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    Lussekatter – moist saffron buns with raisins for Lucia

    Saffron, quark and raisins – soft, golden and just sweet enough

    • about 30 lussekatter
    • Time: 30 min + 1 hour rising + 10 min in the oven
    • Difficulty: Medium
    • 11 ingredients
    • 10 steps
    To the recipe
    Freshly baked glossy lussekatter shaped like an S with raisins in the curls on a rack, with a lit candle in the background.
    Photo: Per Ola Wiberg, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

    Lussekatter belong to Lucia and Advent just as gingerbread belongs to Christmas. Golden with saffron, glossy with egg and with a raisin in every curl – and ideally so soft that they almost melt. In 2026 Lucia falls on Sunday 13 December, and many people start baking the weekends before.

    Lussekatter have a reputation for being dry. That is almost always because of too much flour in the dough and too long in the oven. This recipe has quark and butter in the dough, which keeps the buns moist for several days, and the dough should be soft – almost a little sticky – when it starts to rise.

    Method

    1. Grind the saffron with a teaspoon of sugar to a fine powder in a mortar.
    2. Melt the butter in a pan, pour in the milk and saffron and warm to lukewarm, about 37 degrees.
    3. Crumble the yeast into a bowl and pour over the lukewarm liquid. Stir until the yeast has dissolved.
    4. Stir in the quark, sugar and salt.
    5. Work in the flour a little at a time, ideally with a stand mixer for 5–10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and soft – save a little flour for shaping.
    6. Let the dough rise under a tea towel for about 40 minutes, until doubled.
    7. Divide the dough into about 30 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 20 cm long, and roll up both ends in opposite directions to make an S.
    8. Place the lussekatter on trays lined with baking paper and let them rise under a tea towel for about 30 minutes.
    9. Set the oven to 225 degrees. Press a raisin into each curl and brush with beaten egg.
    10. Bake in the middle of the oven for 7–8 minutes, until the buns are golden. Let them cool under a tea towel.

    Tips for moist lussekatter

    • Grind the saffron. Saffron ground with sugar dissolves evenly, so the whole dough turns golden and the flavour is in every bite.
    • A soft dough. It is tempting to add flour until the dough is completely dry – but then the buns turn dry. The dough should be soft and a little sticky.
    • A short time in the oven. Lussekatter are baked hot and briefly. Take them out as soon as they have taken on colour.
    • A tea towel afterwards. Let the buns cool under a tea towel, and they keep their moisture.
    • Freeze straight away. Freeze the buns on the same day they are baked. On Lucia morning they thaw in half an hour and taste freshly baked – or warm them for a few minutes in the oven.

    Lussekatter with kids

    The most fun part for children is shaping the buns. They can roll dough ropes, curl them into S shapes, add the raisins and brush with egg – and often invent their own shapes like Lucia pigs, Christmas trees or stars. Small children under three should not have whole raisins unless they are used to them – swap for a piece of dried fruit or skip the raisin. An adult handles the oven.

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    Shapes to try

    • Lussekatt (S): the classic – both ends rolled in opposite directions.
    • Christmas boar: an S where one end is longer and rolled twice.
    • Christmas cart: two lussekatter laid crosswise.
    • Priest's hair: several short dough ropes laid side by side with the ends rolled inwards.
    • Plait: three strands plaited and laid in a ring – a saffron loaf to slice for the Lucia fika.

    Common mistakes

    • Too much flour – the buns turn dry and dense.
    • The saffron is not ground – the dough becomes streaky and the flavour uneven.
    • Milk that is too hot – above 40 degrees the yeast dies and the dough does not rise.
    • Too long in the oven – lussekatter turn dry with just a couple of minutes too many.

    Frequently asked questions

    How much saffron should there be in lussekatter?

    One gram of saffron is enough for a batch of about 30 buns. If you want a stronger flavour and a deeper yellow colour, you can use up to one and a half grams.

    Why do lussekatter turn dry?

    The most common reasons are too much flour in the dough and too long in the oven. Keep the dough soft, bake briefly and hot, and let the buns cool under a tea towel.

    Can you freeze lussekatter?

    Yes, freeze them as soon as they have cooled. They thaw in about half an hour and taste freshly baked.

    Can you make lussekatter without quark?

    Yes, replace the quark with the same amount of milk or sour milk and use slightly less flour. The quark makes the buns extra moist, but it works fine without.

    More Christmas baking: bake gingerbread biscuits with the kids, make glögg over an open fire or read about Lucia and all the other dates in the Christmas guide.

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    Gingerbread biscuits with the kids

    Thin and crisp gingerbread biscuits – dough that rests overnight and shapes the children cut out.

    To the gingerbread biscuits

    Glögg with the lussekatter

    Homemade glögg for adults and children's glögg made from cordial – on the hob or in the pot over the fire.

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    Lucia and Christmas 2026

    Lucia on Sunday 13 December – and all the other dates for Christmas with kids.

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