Cookie Day in Sweden Date in the current year: December 17, 2025

Cookies (or biscuits, if you prefer British English) are baked snacks made from flour, sugar, egg, some kind of cooking fat, and other ingredients. Cookie-like baked goods have been around since ancient times, but cookies as we know them became common throughout Europe around the 14th century.

There are mentions of professional bakers in Sweden dating back to the Middle Ages. They mainly baked pretzels, which had been known in the region since the 4th century. The first mention of gingerbread in Sweden is from 1444; it was baked in a monastery in Vadstena.

In the 1720s, there were more than a dozen coffeehouses in Stockholm where coffee was served with French-style pastries. During the second half of the 18th century and the first quarter of the 19th century, however, coffee was periodically banned in Sweden by five separate royal decrees issued by three different kings. When the ban was finally lifted in 1823, coffee with cookies became a staple of Swedish coffeehouses.

In the late 19th century, private gatherings of ladies over coffee and seven kinds of cookies became popular in Sweden. Why that exact number? It was thought that fewer made you look stingy, and more made you look like a show-off. Originally called kaffeprep, the custom evolved into what is now called fika – a short coffee break with cookies, sweet breads, or pastries.

Today, various types of cookies are an integral part of Swedish coffee culture. Visit Sweden, the country’s official website for tourism and travel information, lists seven iconic Swedish cookies that you should try during your visit:

• Brysselkex (Brussels cookies): flat and round buttery shortbread cookies covered in colored (usually pink) granulated sugar.
• Chokladsnittar (chocolate slices): soft, brownie-like cookies decorated with pearl sugar.
• Drömmar (dream cookies): light and airy cookies leavened with baker’s ammonia and flavored with vanilla.
• Hallongrottor (raspberry caves): shortbread-like cookies filled with raspberry jam, similar to American thumbprint cookies.
• Havrekakor (oatmeal cookies): crunchy and brittle oatmeal cookies, occasionally drizzled with chocolate.
• Nötkakor (hazelnut cookies): plump and chewy cookies made with ground hazelnuts, sugar and eggs, and decorated with a whole hazelnut.
• Schackrutor (checkerboard cookies): shortbread cookies made with two types of dough, vanilla and cocoa flavored, to resemble a 4x4 segment of a checkerboard.

And these are just seven examples of Swedish cookies – there are many more to enjoy! The origins of Cookie Day in Sweden are unclear, but that does not stop Swedes from celebrating the holiday and enjoying their favorite cookies with coffee or tea. And you don’t even have to be in Sweden to join in the fun! Fika is for everyone, so Google some Swedish cookie recipes, whip up a batch of delicious cookies, and share them with your friends and family.