Traditional Pepparkakor (Swedish Spice Cookies)
"Traditional Swedish spice cookie; traditionally served on St. Lucia Day (Dec. 13). These are my sisters favorite cookie.:) (Note: you need to mix up the dough a day in advance, cover and let rest overnight). Cardamom & finely chopped candied ginger would make nice additions to these Pepparkakor. The molasses is an essential ingredient in this recipe, you get crispy yet chewy cookies with a lovely rich subtle depth of flavor. Don't skip!"
- Ready In:
- 55mins
- Ingredients:
- 10
- Yields:
-
3.5 dozen cookies
- Serves:
- 42
ingredients
directions
- Sift together dry ingredients; set aside.
- Cream sugar and butter.
- Add egg and molasses.
- Blend in dry ingredients thoroughly. Let dough stand overnight for easy rolling.
- On a well-floured board, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
- Cut into shapes (we usually make gingerbread people) and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
- NOTE: Prep time does not include time to let dough rest overnight.
Questions & Replies
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Reviews
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Let rest overnight IN refrigerator. Before putting in fridge, divide in 1/2, make "patties" and wrap in plastic, otherwise it is too hard to roll. If you don't already have one, invest in a Bethany Pastry Cloth/Disk and rolling pin cover, or it is difficult to roll. Use LOTS of flour on pastry cloth and pin cover. Can re-roll scraps once. I used 1 1/2 t each of: nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, in substitute for called spice. Very good. Next to impossible to do this recipe without the pastry cloth though - too sticky. Baked in convection at 400 degrees, 10 minutes, and came out just the way my Foster Signe made 'em - crisp and thin. (Roll as thin as possible). -
Out of the many cookies I baked for the holidays, this was the absolute favorite.
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It's not traditional with out cardamom. Omit the molasses. I have never used it and dough is not so hard to work with.
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My great-grandparents came from Sweden in 1876 - these cookies were a staple item for Christmas. I thought the recipe was lost but found it in my mother's papers. This one is identical and tastes just as good. The real secret is getting the dough temperature right and even rolling with lots of flour - my wife makes her own noodles and her maple rolling board works great. -
I have lived in Sweden for 10 years and moved to New Zealand recently.I couldn't find my old Pepparkakor recipe so found this one online.For me it was most unsucessful and very crumbly.Near impossible to roll the dough and work it.The cookies look like playdough gone west but never mind I will never use it again.Thanks for posting it but maybe NZ ingredients have something to do with it.Merry Xmas.
Tweaks
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I used the suggested change to add Cardamom. I also substituted: 1. Brown sugar for white 2. Unsweetened applesauce for the butter 3. A pastry-ground whole wheat flour (Bronze chief) from Wheat Montana for the all purpose flour Result? Amazing taste and relatively low calories. When dough is portioned out to make 42 cookies, they are only 47 calories each!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Married to my sweetheart for almost forty years and we have two wonderful children who are grown and have flown the coop. Also, we have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and beautiful daughter-in-law, plus FIVE grandchildren: two beautiful granddaughters ages five and eight, and three sweet adorable little grandsons ages 2 months, 2 years and 3 years. My husband and I share a combination of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, Swiss, Polish, Austrian, German and French heritage, and our son-in-law and daughter-in-law are both Hispanic. We've traveled extensively to many countries abroad (we lived in Germany), and have traveled and lived in several states here in the U.S.A. Many of the recipes I post here are influenced by our combined heritage or from our travels, or they are old family favorites that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy! Have been to culinary school with many years of cooking (mostly for my family) under my belt, so know my way around a kitchen. And I'm very lucky to have the best sous chef in the world, dddddh! One of my favorite chefs of all time is Jacques Pepin! I have several of his cookbooks, and enjoy watching his television cooking show Fast Food My Way. Another top favorite is Julia Child (of course!). A few other chefs I read/enjoy watching on t.v. are: Giada At Home, Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites, and Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and many more. On my bucket list is dining at Thomas Keller's establishment The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California... as well as Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and the James Beard award winning Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco. One day!! Hobbies/Interests: Decorating with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden is my passion, and brings me deep joy! It's really hard to beat!! I love connecting with others who enjoy the same. Gardening, decorating, sewing, music, dancing, film, and reading are also up there. Spending quality time with my grandchildren, family, and friends (and cooking holiday meals!). Currently, a newfound passion has been so richly rewarding for me: genealogical research. I heart ancestry dot com. And last but certainly not least, I absolutely LOVE cats--we have two half-Siamese fur babies (cats) that allow us to live here!! A Note of Thanks~ I try to personally thank everyone who kindly makes and reviews my recipes, but sometimes I am busy, late, or may forget. Please know that I am always humbled that you would try one of my recipes, and I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing all the pretty photographs. Thanks so much! </p>
