Danish butter cookies with a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate are an excellent afternoon treat. But not all Danish butter cookies are created equal. Some are more buttery, while others are sweeter and have a slightly disappointing texture.
There are three brands you may already have come across during your shopping trips: Royal Dansk, Jacobsens, and Bisca. They all produce Danish Butter Biscuits and sell them in attractive tins.
But which of the three brands does the job best? Which one is worth your money? Let’s look at all three brands, who they are, where they bake their goodies, and how they differ from each other.
Royal Dansk
What Is The History Of Royal Dansk?
The story of Royal Dansk begins in 1966 in the Danish village Helsingoer. Even then, the bakery was known for its dedication to the production of butter cookies. The name Royal Dansk Cookies means “Royal Danish Cookies.”
The tin, which has not changed since then, depicts an old Danish farmhouse named “Hjemstavnsgaard.”
Where Can I Buy Royal Dansk, And What Varieties Are There?
You can get your hands on Royal Dansk cookies in supermarkets like Publix and Walgreens, Walmart, and many other stores that sell groceries. Use Royal Dansk’s store finder to find the stockist closest to you. Of course, you can also buy the cookies online.
Royal Dansk Classic Danish Butter Cookies come in a round tin (12oz) with the blue design people connect with Royal Dansk. These are the butter cookies many people will remember from childhood – and they have not changed much. You can get these in various sizes, from 8oz to a whopping 48oz tin!
White Chocolate and Raspberry is one of Royal Dansk’s new takes on the classic butter cookie. It is a nice option if you are bored with plain butter cookies. The packaging looks quite different from the classic tin and is a little smaller, too.
Royal Dansk’s Dark Chocolate and Orange Peel Cookie takes a popular flavor combination (orange and chocolate) and creates a different kind of butter cookie. If you like that combination and are a fan of Royal Dansk, you need to try these!
In addition to regular cookies, Royal Dansk is also selling cookie wafers with a delicious crème filling in a variety of flavors (chocolate, vanilla, and cappuccino).
What Are The Ingredients in Royal Dansk?
What is it that makes Royal Dansk cookies taste so lovely and unforgettable? Is there some weird secret ingredient?
Let’s look at the ingredients list: Wheat flour, butter (milk), sugar, desiccated coconut, invert sugar, salt, ammonium bicarbonate, and natural flavor (vanilla).
So no, nothing strange to see there!
Where Are Royal Dansk Cookies Made?
If you wonder whether your Royal Dansk cookies are Danish, you don’t have to worry. Royal Dansk has two cookie bakeries, and they are both located in Danish villages (Nørre Snede and Ribe).
Together, these two bakeries produce 25,000 tonnes of cookies each year.
Jacobsens
What Is The History Of Jacobsens?
In 1962, Sigurd Jacobsen founded Intergoods Bakery Ltd. (which changed its name to Jacobsens Bakery Ltd. in 2001) as a company for importing and exporting goods.
Cookies only became a part of that in 1967, when the company began to export traditional Danish Butter Cookies (in tins). By 1984, the product had become so popular that a fully automated baking and packing line was installed.
More investments followed, and to this day, Jacobsens supplies companies worldwide.
Where Can I Buy Jacobsens And What Varieties Are There?
While Jacobsens has a wide variety of designs, some are challenging to find in the USA. They all contain the same butter cookies, though.
Amazon has the most popular tin Beautiful Denmark Butter Cookies in 64oz, and you can also choose to buy it in a multi-pack.
You can also get a lovely-looking winter design edition of Jacobsen’s butter cookies. Just be aware that these imported designs will cost more than standard designs.
Some other designs include a series of tin based on emojis and many different Peter Rabbit tin designs.
Jacobsens also produces gluten-free and sugar-free cookies under the name “Tivoli.”
What Are The Ingredients in Jacobsens?
Jacobsens Danish butter cookies have a relatively short ingredient list – with ingredients most people know. Here they are:
Wheat flour, sugar, vegetable shortening (palm oil, rapeseed oil), butter 9%, desiccated coconut, salt, natural flavor, raising agent (ammonium bicarbonate), and natural vanilla flavor.
Where Are Jacobsens Cookies Made?
The Jacobsens factory produces a tremendous amount of cookies daily (7,585,000 cookies – more than you could eat in your whole life). 31,600 lbs of butter are used up in that process.
The Jacobsens factory is located in Denmark – so the Danish cookies you buy are indeed Danish.
Bisca
What Is The History Of Bisca?
The tins of Bisca cookies proudly tell everyone that they have been producing these cookies since 1890. And their story is a tad more interesting than the other two brands.
