It’s hard not to regret all the tender butter cookies we’ve missed out on by not living in Sweden, where the sit-down-and-chat-awhile coffee/cookie break (fika in Swedish) is not only welcome in the workplace, but culturally mandated!

We’re making up for lost time here at Mouth HQ thanks to Swedish-born Ulrika Pettersson who founded her Harlem-based Unna Bakery to bring the traditional and elegant cookies of her heritage to a country that could stand to slow down and savor the moment a bit. Her recipes date back to the late 1800s when kaffereps (ladies-only fikas) were to have exactly seven types of cookies on offer because serving fewer would brand a hostess cheap and serving more would brand her a show-off.

At the risk of slighting our grandmas, these may be the tastiest version of a raspberry thumbprint cookie we’ve ever had. Sweet and tart raspberry jam nestled into a dainty but rich butter cookie? No wonder these are considered an obligatory fika inclusion.

TIP OF THE TONGUE