Pepparkakor

Ingredients

Dough

• 200 gbutter
• 200 gcaster sugar
• 150 ggolden syrup or light treacle
• 1egg
• 450 gplain flour
• 2 tspbicarbonate of soda

Spice

• 2 tspground cinnamon
• 2 tspground ginger
• 1 tspground clove
• 1 tspground cardamom
• ½ tspground black pepper

Optional icing

• 1egg white
• 200 gicing sugar
• a few drops of lemon juice

To serve

• glögg
• blue cheese

Directions

1. Warm the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a pan until melted and smooth, then take it off the heat. Do not boil it, which darkens the syrup and makes the biscuits bitter.
2. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm, then beat in the egg. Cool it first or the egg scrambles into threads. Mix the flour, bicarbonate and all the spices, then work them into the syrup mixture into a soft dough. Now wrap the dough and chill it overnight, and at least 12 hours.
3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, working with a small piece at a time and keeping the rest cold. Now roll it very thin, about 2 mm.
4. Cut out hearts, pigs, stars and goats, which are the traditional Swedish shapes. Lift them onto lined trays with a palette knife, spacing them a little apart.
5. Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 5 to 7 minutes only. Thin spiced biscuits go from done to burnt in under a minute, and the syrup browns fast.
6. Take them out while they still give slightly. Let them firm up on the tray for 2 minutes before moving them, because they are fragile while hot.
7. Cool them completely on a rack. Ice them with piped white icing if you want, which is the Advent tradition, especially with children.

Technique

• The dough keeps for weeks in the fridge and is often made well ahead.
• Ready-made pepparkaka dough is sold in Swedish shops through December.
• Thin and dark is the mark of a good one.

Substitutions

• Light treacle or dark corn syrup in place of golden syrup.
• A ready-mixed gingerbread spice blend, using rather more of it.

Variations

• Iced with white piping for Advent.
• Made thicker and softer, which is a different style.
• Built into a pepparkakshus, a gingerbread house.

History

Baked across Sweden in Advent and eaten with glögg, and famously with blue cheese.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pepparkakor?

Pepparkakor is a snack from Sweden: thin snapping ginger biscuits cut into hearts, pigs and stars. Baked across Sweden in Advent and eaten with glögg, and famously with blue cheese.

How long does Pepparkakor take to make?

Pepparkakor takes 30 min plus overnight chilling of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 80 biscuits. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pepparkakor?

Yes, within limits. Light treacle or dark corn syrup in place of golden syrup. A ready-mixed gingerbread spice blend, using rather more of it.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pepparkakor?

Warm the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a pan until melted and smooth, then take it off the heat. Do not boil it, which darkens the syrup and makes the biscuits bitter.