It all began with a commoner’s daughter, Karen Volf.
She was born in 1864 and grew up to become one of Denmark’s first successful and independent businesswomen – by baking and selling fine Danish butter cookies.
The cookies became so popular that the Royal Danish court chose them as their butter cookie of choice. Since 1997, Bisca has had permission to use the designation ‘By Appointment to The Royal Danish Court.’
Where Can I Buy Bisca And What Varieties Are There?
Bisca has a small line of tasty products with the classic Danish Butter Cookie at its center. You can buy these in supermarkets and some other stores that sell groceries.
The easiest option is to buy them online.
The Bisca Danish Butter Cookies sold in a blue tin look like Royal Dansk tins! So make sure to distinguish those two.
Under the name “Karen’s Bakery,” Bisca also produces some tasty Danish puff pastry cookies with a delicious vanilla filling. It’s a great combination of classical Danish cookie-type pastry with the sweetness of natural vanilla. Very recommended!
What Are The Ingredients in Bisca?
Like the other two brands, the ingredients list of these Danish butter cookies is not excessively long – which is generally good news.
The ingredients are wheat flour, butter, milk, sugar, pearl sugar, desiccated coconut, salt, egg, ammonium bicarbonate, vanilla, and invert sugar.
Where Are Bisca Cookies Made?
These Danish cookies are also actual Danish cookies that are produced in various bakeries on the Danish island of Møn. These bakeries also make cakes, crackers, biscuits, and other baked goods.
The recipe for the Danish cookies is still based on the original recipe that Karen Volf used.
Comparison Questions – Royal Dansk vs Jacobsens vs Bisca
Are Any Of These Cookies Gluten-Free?
No, all of these cookies are made with wheat flour, a gluten source. Sadly, you must stay away from these if you have a gluten intolerance.
Jacobsens, however, have a brand called Tivoli that produces gluten-free Danish cookies.
Are Butter Cookies Suitable For Vegans?
Of the three brands I am comparing here, all of them have real butter as a main ingredient. Butter is not suitable for vegans, so all three brands are unsuitable for vegans.
They are totally fine for vegetarians, though.
Which Is More Affordable?
The price of products is getting more and more important for people these days, so let’s have a look at whether there is a significant price difference (the average price is calculated by comparing prices from different stores)
| Product | Royal Dansk | Jacobsens | Bisca | Most Affordable |
| Classic Butter Cookie | $4.20 per 12oz | $10.60 per 12oz | $6.30 per 12oz | Royal Dansk |
Royal Dansk is the winner when it comes to being very affordable, with Jacobsens being the most expensive on average.
Which Biscuit Lasts Longer?
You can usually find the best before date for Royal Dansk, Jacobsens, and Bisca butter cookies at the bottom of the cookie tins (printed in black).
If the tin remains unopened and sealed, butter cookies will usually be OK for up to three months after the best before date. You could also store them in the freezer, extending this period to five months.
Once you open a tin, you should eat butter cookies within 2-3 weeks. Store them correctly. Otherwise, they will become soggy.
Related Questions
Is There Real Butter In Danish Butter Cookies?
These days, many products out there have an ingredient in their name – but when you look at the ingredient list, the actual ingredient is nowhere to be found.
This is different for proper Danish Butter Cookies. The brands I am comparing in this article have butter as a main ingredient.
Bisca’s cookies include 19.97% butter.
Royal Dansk is even more buttery with 28% butter.
Jacobsens has the least butter, only 9% of the total ingredients.
Are Butter Cookies Soft?
Butter Cookies have a unique texture that is neither hard nor soft. A mix of tenderness and firmness almost makes a good butter cookie melt in your mouth. They are easy to break apart, yet they are hard enough to keep their various shapes.
Are Butter Biscuits Bad For You?
They aren’t exactly healthy food, but you could do a lot worse when it comes to sweet snacks.
Eat them in moderation as a treat, and there’s not much to worry about (if you are generally healthy and do not suffer from problems like a gluten-intolerance).
Conclusion – Who Wins In The Fight “Royal Dansk vs Jacobsens vs Bisca”?
In the end, it’s a matter of personal taste – but I found Jacobsens to be the loser in this. It relies too much on sugar to carry its flavor (as said above, there’s not that much butter in Jacobsen’s cookies). It is also harder than the other two brands.
Royal Dansk and Bisca are pretty similar, with Royal Dansk showing that it’s using a lot more butter even though it is a slightly cheaper cookie.
You can’t go wrong with either Bisca or Royal Dansk. Bisca has more prestige thanks to being a supplier of the Danish Royal Court (that’s probably why it’s a little more expensive).