No Swedish christmas is complete without pepparkakor, our crisp gingerbread cookies. The name translates into "pepper cookies" which is actually not very correct, as they don't contain pepper and aren't spicy in a hot sort of way. They're very aromatic though, flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and sometimes a small amount of bitter orange peel.
I have three recipes for pepparkakor. This one is perhaps the most traditional, and definitely the one that gets the most hits. This is similar, but made with dinkel - spelt - flour and results in a crunchier cookie. And this one is my current favorite, with a super-easy to make dough. I've made a batch already, and it's resting in the fridge. And the dough does need resting - for at least one day, but preferrably one week, or even two. (Or three, but that's the limit.) So it's a good idea to make the dough now, and bake in a few weeks time. (Or tomorrow.)
LOVE the blog! We've just started, so much fun :)
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So happy to have found this blog... just what I am looking for!
ReplyDeleteMy husband immigrated to the States from Sweden a few years ago & finding Swedish recipes written in English (with suitable substitutions & all) is not an easy task :)
This December, I attempted Lussekatter (from another site) with great success! However, last April, my Swedish MIL found the ingredients here in the States impossible to make semla. So, I hope to try Dagmar's recipe next year... but, I suspect our flour was the culprit & is far too different here?
We received a package with the traditional cutters for the pepperkakor... making those next :)
Very excited to try so many wonderful recipes!
Thanks so much for a lovely blog...
Raina Gefvert