Though the Christmas season has passed, this thin, crispy Swedish gingerbread cookie is a light treat that gives you the feel of the holidays no matter what time of year it is. “Pepparkakor” translates to English as “pepper cookie,” a sign of the number of spices that await in every bite. Let them put a little pep(per) in your step as we close out the winter months.
PEPPARKAKOR:
⅔ cup of butter
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
⅓ cup molasses (can be substituted with golden syrup or honey)
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Preheat the oven at 350 F. Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add molasses slowly until the mixture is creamy.
Place all of the dry ingredients in a second mixing bowl. With a sifter, slowly add the mixture to the first mixing bowl, stirring these dry ingredients in as you go. Beat the mixture well until dry ingredients are no longer visible in the first bowl.
Store the finished dough in the fridge for several hours so the dough gets very stiff.
Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it out, about half the ball of dough at a time. Make sure to roll the dough out until it’s very thin — about ⅛ of an inch thick — so that the finished cookies will be crispy.
Use a cookie cutter (traditional shapes are those of reindeer and other animals), and cut the shapes out of the dough, placing the shaped cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs.
Take the cookies out when they’re done, and allow them to cool. Enjoy these crunchy cookies anytime you need a little festivity!
