In this article, we'll explore the delightful treat of Swedish gingerbread cookies, also known as pepparkakor, and guide you in finding the best recipe to suit your taste. These iconic cookies are an integral part of Swedish culture and festivities, especially during Christmas, and their distinctive spicy and sweet flavor has captured the hearts of many across the globe. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just starting out, we'll provide you with essential tips and recommendations to help you create the perfect pepparkakor, so that you can enjoy these traditional delights with your loved ones.
Let's cook with our recipes!
SWEDISH GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Making Swedish pepparkakor-or gingerbread cookies-is a holiday tradition in our family. I entered these at the Iowa State Fair and took home a blue ribbon.-Kathleen Olesen, Des Moines, IA
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 25m
Yield 3 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, shortening, vanilla and enough water to reach spreading consistency. Decorate cookies with frosting and, if desired, Red Hots. , Freeze option: Transfer wrapped disks to a resealable plastic freezer bag; freeze. To use, thaw dough in refrigerator overnight or until soft enough to roll. Prepare, bake and decorate cookies as directed.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 201 calories, Fat 9g fat (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 19mg cholesterol, Sodium 80mg sodium, Carbohydrate 28g carbohydrate (19g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 1g protein.
SWEDISH GINGERBREAD HOUSE
Use this recipe when assembling our Swedish Gingerbread House How-To.Sweet details like piped icicle boughs of greenery, and a cinnamon-stick woodpile lend realistic charm to a simple cottage. A light dusting of confectioners' sugar mimics freshly fallen snow.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes
Yield Makes one house
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out gingerbread dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Lightly dust top of dough with flour. Place templates on top and cut out shapes with a paring knife. (Use a small utility knife to cut out the windows.) Transfer shapes to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Make caramel syrup, and assemble house.
- Place royal icing in a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip (No. 5 or 6). Pipe to outline windows, doorway, and edges of chimney, including top and base. Outline the four joining points of house, sides, and top of roof. Decorate roof: Starting at the top, pipe a horizontal line of icing in a scallop pattern, making curves in even intervals; pipe another scalloped line so the peaks join the scallops above them in the middle. Pipe icicles around edges. Dust roof with confectioners' sugar.
SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES
There is little good in any Christmas cookie except the thought behind it. This may be doubly true for Swedish ginger cookies, a recipe that I have cherished for years, but I often feel it should come with a special warning. The principal ingredient in a batch of Swedish ginger cookies - the one that really does the trick - is 3/4 of a cup of bacon fat. You can never be too certain these days about what people will allow themselves to enjoy. Their ideas about what is good for them may be circumscribed by their upbringing, their religion or their proximity to a pig. However, I suspect that the Swedish cook who came up with this recipe was simply hemmed in by her larder. She had a pan of drippings and some extra sugar and spices, and she made a thin, brown cookie that tasted sweetly of smoke.
Provided by Cathy Horyn
Categories dessert
Time 30m
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine all ingredients. Spin until dough forms.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours. Drop the dough in 1-tablespoon lumps on a cookie sheet, form into balls, roll in sugar, space 2 inches apart and press flat with fingers. Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes until dark brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to finish cooling.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 300, UnsaturatedFat 10 grams, Carbohydrate 31 grams, Fat 18 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 8 grams, Sodium 295 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams, TransFat 0 grams
TRADITIONAL SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR
These thin, crispy spice cookies are a Christmas tradition in Sweden. They're usually cut into heart, flower or star shapes. Dusting your cookie cutters with flour will make it easier to cut the dough.
Provided by Eal
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Scandinavian
Time 1h35m
Yield 100
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Sift the flour together with the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom in a mixing bowl.
- Beat the butter together with the white and brown sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and corn syrup until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and wrap tightly each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
- Using 1 portion at a time, work on a floured surface and roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter, and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in preheated oven until set, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered tins.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 47.4 calories, Carbohydrate 7 g, Cholesterol 6.7 mg, Fat 1.9 g, Fiber 0.2 g, Protein 0.9 g, SaturatedFat 1.2 g, Sodium 39.9 mg, Sugar 3.2 g
MOM'S PEPPARKAKOR SWEDISH GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Make and share this Mom's Pepparkakor Swedish Gingerbread Cookies recipe from Food.com.
