**Swedish Gingerbread Cookies: A Holiday Delight**
Embark on a delightful culinary journey with Swedish gingerbread cookies, a traditional treat that embodies the spirit of Christmas. These cookies, also known as pepparkakor, have captivated taste buds for centuries with their unique blend of spices and festive shapes. As you delve into this article, you'll discover an array of recipes that capture the essence of this beloved holiday cookie. From the classic pepparkakor recipe to variations like chocolate-dipped and gluten-free, these recipes cater to diverse dietary preferences while staying true to the authentic Swedish tradition. The detailed instructions and helpful tips will guide you through the baking process, ensuring that you create perfect batches of these crispy, aromatic cookies. Whether you're a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, you'll find inspiration and guidance within these recipes to create a delightful addition to your holiday celebrations.
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.
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
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 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!
Provided by BecR2400
Categories Dessert
Time 55m
Yield 3 1/2 dozen cookies, 42 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- 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.
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 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.
GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Gingerbread cookies are a must for the holidays, and these spiced gingerbread men have a festive taste that doesn't disappoint! Originally titled "Eileen's Spicy Gingerbread Men," this gingerbread cookie recipe is easy to make and fun to decorate with kids. Adjust the spices to your liking, and use any shape cookie cutter for a nice variety of holiday cookies.
Provided by Stephanie Schneidewind
Categories Gingerbread Cookies
Time 1h40m
Yield 30
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Beat margarine and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until mostly incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, another 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, then molasses.
- Whisk sifted flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg in a separate bowl until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture to the molasses mixture, beating until well blended and smooth.
- Divide dough in half and form each into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 to 3 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Working with one disk at a time, and leaving remaining disk in the refrigerator, unwrap chilled dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Working from the center to the edges, roll dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
- Cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters, dipping the cutters into flour as needed so they don't stick to the dough. Fit the cookie cutters as closely together as possible to cut as many cookies as you can. This will minimize the number of times you have to re-roll the dough.
- Transfer gingerbread cookies to ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Gather any dough scraps into a ball, flatten, re-wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to use for later batches.
- Bake each sheet in the preheated oven until firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool while you finish rolling, cutting, and baking the remaining cookies.
- Frost or decorate cooled gingerbread cookies as desired.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 88.4 calories, Carbohydrate 14 g, Cholesterol 6.8 mg, Fat 3.3 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 1 g, SaturatedFat 0.6 g, Sodium 103.4 mg, Sugar 6.4 g
Tips:
• For the best flavor, use high-quality ingredients. This means using real butter, not margarine, and using a good quality cocoa powder. • Don't overmix the dough. Overmixing will make the cookies tough. • Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This will help the cookies keep their shape in the oven. • Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. If the dough is too thick, the cookies will be too soft. If the dough is too thin, the cookies will be too crispy. • Bake the cookies until they are just set. Overbaking will make the cookies dry and crumbly. • Let the cookies cool completely before frosting them. This will help the frosting set properly.Conclusion:
Swedish gingerbread cookies are a delicious and festive treat that are perfect for the holidays. They are easy to make and can be decorated in a variety of ways. With a little planning, you can make these cookies ahead of time and freeze them for later. So next time you're looking for a sweet treat, give these Swedish gingerbread cookies a try. You won't be disappointed!
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