As I’ve mentioned once or twice (might be slightly obsessed) I am a big fan of Christmas. It’s not so much the holiday itself that I love but preparation part and the fact that it brings people together in a world where everyone is perpetually busy. Plus, that everything that has to do with this period smells so good. I mean common, gingerbread cookies and pine needles? Sublime!

This December I’m hosting events in my home where I’m offering a little bit of an insight into Christmas in Iceland so I’ve been thinking a lot about our traditions and such. We baked our favorite Christmas cookies and I handcrafted some decorations and it’s just been a lot of fun to prepare.

One of the cookies we made is always a real hit here in Iceland and I would almost go as far to say it’s Iceland’s favorite Christmas cookie. In true Icelandic fashion (we always have to do things a little bit differently) it’s not a cookie at all but it’s made in small bite-size portions so we let it slide. I think the reason it’s so popular, apart from the fact that it’s decadently sweet, is the fact it contains the mother of all Icelandic candy combinations: Chocolate and licorice.

We LOVE those two things together.

These little sugar-comatose-inducing creations are called Lakkrístoppar, Licorice tops, and they are basically mini meringues infused with chocolate and licorice. So sugar bound together with sugar.

Our guests at our Christmas events have loved them, some so much in fact that they requested the recipe. And since I had to translate it anyway, I thought: why not share it with all of you!

I translated this recipe from Nói Siríus – the makers of chocolate covered lakkrískurl that is used for this recipe. Lakkrískurl is available in every supermarket in Iceland and you’ll usually find it in the baking aisle (sometimes also the candy aisle).

By the way, if you love this stuff as much as we do it’s popular to dip soft serve ice cream in a chocolate dip and then this stuff and then eat it. It’s super messy (because the ice cream melts before you can finish all your chocolate dip and licorice) but super delish. Try at your own risk (and maybe wear a bib).

If you are not coming to Iceland any time soon you can also buy the Lakkrískurl online and get it delivered to your house. It will probably cost you a pretty penny though.

Lakkrístoppar – Licorice Tops

Please keep in mind that the baking time can differ slightly between ovens. If you bake them too long they’ll be dry and the licorice hard but if you don’t bake them for long enough they’ll collapse and not look quite so fluffy (but they’ll still taste good).

Share with your loved ones and enjoy!