RACINE, Wis.— One of Wisconsin’s busiest bakeries is putting a new twist on its signature Kringle.
This month O&H Bakery in Racine introduced the “Nordic Noel,” a variation of its oval-shaped pastry with cream cheese and ginger cake filling, vanilla icing and crushed ginger cookies on top. Third-generation co-owner Eric Oleson said the company experiments with new flavors ahead of each holiday season.
“It’s got to be something that’s as good as it looks, Oleson said. “It’s got to be something that really is special.”
Eric’s grandfather Christian Oleson founded O&H Bakery in 1949 with a single bench, a wooden rolling pin and a small mixer. Now the bakery is capable of making 7,000 Kringle per day. Eric says his goal is the same as his grandfather’s: To create “hygge.”
“Hygge is this term that the Danish people say for those moments in time when it’s cozy and comfortable and everything kind of melts away,” he said.
While the bakery’s in-person traffic is down this year, Oleson says mail-order business has increased ahead of the holidays. O&H has shipped its beloved Kringle to more than 100 countries and claims to have fulfilled orders on all seven continents.