Pepparkakor Ginger Cookies Recipes

PEPPARKAKOR

Steps:

• Add the brown sugar, syrup and water into a saucepan.
• Bring to a boil and immediately remove the pot from the heat.
• Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and add the spices.
• Pour the hot sweet mixture over it and stir until the butter melts. Let cool for 15 minutes at room temperature.
• Combine the sifted flour and baking soda and add over the mixture in the bowl of the stand mixer.
• Using the flat beater, mix everything very quickly until a soft dough forms.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator between 24 and 48 hours.
• Preheat the convection oven to 400 F (200°C).
• Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.
• Start by working a piece of dough and place the other two in the refrigerator during this time.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the dough thinly and form the pepparkakor using cutters in the shape of a heart, star, tree, snowman, or others.
• Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake for 4 to 6 minutes or until light brown.
• Watch the baking closely because pepparkakor tend to burn quickly.
• Repeat the operation until all the dough set aside in the refrigerator is used up.
• Place the pepparkakor on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
• Beat the egg white in a bowl.
• Add the icing sugar and vinegar and beat until the mixture is neither too runny nor too thick.
• Add a little vinegar or lemon juice if the mixture is too thick or on the contrary, add a little icing sugar if the mixture is too liquid.
• Pour the icing into a piping bag fitted with a tip and decorate the cookies.
• Carefully place each cookie on a cooling rack and allow the frosting to set in the open air for at least 2 hours.

PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the butter, both sugars, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, orange extract, salt, cloves, and pepper. As the butter melts, whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Cool until just warm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
• Whisk the egg into the cooled mixture until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until no dry flour remains. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Heat the oven to 350 F with racks in the upper- and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Working with a tablespoonful of dough at a time, use dampened hands to roll into balls. Arrange 12 dough balls on each baking sheet, spacing evenly.
• Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the balls on each sheet and use the bottom of a dry measuring cup to flatten each to about ¼ inch thick. Remove the plastic and bake until richly browned, 14 to 16 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
• In a small saucepan over moderate heat, warm the corn syrup and orange zest. Add the butter and sugar and continue warming, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the egg and whisk to combine. Pour over the flour mixture and stir to combine. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in a double layer of plastic wrap, and chill overnight.
• Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats, or parchment paper.
• Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into desired shapes, such as circles, stars, hearts, bells, gingerbread men, and Christmas trees. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with the pearl sugar. Bake, switching the cookies between the upper and lower racks and rotating the baking sheets about halfway through baking, until the edges are just beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Watch the cookies carefully to make sure they don't get too brown.
• Let the cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to let cool completely. Continue rolling and cutting out the rest of the cookie dough and baking the cookies on cooled baking sheets. DO AHEAD: Pepparkakor can be baked ahead and kept, stored between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks, or frozen up to 1 month.

TRADITIONAL SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR

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.

PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES)

Steps:

• Heat molasses in small saucepan to boiling point.
• Boil 1 minute.
• Add sugar and butter and stir until butter is melted.
• Cool.
• Beat in egg.
• Sift together flour, salt, soda and spices.
• Add to first mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Cover bowl tightly and chill overnight.
• Roll out a portion of the dough at a time on lightly floured pastry cloth.
• Roll out thin.
• Cut into desired shapes.
• Bake in a moderate oven (350F) 6 to 8 minutes.
• The dough may be shaped into a roll and wrapped in waxed paper.
• Chill thoroughly overnight or longer.
• Slice thin and bake in moderate oven (350F).
• These should be stored in an air-tight container - allow flavor to "ripen".

GINGERBREAD DOUGH / PEPPARKAKOR

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the flour and cream to make a stiff dough. Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 to 1/16-inch thickness and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. (The thinner you roll the dough, the crispier the cookies will be). Place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Slide cookies and parchment off the baking sheet onto the countertop to cool. Dip cooled cookies into melted white chocolate to decorate, or decorate with Royal Icing.
• Mix all of the ingredients together using an electric hand mixer, until the icing is smooth and thin enough to be pressed through a pastry bag with a writing tip. Add more lemon juice, if necessary.
• Gingerbread House/Box: Cut paper patterns for the gingerbread house: Five rectangles, 3 by 5 inches, to make the floor, walls and roof of the house, and two pieces for the ends of the house, 3 inches wide at the base, 3 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 5 1/2 inches from the bottom. Roll gingerbread dough out to edges on a large, rimless cookie sheet. Place paper patterns onto the rolled out dough. With a sharp, straight edged knife, cut around each of the pieces, but leave pieces in place.
• Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.
• Place patterns on top of the gingerbread again and trim shapes, cutting edges with a straight-edged sharp knife. Leave to cool on baking sheet.
• Place royal icing into pastry bag with a writing tip and press out to decorate individual parts of house, piping on decorations, windows, door, etc., as desired. Let dry until hardened.
• Glue sides of house to base and at corners using royal icing. Place an object against the pieces to prop up until icing is dry (it only takes a few minutes).
• Glue two pieces together to make the roof of the house, but do not attach roof to the house. (Fill house with cookies, then place roof on top).
• Yield: One recipe of dough makes one house

SWEDISH GINGERBREAD COOKIES

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.

PEPPARKAKOR

Steps:

• Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the syrup and eggs. Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves in a separate bowl; add to the butter mixture; knead into a stiff dough. Pat into a flat circle, and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roll the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut the dough using a star-shaped cookie cutter. Place cookies one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until the edges are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH GINGERBREAD) RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar together then bit by bit add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cream until the dough has formed. It's quite a dense and sticky dough so took a while for it to all come together. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour but up to a day. Preheat your oven to 170°C/350°F (fan oven). Roll the dough until about a millimeter thin - I found that as the dough is so sticky (and didn't want to use any extra flour), rolling it between sheets of cling film worked really well! Cut out pieces of dough using your favorite cutters. Bake for between 6 to 8 minutes until the edges start to brown and cool on a baking rack. Leave plain or decorate using your favorite icing recipe.