Kringle is a long oval Danish pastry with fruit or pecan filling, baked from layered laminated dough and topped with icing, the official state pastry.

Danish immigrants brought the kringle to Racine, Wisconsin, in the late 1800s; by 1949 the O&H Danish Bakery in Racine was producing them at scale. The Wisconsin Legislature declared the kringle Wisconsin's official state pastry in 2013. Today O&H ships them nationally, but Milwaukee bakeries including National Bakery, Grebe's and Holtz also produce them, especially around the Christmas holidays.

Where to eat Kringle in Milwaukee

3 editor picks for Kringle in Milwaukee, ranked by editorial score. All Milwaukee signature dishes · Kringle across every city.

  • Peter Sciortino's Bakery

    Order Cannoli

    Peter Sciortino's Bakery on East Brady Street is the city's Italian-American bakery since 1948, with cannoli, biscotti, Italian wedding cookies and weekday.

    DetailsDirections

  • National Bakery and Deli

    Order Almond kringle

    National Bakery on South 16th Street has baked Wisconsin kringle, paczki on Fat Tuesday and Polish pastries since 1925, with five locations.

    DetailsDirections

  • Grebe's Bakery

    Order Babka

    Grebe's Bakery on West Lincoln Avenue is a Polish-American bakery, founded in 1937, with babka, donuts, paczki on Fat Tuesday and a long South Side following.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 128 hrAdvanced

Ingredients

  • 500g all-purpose flour
  • 60g sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 7g instant yeast
  • 250ml whole milk, warm
  • 2 large eggs
  • 350g cold unsalted butter, cut into thin slabs
  • 300g almond paste or cherry filling
  • 200g powdered sugar for icing
  • 2 tablespoons milk for icing

Method

  1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add warm milk and one egg; mix until a soft dough forms. Knead 5 minutes.
  2. Refrigerate dough 30 minutes. Roll into a 12 by 18 inch rectangle.
  3. Lay the butter slabs across two-thirds of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third over, then fold the remaining third on top to create three layers. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
  4. Roll the dough out again to 12 by 18 and fold into thirds. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Repeat for a total of 4 folds.
  5. Roll the dough into a long oval, 8 inches wide by 30 inches long. Spread the filling down the center.
  6. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch to seal. Form into an oval ring and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  7. Cover and let rise 1 hour. Brush with the second beaten egg.
  8. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely.
  9. Whisk powdered sugar with milk to make icing; drizzle over the cooled kringle.

Editor tip. Lamination is the technique; keep everything cold and don't skip the rest periods. Almond paste filling is canonical; cherry, pecan and cream cheese are also traditional. Store at room temperature.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.