This recipe comes from a new favorite book of mine, Nevada Berg’s Norwegian Baking. The pages have me dreaming of long summer days foraging for wild berries, edible flowers and stinging nettles, as well as cold winters cozied up with candles and the scent of cardamom wafting through the house.

I’ve always be drawn to whimsical stories and colorful sweets dyed by nature.

“Trollkrem, or “troll cream” is a traditional dessert made with lingonberries, whipped egg whites, and sugar. The name possibly derives from the term troller, which translates to “troll berry” and in earlier time referred to inedible and tart berries. Nowadays, its feels more natural to attribute the enchanting name to the dessert’s airy texture and, perhaps the trolls living in the forest with lingonberries adorning their feet. These cookie sandwiches are a play on that dessert and the rocky terrain where the trolls are said to dwell. he troll cream, made up of cream cheese rather than egg whites, is sandwiches between soft and knobby oatmeal cookies with a hint of cardamom. If lingionberries are hard to come by, substitute with chopped cranberries. Enjoy these charming cookies knowing that wild lingonberries (and maybe trolls) are popping up along the forest bed”

The chewy oatmeal cookies are warmly spiced with notes of molasses from the dark brown sugar. I’ve doubled the troll cream! It’s pink and fluffy, a little bit sweet and tart with some tanginess from the cream cheese. It’s sooooo good.