Anna's Ginger Thins, Swedish Crispy Cookies

Anna's Thins are delicate, thin cracker-like cookies, originating in Sweden that just crumble in your mouth with a delightful crunch. They come in nine varieties including Ginger, Almond Cinnamon, Cappuccino, Chocolate Mint, Lemon, Orange, Vanilla Chocolate Chip, Blueberry, and Organic Ginger.

History

These cookies are the creation of Anna Karlsson, a Swedish housewife in the 1920's, who baked ginger cookies year-round along with her sister with their mother's recipe. They were very popular in the neighborhood and eventually they opened a small bakery in Stockholm, Sweden in 1929. In 2002, the company opened a second factory in High River, Alberta, Canada and produces about 1,950,000 cookies per day. The company is currently owned by Lotus Bakeries.

Being a Swedish tradition at Christmas time, the Ginger Thins are considered "The Classic" cookie from Anna's. They are lightly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. As with all Anna's Thins, these are sweetened with sugar beet and sugar cane syrup. They use no animal products and contain only trace amounts of dairy products in the margarine and the chocolate micro drops contain .02% butter fat.

Anna's Thins come in two sizes 5-1/4 ounce and 3 pound Club Packs. Serving size is 6 thins, so you receive 32 in the regular size and about 300 in the Club Packs.

Review

I first encountered Anna's Thins cookies a few months ago and I cannot get enough of them. I specifically bought the Ginger Thins and Almond Cinnamon Thins in the small 5-1/4 ounce size because those are the only varieties available at the CVS pharmacy where I buy them. These cookies are perfectly baked and just awesome with tea or coffee and are so delicately crispy that they melt almost in your mouth.

The Ginger Thins have a touch of spice without being overdone like gingersnaps and definitely not as hard. The Almond Cinnamon Thins taste very similar to the Ginger Thins but with subtle hints of almond. Both flavors are very good and hopefully I can try more flavors in the future.

I ate the Ginger Thins plain and in two experiments. One way was to sandwich two thins around a thin layer of whipped cream cheese and it tasted really good -- next time I will add sugar to balance out some of the bitterness of the cream cheese. The other way I used them was in my sauerbraten recipe that can be read here: Sauerbraten (Pickled Roast): A Simple Recipe for a Popular German Dish -- I simply crumbled about 5 or 6 cookies (instead of gingersnaps) into the sauce and it turned out really good. I'm sure there are many more recipes and uses for all of the flavors of thins.

Where to Buy

Anna's Thins are available in most stores such as Albertsons, Big Lots, Kroger, Safeway, Walgreens, and Target. I found them at CVS pharmacy (3 boxes for $3.98 or about $1.33 each) and they are not on the list, so you might find them unexpectedly and various stores. Look at their official listing to find a possible retailer. Some of the thins can be purchased online at the Biscoff site.

Conclusion

Anna's Thins are a great-tasting, low-priced cookie thin that can be used for many different recipes or just eaten by themselves with tea or coffee. Give them a try today.

Rating: 5/5