gives the cookie its unique caramel flavour and distinct chewy texture.
Caramel Cuts are surprisingly simple to make at home, the perfect baking project for families with kids during the holiday season in December.
What Is Swedish Fika?
Fika is often translated as “a coffee and cake break”, which is mostly correct, but locals in Sweden will attest it is much more than that.
The word fika actually derives from the 19th-century slang word for coffee: kaffi. Invert the word kaffi, and you get fika!
Fika is a concept, state of mind, attitude and important part of Swedish culinary culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day. It means making time for friends, family and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a petite Swedish pastry, like Kolasnittar.
Fika cannot be experienced at your desk at work or at home by yourself. Swedish Fika is a communal ritual. Children are taught that it is important to make time to stop and socialize during the day.
Locals believe taking a pause to refresh your brain and strengthen you relationships is important. It also makes business sense: Swedish firms have found teams work better and are more productive when fika is institutionalized.
Fika can also be used as a verb in everyday conversation. Swedes will often say to each other, “Let’s go and fika!” or “You and I fika together well”.
While not exactly the same, we often liken Swedish Fika to Britain’s tradition for relaxing mid-day over an elegant High Tea.
Ingredients
This Caramel Cuts recipe features affordable every-day pantry items you’ll likely already have in your kitchen.
- 140 g Butter
- 120 g White Sugar
- 4 tbsp Corn Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 300 g All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Directions
Follow our step-by-step instructions and you’ll see how easy it is to make authentic Swedish Kolasnittar at home!
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and white sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the corn syrup, followed by the vanilla extract, baking powder and flour. Mix with your hands until you have an even dough.
- Cut the dough into three equal pieces. Roll out to the size of 2 x 14 inches directly on prepared baking sheets. Gently push down on the dough logs with your fingers to smush them down. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, use a pizza wheel or sharp knife to cut each rectangle into 12 pieces.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Kolasnittar Recipe Baking Tips
If it’s your first time baking Kolasnittar we’ve included some helpful tips and tricks below:
- We suggest using unsalted butter when making this recipe. You can simply add kosher salt to the dough to suit your tastes.
- In North America the product is called Corn Syrup and in Europe it’s often sold as Golden Syrup. You can use either when preparing this recipe, they are both classified as high-fructose syrups. We like to use the brand called Crown, which sells a clear and golden-coloured syrup.
- You can prepare the cookie dough in a stand mixer with a paddle attachement, in a food processor or in a mixing bowl beating by hand with a wooden spoon.
- We love the classic dessert flavour combo “salted caramel” so to contrast the sweet and buttery flavour of the cookie we sprinkle the slices with flaky kosher salt. If you don’t like overly salty foods you can substitue with a sweeter option, crunchy pearl sugar, which adheres to the surface of the dough while baking.
- Use a pizza cutter to easily slice the the cookie logs right out of the oven. Once at room temperature they will firm up into chewy caramel slices. If you don’t have a pizza cutter use a sharp French knife.
- While we enjoy this recipe as is, once you’re comfortable with the technique you can add additional flavours like cardamom and cinnamon spice or finely chopped crystallized ginger.
What To Serve With Swedish Caramel Cuts
While Swedish Caramel Cuts are often served during the Christmas holiday season the recipe can be enjoyed all year round.
The popular Swedish cookies are traditionally enjoyed on their own or sipped with a pot of tea or coffee. If you’re feeling truly decadent, we like to add two or three Caramel Slices to a bowl of Pralines & Cream ice cream.
If you’re hosting a Scandinavian inspired lunch or dinner you may like to serve these cookies with other popular recipes from the region:
- Finska Pinnar Swedish Almond Shortbread Cookies
- Rabarberkage Swedish Rhubarb Cake
- Swedish Rhubarb and Custard Tart
- Köttbullar med Gräddsås Swedish Meatballs
- Swedish Sandwich Cake Homemade Smorgastarta
- Kardemummabullar Swedish Cardamom Buns
- Jordgubbstårta Recipe: Gluten Free Swedish Strawberry Meringue Cake
- Tebirkes Danish Poppy Seed Pastry
- Flodeboller Danish Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies
- Boller I Karry Danish Meatballs in Curry Sauce
How To Store Kolasnittar Swedish Caramel Cookies
If you have leftover Caramel Slices store them in an air tight container for 5-7 days.
We like to double the recipe as the cookies freeze well and can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
You May Also Enjoy These Cookie Recipes…
- Toblerone Shortbread Cookies
- Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Roasted Hazelnut Ferrero Rocher Cookies
- Nussecken German Nut Corners
- Vegan Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Aussie Anzac Biscuits
- Vegan Flourless Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies
- Gevulde Speculaas Dutch Cherry Almond Spice Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Lindt Lindor Cookies
- Oat Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips
How To Make Traditional Swedish Kolasnittar
Kolasnittar Swedish Caramel Cuts Cookies
Equipment
- Baking sheets greased and lined with parchment
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Pizza Cutter
- Mixing Bowl or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 140 g Butter
- 120 g White Sugar
- 4 tbsp Corn Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 300 g All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and white sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the corn syrup, followed by the vanilla extract, baking powder and flour. Mix with your hands until you have an even dough.
- Cut the dough into three equal pieces. Roll out to the size of 2 x 14 inches directly on prepared baking sheets. Gently push down on the dough logs with your fingers to smush them down. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the dough.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, use a pizza wheel or sharp knife to cut each rectangle into 12 pieces.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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