Kringle (/ˈkrɪŋɡəl/, listen^ⓘ) is a Northern European pastry, a variety of pretzel. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in Denmark, and from there they spread throughout Scandinavia and evolved into several kinds of sweet, salty or filled pastries, all in the shape of kringle.

In Danish and Norwegian, the word is kringle, plural kringler; Estonian: kringel, plural kringlid; Latvian: kliņģeris, plural kliņģeri; Swedish: kringla, plural kringlor; Finnish: rinkeli, plural rinkelit; German: Kringel and Icelandic: kringla. The word originates from the Old Norse kringla, meaning ring or circle.

In the Netherlands, a particular type of sweet kringle is well known under the Dutch name krakeling.

The shape of the kringle has given name to a similarly entangled feature found in some proteins, the so-called kringle domain.

In Denmark, kringle denotes the pretzel-like knotted shape rather than the pretzel pastry type. Kringler may be made from puff pastry (like Danish pastry) or yeast dough, filled with remonce or marzipan and raisins, sprinkled with coarse sugar, nut flakes or icing. Other types of kringles in Denmark include saltkringler, which are small salty kringler - the Scandinavian equivalent of pretzels -, and kommenskringler which are half-hand-sized breads in the kringle shape, made from unsweetened yeast dough spiced with caraway seeds. Sukkerkringler are similar, but sweet pretzels, sprinkled with sugar instead of caraway. Fødselsdagskringler are a large sweet bread pretzel for birthday celebrations. Smørkringler are large crusty and sweet pretzels with a spread of butter on the backside. Smørkringler are not as popular nowadays.

Kringler are pastries with a long history in Denmark, and are still popular items in modern Danish bakeries. Nowadays, kringles are usually made with only one crossing and not two, as in the original kringle and pretzel shape.

In Norway, kringle or kringla (the Norwegian declension of the same term) often refers to yeasted, ring‑shaped pastries, sometimes filled with cinnamon sugar, almonds, or jam. A common shape is the wreath made of connected cinnamon buns; similar to an almond kringle or “klippekrans” in Norwegian baking tradition.

In Sweden, kringla (plural kringlor) refers to small, pretzel‑shaped sweet or bread‑like pastries typically served with coffee (fika). One well‑known variant is the sockerkringla, a sugar‑twisted soft bun made from enriched yeast dough infused with cardamom, dipped in melted sugar and also often enjoyed during Swedish fika, especially around holiday seasons. Bakers in Södertälje and Arboga are noted for local specialties such as Södertäljekringlan; a coffee‑served kringla that helped earn Södertälje the nickname “pretzel city”. Another variation, choklad‑kringlor, are chocolate‑flavoured, nut‑topped kringles, once so ubiquitous that old‑style bakeries would hang a kringle sign outside in Sweden.