Traditional Swedish Pepparkakor

4.40 (36)
⏱ 110 mins 🍽 ['50', '100 cookies'] 🌶 scandinavian 🏷 Dessert

Pepparkakor are a cherished Scandinavian Christmas tradition, known for their delicate, crisp texture and warming spices. This recipe produces a large batch of these classic gingerbread biscuits, ideal for festive gifting or enjoying with a cup of glögg. The dough benefits from chilling before being rolled thin, cut into shapes, and baked until perfectly set. Plan for about 1 hour and 50 minutes from start to finish to create these iconic holiday cookies.

Traditional Swedish Pepparkakor

Ingredients

  • 3.75 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup

Method

  1. Sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom together into a large mixing bowl.
  2. In another bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to cream the softened butter with the white and brown sugars until pale and fluffy. Mix in the beaten egg and dark corn syrup until combined. Slowly add the sifted flour mixture, stirring until a uniform dough forms. Separate the dough into four equal pieces, wrap each in plastic, and chill for a minimum of 1 hour or up to overnight.
  3. Prepare to bake by heating your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease your baking trays.
  4. Take one portion of dough from the fridge, leaving the rest chilled. Unwrap it and place on a surface dusted with flour. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with floured cookie cutters to prevent sticking. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on your prepared trays.
  5. Bake in the heated oven for approximately 5 minutes, until the cookies are set. Move them to wire racks for cooling. Continue with the remaining chilled dough, repeating the rolling, cutting, and baking process.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories93 kcal
Fat4 g
Sugars6 g
Protein1 g
Sodium54 mg

Recipe details

CategoryDessert
Cuisinescandinavian
AuthorEal