Have you ever wanted to know what goes into a Viking magazine photo shoot? Here’s your chance! The Viking team photographed the December cover story in late September 2021. But planning for it started months in advance. Read on for a look into the process.

July 2021: Planning for the December issue started in the summer. Since the December issue was the launch of Viking’s redesign, we needed something spectacular and festive for this cover. It had been years since we had Christmas cookies on the cover, so Viking editor Anya Britzius and Viking senior art director Amy Armato brainstormed ideas.

August 2021: We enlisted the talents of Minneapolis-based recipe developer and food stylist Betsy Nelson, who previously helped us with several food stories for Viking including our lingonberry, cardamom and coffee features. Betsy created ideas for how we could put a twist on traditional Norwegian cookies with a few unexpected ingredients and serving techniques. After considering about a dozen recipe options, we selected three: almond sandbakkels with lingonberry cream filling, pleskener sandwich cookies, and spice and rye pepperkaker.

September 30, 2021: On photo shoot day, the team gathered at a studio in Hopkins, Minnesota, with photographer Terry Brennan. The studio has an on-set kitchen, which came in handy for baking. Some of the cookies were prepared ahead of time, including the pepperkaker. They were decorated by the talented Laura Miller a few days before the photo shoot.

Here’s a look at how the photo shoot day unfolded.

9 a.m.—The group arrives at the studio. Terry sets up his camera equipment and lights. Betsy prepares the cookies in the kitchen.

10 a.m.—The pepperkaker cookies are arranged on a teal background with the camera placed overhead. The shots for pages 16 and 17 are taken, along with the cover.

Noon—The sandbakkels arrive on set. Betsy fills them with lingonberry cream moments before they are placed under the hot lights. The pleskener sandwich cookies are delicately arranged, as seen on page 15.

2 p.m.—Now that all the cookies are ready, the photo for page 12 is taken, showcasing them all on the same platter.

3 p.m.—That’s a wrap! It’s time to clean up and enjoy a few cookies.

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