Cinnamon Snakes ‒ Kaneliässät

Random facts about Finnish coffee culture #16: When coffee availability was limited, coffee grounds were used at least twice. Roasteries and individual makers both created their own substitutes. Grains, acorns, peas, beans, dandelion roots and chicory were all used (and haven't been touched since). Usually a good "replacer" involved a carefully pondered mix of several of these. Salt was also a common addition because it made the coffee seem stronger.


The halfway mark of MoFo has passed! At this point I notice some tiredness again. The plans have been made and now it's just fulfilling them and my brain is already elsewhere. But there's still a lot to post: two more biscuits, a tour from Åland to Lapland

Here's the first of the two. They're called cinnamon esses in Finnish, but since that sounded odd to my ear and cinnamon biscuit sounded just dull, I thought I'd call them snakes in English. After all, the S shape is quite slithering! I imagine upper class ladies had them with coffee when coffee had just arrived. They're still one of the every standing table must haves, but if you love cinnamon as much as I do, that's definitely not a bad thing.


- 6 dl flour
- 200 g margarine
- 1.5 dl sugar
- 0.5 dl hot water
- 1 tsp baking soda

To dust:
- 1 dl sugar
- 4 tbsp cinnamon

Dissolve the sugar in water. Mix the rest of the ingredients with them. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two. Mix the dusting ingredient on a plate.

Roll pieces of the dough into bars. (If necessary, use some four to help.) Roll the bars in the cinnamon and sugar dust. Arrange into S shape on a baking sheet. Bake about 14 minutes on the upper shelve of a 175°C oven.

Nutritional values / 842 g:
energy 3327 kcal
fat 149 g
protein 52 g
carbohydrates 443 g
fiber 20 g