Crisp, buttery, and delicately flavored with real vanilla makes these Danish Butter Cookies (Vanillekranse) a holiday favorite across Scandinavia and beyond. Perfect for gifting or enjoying with a cup of coffee, these traditional Danish cookies are as elegant as they are delicious.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and substitutions for Danish Butter Cookies (Vanillekranse)
- Plain flour: Plain or all purpose works best here. It is not recommended to use cake flour as this is too fine and would give this already crumbly cake an even finer texture.
- Ground almonds: Almond meal is a traditional ingredient in these cookies, though, if you’re allergic to or prefer not to eat nuts, you could replace the almonds with an additional 50 grams / ⅓ cup plain flour.
- Butter: Softened unsalted butter is used, though salted butter also works. Softened is traditional for this recipe and is best because it combines to create the beloved texture in the cookies here.
- Sugar: The nice fine granules dissolve and add sweetness, without adding additional flavors. You could replace with white or raw sugar, though it won't dissolve into the batter as easily as superfine.
- Egg: The room temperature egg binds and adds structure, resulting in that soft interior.
- Vanilla sugar: In most European lands vanilla sugar is easy to source, though you can easily make it with a dried vanilla pod previously used for homemade vanilla extract and blended with sugar. If you cannot source vanilla sugar, simply replace with 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Danish Butter Cookies:
Step 1: Whip it: Beat the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
Step 2: Egg it: Add in the egg and whip until well combined and fluffy.
Step 3: Flour it up: Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until just combined.
Step 4: Pipe: Spoon into a piping bag and pipe onto a lined baking tray.
Step 5: Bake: Until golden before cooling completely.
Step 6: Serve: With or without your favorite hot drink. Enjoy!
FAQ's for the best Danish Butter Cookies
Why are they called Vanillekranse?
The name literally means “vanilla wreaths” in Danish, referring to their ring shape and rich vanilla aroma.
Why are my Vanillekranse spreading too much?
Your dough may be too soft — chill it for 15–20 minutes before shaping.
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Danish Butter Cookies (Vanillekranse)
These Vanillekranse – traditional Danish butter cookies are the ultimate Christmas classic! Buttery, crisp, and infused with natural vanilla, they’re a beloved part of every Danish holiday table.
Ingredients
- 200 grams / 7 ounces butter softened
- 175 grams / ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
- 8 grams / 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar or extract
- 55 grams / 1 large egg room temperature
- 75 grams / ¾ cup ground almonds
- 250 grams / 1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon plain flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Toss the butter and sugars into a bowl and whip until pale and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and whip until smooth and combined.
- Toss in the ground almonds and flour and whip on low until no dry portions remain at the edges of your bowl.
- Place a C4 or similar sized star shaped piping nozzle into a piping bag and spoon a portion of the cookie dough into the piping bag.
- Press the dough as tightly down towards the nozzle and twist the top tightly to make it easier to hold the bag.
- Hold the piping bag upright and press firmly to pipe, creating a circle of dough and pressing firmly down to finish forming the wreath.
- Allow a 2 centimeter or 1 inch gap between the cookies and bake until golden, approximately 10 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool on the baking tray for 2 minutes to firm up before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve up with your favorite hot drink and enjoy!
Notes
- Ground almonds: Almond meal is a traditional ingredient in these cookies, though, if you’re allergic to or prefer not to eat nuts, you could replace the almonds with an additional 50 grams / ⅓ cup plain flour.
- Vanilla sugar: In most European lands vanilla sugar is easy to source, though you can easily make it with a vanilla pod previously used for homemade vanilla extract and blended with sugar. If you cannot source vanilla sugar, simply replace with 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.
- Piping the dough: The texture of the dough is like a standard drop cookie so can be quite a workout to pipe onto a baking tray. It can be easier to pipe all the cookies onto separate trays in a larger quantity and transferring 8-10 cookies to your baking sheets when ready to bake.
- Piping nozzle: The C4 or S/C4 piping nozzle has a diameter of 8mm. Initially a C10 star piping nozzle with a diameter of 13mm and created much larger cookies that had a fluffy texture than the smaller cookies so it is better to use a smaller nozzle around 8-10mm diameter.
- If the dough spreads too much during baking: Pipe more of the cookie dough and chill before baking to maintain their shape. Aim to chill for no more than 20 minutes otherwise the baking time will increase.
- Best stored: In an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Their flavor deepens over time!
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 62kcal
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