Bendtsen's Bakery - Racine, WI

Posted By Michael Stern on July 17, 2007 11:20 PM

Route 20 between I-94 and downtown Racine takes you past one of the premier kringle bakeries in town, therefore one of the best in America. Kringle is a pastry with Danish ancestry, but known on this continent only in and around Racine.

If you don’t know what one is, think of an ordinary Danish, like you have with morning coffee. Now, imagine its crust buttery and feather-light, almost like a croissant; and imagine it filled with a ribbon of pecan paste and chopped nuts, or a layer of almond macaroon paste, or a low tunnel of cherry and cheese. Picture it as a huge ring like a Christmas wreath, about a foot-and-a-half across and iced with sugar glaze or flavored frosting. Finally, imagine it served warm with butter melting on top, accompanied by a cup of coffee. There you have one of the great breakfast (or tea time) treats in America.

Bendtsen's is not a full service cafe, but there are some seats for customers to sit and eat pastries and drink coffee. This is a good thing, because we must warn you that kringle is not car food. It’s unwieldy (crumbles and oozes), and it really should be served warm and eaten with a fork. Nevertheless, we have been known to devour the better of two whole rings on the road between Racine and Chicago, leaving a hail of crumbs on the seat and floor of our vehicular dining room.

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kringle

Seven Sisters

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Posted By Slaton White on April 1, 2011 3:21 PM

My grouse-hunting buddy brings these along every year when I come in from the East Coast. The only word for them is: wonderful.

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Posted By Carol Ann Garner on March 31, 2011 11:03 AM

I’ve lived in Racine my whole life. Up until about four years ago, I’d had every other kringle in town EXCEPT Bendtsen’s. Then a friend in Milwaukee told me to go there to pick up a kringle for her: “You haven’t been to BENDTSEN’S?!” Well, I had some of hers, and I haven’t gone anywhere else since.

The crust is flakier than any in town, never mushy/soggy, and the glazed topping far outdoes the sugar-coating or frosting on others in town. The fillings are fresh and delicious.

Even though there’s another kringle bakery closer to my house, I haven’t gone to any other place since. And I’ve made all my co-workers fans, as well. Let’s face it, kringle is delicious so, yes, you’re going to like the stuff from other bakeries. But this is the PREMIUM stuff.

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Posted By Dana Sengbush on November 3, 2010 11:00 AM

I have been the lucky recipient of many of this fine bakery's Kringles as Christmas gifts. They are by far the best I have tasted. I have ordered from two other bakeries and due to the distance they have to be shipped, I was very disappointed. Bendtsen's always arrive fresh and flaky. My favorite is the Pecan. It is also good served warm with a little vanilla ice cream. I almost cry when the Kringle is finished!

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Posted By Cindy Evans on November 3, 2010 11:00 AM

A must is the overflow pecan kringle. I grew up in the area. I even lived a few blocks from Bendtsen's, but never went there. I always went to another bakery in Racine. My sister told me about the overflow pecan kringle, so we tried it. I actually did a taste test between Bendtsen's and the "other bakery". I can't believe that I had never tried Bendtsen's - it's 100% better than anything I've ever had. It's now my new "place to go".

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