Fika is the Swedish institution of stopping, properly stopping, for coffee and something baked, twice a day if you are doing it right. This charming hardcover explains the ritual and then hands you the goods: classic recipes for cinnamon and cardamom buns, cookies, cakes, rye breads and the salty snacks that carry a Swedish afternoon, adapted for American kitchens by writer Anna Brones and illustrator Johanna Kindvall.

There are no photographs, and that is the charm. Kindvall's warm line illustrations walk you through doughs and shapes the way a Swedish grandmother's recipe card would, and the book reads as much as it bakes: history, tradition and the case for slowing down, tucked between the recipes.

A small, handsome 168 page hardcover that gifts beautifully: pair it with a bag of good beans or a tin of cardamom for a housewarming, hostess or new home present with a built in afternoon ritual.