Does anyone know what these cookies might be? My grandmother insisted they were called something like “melon tortas” and were a traditional Christmas cookie that her Swedish mother handed down. Cant find anything like them online.

50 comments

  1. My great great grandmother (long since deceased) passed down a recipe for a kind of short bread cookie. For some reason we call them “Melon Tortas” though upon a bit of research that name appears to be nonsense. It could easily just be some recipe my ancestor made up. But everyone in my family makes them at Christmas and just kind of assumed they were a traditional Swedish Christmas cookie. Thing is, I’ve looked up traditional Sweedish christmas cookies and I cant find anything like them. I’ve found cookies that had jam in them, or were very buttery or dense like shortbreads, or were made with Carmel or toffee. These are not those. They also do not contain almonds like mandelbrot.

    These cookies look like biscotti but the appearances are simply superficial. When picked up they feel dense because they form a somewhat thick outer “skin” but when broken are actually quite soft inside, sort of like a butter biscuit. However they are much sweeter than a biscuit while not being as sweet as something like a sugar cookie. They taste very milky and slightly buttery with a light vanilla flavor (sort of like nilla wafers). They are generally eaten dunked in milk as they’d be very dry otherwise.

    I haven’t made them myself but one thing of note is I know the dough has to be chilled in the fridge for something like 1-2 days for some reason. I dont know if this is actually required or if its just some hogwash my grandma made up to make them sound more impressive. Id say theyre a pretty okay cookie but a little bland. But they’re important to my family history and to be honest, im kind of amazed im the first one in my family to actually bother to do a little research on them. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

    Does anyone have any idea what these may be?

    Other possible places of origin: Poland, Germany, Ireland.

  6. “Melon tortas” could definitely be a bastardization of “Melontårtor”, but it would make very little sense as a name to describe these cookies. It directly translates to “melon cakes (note, CAKES, not cookies, implying a soft cake made and sliced)”, but melons were not exactly very available here in the generations you are mentioning, so this is either a mishearing, or a mix-up between something else. Are there almonds in them?* “Mandel” could possibly be the mysterious word. In fact, maybe we could reverse engineer what it is from the recipe if you have it?

    *nvm, my reading comprehension skills apparently already took a holiday vacation.

  9. Kolasnittar? It is kolakakor! [https://www.ica.se/recept/kolakakor-599834/](https://www.ica.se/recept/kolakakor-599834/) It is obvious. They taste divine. I think the colour is a bit off, but that happens to me as well. Who are the people replying here? I wager all Swedes would know them well. Anybody not saying kolakakor is an impostor.

  10. It could be some kind of mandelkaka which can be a christmas cookie. It would translate interest almond cookie. Sounds a bit like melon. But I have to be honest it does not look like classic Swedish mandelkaka. But then off course it could be a very nice home made kind.

  12. The way of cutting them after they are baked are like one would do with kolakakor. But I don’t feel like a lot else in your description fits.

    The look of the texture could be drömmar, do you know if it’s ammonium carbonate in them?

    Could be a variant of mördegskakor. There’s lots of different way to do them and the chilling of the dough would fit, even if its not really necessary to chill it for 1-2 days.

    Gaffelkakor also comes to mind but in another shape. Also fits with the chilling of the dough. I usually use potato flour when making them.

  18. Lots of suggestions here are plausible. Just want to clarify that none of them are “traditional Christmas cookies”; they’re just cookies.

  22. Sounds like finskorpor which are basically a Swedish variant of cantucci. In its less refined version (normal skorpor) they are little bread buns that are cut in half and toasted until the become dry and crunchy and used like a cracker. The “fin” version is more like a cookie, but not as sweet and not as buttery. Often flavored with almond or cardamom (but vanilla would work). They are usually round and cut in half and double baked to add crunch, but I have seen them done in loaves like shown here, but less commonly.

    The only people I know who eat them regularly are quite old – in their 80s or 90s – but I am not Swedish born, so there may be a hidden underground of youthful finskorpor eaters out there.

  23. Mellan sounds similar, it means “in between”. It’s likely not melon, the fruit, I doubt we knew what that even was back then. Maybe mandel (=almond)?

    Terminology might have been mixed up over the years… Tårta = cake (the layered kind with filling and a creamy cover), while the similar sounding swedish word kaka = any kind of sweet pastry really.

  29. We make a similar kind of cookie for Christmas. They used to be my grandfather’s favourite Christmas cookie. Although we cut them before baking and cover the outside in red pearl sugar, that dough also has to be refrigerated overnight before cutting/baking.

    Not sure we have any name for them other than Vanilla Cookies (Vanilj kakor) though. Maybe it’s a locality-based thing. Any idea where your Swedish great grandmother was from?

  31. After reading your description and the other comments, my guess is it could be her own variation of drömmar. They look alot like them and the vanilla and milk/butter flavour would fit the label. But drömmar are crumbly all the way through, and completely disintegrates when you bite them.

    As for the name, maybe mellantorra? As in not as dry and crumbly as drömmar but not soft and moist like a sugar cake.

  32. When I first saw them, without reading the title or anything, my thought was “Looks like biscotti”. But based on the description I might be wrong.

  37. I have no idea what that is, but whoever made this is a fucking sorcerer when it comes to cuttimg equally large parts. Amazing

  40. Even before I read your description, the way these cookies crack made me think of cookies with a meringue like interior. Would you say they are soft but also a bit chewy? “Jitterbuggare” has been around since the 40’s and it’s both crusty and soft. People are suggesting cookies that are mostly just hard all the way through.

    A recipe and a few other pics would do wonders though!

  41. Would be easier to guess if you post the recipe. Otherwise I agree with the top post, they’re cut like kolakakor but the texture looks like drömmar.

  42. A traditional Swedish Christmas cookie is *Mandelmusslor* (almond clams) which might possibly fit the bill. They are made with shortbread dough and then baked in a special tin that gives them a basket or taco shell shape. When you eat them you fill them with jam and whipped cream. I prefer cloudberry jam.

    https://www.ica.se/recept/mandelmusslor-726691/

  44. We might have to take this to the fika-council up in the department of justice, this might stir up a rebellion in the lands of fika and cookies im afraid. God bless the fika and dip us all.

  48. That’s exactly how my kolakakor look when I make them! Based on your description it really sounds like kolakakor (the vanilla variant, you can also make chocolate ones). It’s a recipe I learned in hemkunskap, basically cooking class

Leave a Reply