Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies
User Reviews
4.8
Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies
Description
Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies combine a blend of warm spices—clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger—with honey-sweetened dough to create thin, crisp cookies. The dough is prepared by boiling a mixture of sugar, honey, and milk before combining it with room-temperature butter and the spices, then incorporating sifted flour, salt, and baking soda. After chilling the dough overnight or up to 48 hours, it’s rolled thin and cut into shapes, then baked at 350°F until lightly puffed and golden. The resulting cookies have a crunchy edge and a fragrant spice blend.
The baking process yields delicately crisp cookies that hold their shape well. Once cooled, the cookies can be decorated with a thick icing made from powdered sugar and water, optionally tinted with food coloring, and embellished with pearl sprinkles for a festive presentation.
This recipe makes about two dozen cookies, suitable for sharing or gifting during the holidays. Using honey instead of golden syrup provides a subtle variation in sweetness and flavor, complementing the warm spices. Chilling the dough is essential to achieve the right texture and ease of handling when rolling out and cutting the cookies.
Ingredients
cookies
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup honey scant
- 1/2 cup milk scant
- 9 tbsp butter unsalted, room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp ground clove
- 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp ground ginger
- 4 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
icing
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar or more if planning to cover the whole cookie
- water to thin
- Food Coloring a few drops, optional
- pearl sprinkles optional
Instructions
to make the cookies
- Add the sugar, honey, and milk to a small saucepan. When measuring a "scant" cup of the honey and the milk, you want to it to be just under 1/2 cup, but not closer to 1/3 cup. If you can measure in milliliters, its exactly 100 milliliters.
- Bring to a boil then turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
- Add the butter and the spices to a mixing bowl, and pour the warm syrup mixture over them. Mix until the butter is melted and everything is combined.
- Sift the baking soda, salt, and flour together, and then add to the butter and the syrup mixture. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Shape the dough into a flat disk, and chill in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough to about 3/8" thick and cut out using cookie cutters.
- Arrange cookies on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until slightly puffed and golden.
- Allow to cool completely before icing.
to make the icing
- Mix the powdered sugar with just enough water to make a smooth but thick glaze. Divide the icing into smaller batches if you want to make different colors. You can also flavor the icing with a little vanilla extract or almond extract if you'd like. For pipping lines and small designs, keep your icing pretty thick so that it won't spread, there should be a little resistance when mixing it with a whisk. For covering the entire cookie like the green and blue reindeer, add a bit more water to the icing so that it goes on smoothly and is easier to cover the whole cookie before it starts to dry and crack. Try some icing on a test cookie if you're not sure about the texture!
- For the light blue color I used, add 2-3 drops of food coloring to 1 cup or so of glaze.
- For the darker green/blue color, add a couple drops of green and blue, and a tiny touch of red to tone the color down a bit.
- Place the icing in ziplock bags or a piping bag fitted with a very small tip. Cut a tiny corner off of the ziplock bags if using. Decorate, and allow to harden completely before moving or stacking.
Notes
- Chill the dough for at least overnight to make it easier to roll out and for best texture.
- The recipe yields approximately two dozen cookies when halved.
- Honey can be used as a substitute for golden syrup without significantly affecting the cookie texture.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before icing to prevent the icing from melting.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 24cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 227 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 227kcal | 11% |
| Carbohydrates | 45g | 15% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 5g | 8% |
| Saturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.3g | 2% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Trans Fat | 0.2g | 10% |
| Cholesterol | 12mg | 4% |
| Sodium | 169mg | 7% |
| Potassium | 42mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 27g | 54% |
| Vitamin A | 140IU | 3% |
| Vitamin C | 0.1mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 15mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
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