Hi Bold Bakers! WHO WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Anyone who loves a snappy cookie, warm spices, and complex flavor will adore my homemade Pepparkakor (Swedish Ginger Cookies)! These spiced Swedish ginger snaps are a classic holiday cookie and the perfect balance to the more sweet cookies on your holiday tray. Already have an account? If you’re looking for a cookie to help balance out your favorite sweet treats during the holidays, my homemade Pepparkakor, or Swedish Ginger Cookies, is definitely one you want to add to your list! They’re perfectly snappy, crispy, and spiced. In fact, with their healthy servings of cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, ground cloves, and black pepper, they’re a bit more spiced than your typical Gingersnap Cookie recipe. Traditionally, these cookies are eaten plain, but I love to decorate my Pepparkakor cookies by cutting simple circles and using my Simple Snowflake Cookie Decorating technique, but you can also use your cookie cutters and cut out fun shapes with this dough! Whatever cookie cutter you choose, I highly recommend using my Royal Icing recipe to decorate your cookies!
Table of Contents:
What Are Pepparkakor Cookies? The History Of Swedish Ginger Snaps What Is The Pepparkakor Tradition? Tools You Need Ingredients How To Make Pepparkakor Can I Make Pepparkakor Ahead Of Time? How To Store Pepparkakor Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips Related Recipes
What Are Pepparkakor Cookies? The History Of Swedish Ginger Snaps
As I said above, these are very different cookies to add to your holiday cookie tray because my Pepparkakor recipe is so wonderfully spiced! Pepparkakor translates to “pepper cookie” or “pepper cake,” but many modern takes on this cookie recipe no longer include actual black pepper. I do! I love how complex this cookie tastes compared to other recipes, and all that flavor is thanks to the black pepper and other warm spices. Pepparkakor’s closest cousins are gingersnaps — except these cookies are thinner, crispier, and a tad spicier, and the cookie dough can be cut into shapes. While these beloved cookies can be made year-round, they’re especially common around December because they’re part of a Scandanavian Christmas tradition! Around December 13, St. Lucia’s Day, or St. Lucy’s Day, Pepparkakor is eaten to celebrate St. Lucia, who brought food and lit the way using her wreath of candles for Christians hiding in the catacombs. St. Lucia’s Day marks the beginning of the Christmas celebrations in Sweden.
What Is The Pepparkakor Tradition?
In Sweden, you might see Pepparkakor cookies as decorations on a family’s Christmas tree. But these delicious cookies can also grant you a wish! I’ve read that it’s tradition to put a Pepparkakor in the palm of your hand, make a wish, and then, using your index finger or thumb of your other hand, tap the cookie in the middle. If it breaks into three pieces, your wish is granted! I love this kind of tradition. I can’t find anywhere where it specifies you can only try this once per year. So keep cracking those cookies until your wish comes true!
Tools You Need To Make Swedish Pepper Cookies
Measuring cups and spoons Small saucepan Stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl with handheld electric mixer Mixing bowls Cling wrap Parchment paper Two baking sheets Cookie cutters
Ingredients You Need To Make Swedish Pepper Cookies
Dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar lends a sweet, deep, molasses flavor to these cookies while also helping to give them a pleasant texture. Golden syrup. Not to be confused with corn syrup, golden syrup is a thick, inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Corn syrup is made from cornstarch. If you can’t find golden syrup in your grocery store, give my Perfect Golden Syrup Substitute a go! Heavy whipping cream. For this recipe, you start by heating the brown sugar, golden syrup, and heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan. This sugary, creamy liquid is then added to the spices and butter. Butter. Butter not only adds flavor but also plays a major role in texture! Be sure to let it come to room temperature before using. Cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, ground cloves, black pepper. These warm spices are the main players in Pepparkakor. While you’re probably familiar with how the other spices taste in desserts, black pepper adds a real layer of depth to these cookies. Salt. Salt, even in small amounts, is a major ingredient! It helps bring out every flavor in this Pepparkakor recipe. All-purpose flour. Flour provides our base in this recipe — not only is it something we build up from, but the protein in the flour, and the amount we use, are what defines the texture of our cookies. Baking soda. Baking soda serves as the leavening for my Pepparkakor recipe. While they are fairly thin cookies, you don’t want them to be too thin that they’d burn!
How To Make Pepparkakor
Making Pepparkakor is part of the fun of eating Pepparkakor! Here’s how you do it:
Can You Make Pepparkakor Ahead Of Time? Can You Freeze Pepparkakor?
Yes! Pepparkakor dough can be made up to 3 days before you plan to bake. If you wish to store the dough longer, you can freeze Pepparkakor dough for up to three months by wrapping the dough, in a ball shape, in storage wrap and aluminum foil. When you’re ready to bake, let the dough thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as usual.
How To Store Pepparkakor
To store leftover Pepparkakor cookies, place them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last for up to 1 week.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Homemade Pepparkakor Cookies
Authentic Swedish recipes for this cookie will call for “light sirap,” which isn’t always easy to find outside of Sweden. Since it tastes a bit like butterscotch, we tested this recipe with similarly flavored brown sugar. It works just as well and is an easily found substitute! A lot of recipes call for packed brown sugar, but I don’t pack mine when measuring. To get the most accurate amount, use a kitchen scale and go by weight. This dough can get very soft and difficult to work with. If this happens to you, roll out portions of dough onto sheets of parchment paper, then transfer to the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes, until firm. Quickly cut out shapes while the dough is chilled.
Be Sure To Try More Holiday Cookie Recipes!
Homemade Walker’s Scottish Shortbread Cookies Recipe The Easiest Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe & Icing For Decorating Gemma’s Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe Top 25 Most Googled Christmas Cookies
And don’t miss more everyday baking recipes in my NEW Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day Cookbook!