Provided by luv_cats
Categories Dessert
Time 1h10m
Yield 12 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Cream 1 cup shortening and granulated sugar. Beat in molasses,egg and vinegar. Stir flour with ginger, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; blend into batter. Chill 3 hours. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 -inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes. Cool slightly then remove cookies to rack and cool thoroughly.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 495.1, Fat 18.1, SaturatedFat 4.5, Cholesterol 15.5, Sodium 272.3, Carbohydrate 77.9, Fiber 1.6, Sugar 32.4, Protein 6
SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES
Steps:
- In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and molasses until mixture is light and smooth. Add egg and water or milk, blending well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, soda, salt and spices. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, beating just until combined. Remove, knead briefly with your hands, divide into two pieces and wrap both in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 4 cookie sheets with foil or parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator one package at a time, and cut in half. Let it soften slightly if it is not malleable.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Dip cookie cutters in flour, and make shapes. Place cookies 1-inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until set. Remove sheets from oven, and let stand for 1 minute. With a thin metal pancake turner, transfer cookies to cooling racks, and let cool completely before storing or frosting.
- Store plain or frosted cookies in single layers, separated by sheets of waxed paper. Store at room temperature in metal tins or heavy-duty aluminum foil for up to a week.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 94, UnsaturatedFat 1 gram, Carbohydrate 14 grams, Fat 4 grams, Fiber 0 grams, Protein 1 gram, SaturatedFat 2 grams, Sodium 55 milligrams, Sugar 7 grams, TransFat 0 grams
SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES WITH CRYSTALLIZED GINGER
This is a fantastic cookie recipe that I found in the LCBO Holiday 2003 Food & Drink magazine. I've been making these cookies for a few years now, but I've had a lot of requests for the recipe recently! I hope you enjoy them too!
Provided by Ennoia
Categories Dessert
Time 1h
Yield 3 dozen cookies, 3 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses.
- Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and baking soda. Stir into batter. Stir in crystallized ginger. The batter will be thick. Roll into 1-inch (2.5cm) balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate. Dip balls into sugar. Place sugar-side up on cookie sheet about 3 inches (8cm) apart, as the cookies tend to spread when baking. Keep dough refrigerated between batches.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cracked on top, slightly firm to the touch and a golden colour. They will soften and crisp up as they cool. Cool on wire racks.
PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES)
Categories Cookies Ginger Dessert Bake Christmas Winter Christmas Eve Party Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes about 9 dozen cookies
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small saucepan over moderate heat, warm the corn syrup and orange zest. Add the butter and sugar and continue warming, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the egg and whisk to combine. Pour over the flour mixture and stir to combine. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap, and chill overnight.
- Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats, or parchment paper.
- Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes, such as circles, stars, hearts, bells, gingerbread men, and Christmas trees. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with the pearl sugar. Bake, switching the cookies between the upper and lower racks and rotating the baking sheets about halfway through baking, until the edges are just beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Watch the cookies carefully to make sure they don't get too brown.
- Let the cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to let cool completely. Continue rolling and cutting out the rest of the cookie dough and baking the cookies on cooled baking sheets. DO AHEAD: Pepparkakor can be baked ahead and kept, stored between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks, or frozen up to 1 month.
SWEDISH GINGER THINS
Provided by Betty Boothe
Categories Cookies Mixer Ginger Nut Dessert Bake Christmas Vegetarian Almond Spice Winter Edible Gift Gourmet California Kidney Friendly Pescatarian Peanut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes about 150 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks. In another large bowl beat butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy and on low speed beat in corn syrup and whipped cream, beating until cream is just combined. Add flour mixture and beat until combined well. Form dough into a disk. Chill disk, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours, and up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cut dough into quarters and work with 1 quarter at a time, keeping remaining dough covered and chilled. Using a rolling pin with cover dusted with flour, roll out dough into a round on a floured pastry cloth, rolling dough as thin as possible (less than 1/8 inch thick and about 14 inches in diameter) and with assorted 2- to 3-inch cutters cut out cookies. Carefully transfer cookies as cut to ungreased baking sheets with a metal spatula, arranging them about 1/2 inch apart, and top each with an almond slice. Reroll scraps and cut out more cookies in same manner.
- Bake cookies in batches in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies puff and then collapse slightly, about 6 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute and transfer with metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough in same manner. Cookies keep in airtight containers at room temperature 1 week.
Tips:
- Use fresh ginger: Fresh ginger provides the best flavor for these cookies. If you don't have fresh ginger, you can use 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, but the flavor will be less intense.
- Chill the dough before baking: Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes will help the cookies hold their shape better in the oven.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are just starting to brown: Overbaking will make the cookies dry and crumbly. You can freeze the dough or cut-out cookies for later baking.
- Decorate the cookies as desired: You can decorate the cookies with royal icing, sprinkles, or other decorations. You can also use cookie cutters to cut out different shapes.
Conclusion:
Swedish gingerbread cookies are a delicious and festive treat that are easy to make at home. The dough is made with simple ingredients and can be rolled out and cut into various shapes. The cookies are then baked until they are crisp and golden brown. They can be decorated with royal icing, sprinkles, or other decorations. These cookies are perfect for Christmas, but they can also be enjoyed year-round. They are a great addition to any cookie plate or gift basket.
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love