Scandinavian Ginger Citron Cookies Recipes

SCANDINAVIAN GINGER CITRON COOKIES

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Toast ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in small skillet on medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes then remove from heat.
• Sift flour, toasted spices, baking soda, salt and pepper into medium bowl.
• In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, 2 minutes using electric mixer on medium speed.
• Beat in eggs one at a time, blending well.
• Beat in molasses scraping bowl as needed.
• On low speed, beat in flour mixture until moistened and clumped.
• Stir in citron.
• Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and dollop onto prepared sheets, spaced at least 3 inches apart. (For tidier cookies, briefly toss each dollop in lightly greased hands to form an uneven round and return to sheets.).
• Bake on racks just above and below centre of preheated 350F oven until tops look dry, about 10 minutes, switching pans on racks at halftime. Remove from oven.
• Sit pans on cooling racks for 2 minutes.
• Gently transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Arrange cookies on serving platter and dust with icing sugar (if desired).

ULTIMATE GINGER COOKIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.
• Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

CHEWY GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets. Whisk the flour, baking soda, ground ginger and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the molasses, egg and fresh ginger. (The mixture may look curdled.) Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the crystallized ginger with a rubber spatula. The dough should be soft but not sticky; if it's sticky, refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Form tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in the coarse sugar. Arrange about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until the edges are set but the centers are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

SWEDISH GINGER THINS

Steps:

• Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer beat cream until it just holds stiff peaks. In another large bowl beat butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy and on low speed beat in corn syrup and whipped cream, beating until cream is just combined. Add flour mixture and beat until combined well. Form dough into a disk. Chill disk, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cut dough into quarters and work with 1 quarter at a time, keeping remaining dough covered and chilled. Using a rolling pin with cover dusted with flour, roll out dough into a round on a floured pastry cloth, rolling dough as thin as possible (less than 1/8 inch thick and about 14 inches in diameter) and with assorted 2- to 3-inch cutters cut out cookies. Carefully transfer cookies as cut to ungreased baking sheets with a metal spatula, arranging them about 1/2 inch apart, and top each with an almond slice. Reroll scraps and cut out more cookies in same manner.
• Bake cookies in batches in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies puff and then collapse slightly, about 6 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute and transfer with metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough in same manner. Cookies keep in airtight containers at room temperature 1 week.

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.

SWEDISH GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and molasses until mixture is light and smooth. Add egg and water or milk, blending well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, soda, salt and spices. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, beating just until combined. Remove, knead briefly with your hands, divide into two pieces and wrap both in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 4 cookie sheets with foil or parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator one package at a time, and cut in half. Let it soften slightly if it is not malleable.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. Dip cookie cutters in flour, and make shapes. Place cookies 1-inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until set. Remove sheets from oven, and let stand for 1 minute. With a thin metal pancake turner, transfer cookies to cooling racks, and let cool completely before storing or frosting.
• Store plain or frosted cookies in single layers, separated by sheets of waxed paper. Store at room temperature in metal tins or heavy-duty aluminum foil for up to a week.

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.

SUGAR COOKIES (SCANDINAVIAN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Beat the butter until creamy. Beat in the sugar until well blended.
• Stir in the egg, then the salt, cardamom, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
• Slowly add the flour, blending well.
• Refrigerate the dough for 30-90 minutes. Take out only enough to work with at one time.
• Roll to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured board. (Flour the rolling pin lightly, too, or use a rolling pin cover.) Cut the dough with floured cutters.
• Place cookies on ungreased baking sheets (optional: use parchment paper). Leave a little room between cookies. Dust with the sugar of your choice and bake at 350°F for 11-15 minutes until lightly browned at edges. Remove cookies from baking sheets after 1-2 minutes and let them cool.
• These cookies may be frozen. You can refrigerate the dough or even freeze it for later use.

CITRUS GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey and molasses. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Let stand 20 minutes. Stir in butter; let stand 20 minutes longer., Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest and spices; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into three portions. Roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray., Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients; brush over cookies. Let stand until set., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap in plastic and place in a resealable bag. Store in the refrigerator., Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as directed.

LEMON-GLAZED CANDIED-GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add ginger, and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Add flour mixture, and then beat on medium-low speed until dough just comes together.
• Shape dough into two 1-inch-thick disks. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out 1 disk on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out 2-inch circles. Place the rounds 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll out and cut scraps. Refrigerate rounds for 10 minutes.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set and edges are light gold, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies can be stored for up to 3 days.)
• Whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon zest and juice, honey, water, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cookies. Let stand until glaze is set, at least 20 minutes.

PEPPERNOTTER (SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease several baking sheets.
• Beat the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved, then beat in lemon juice, almonds, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, allspice, and cloves until thoroughly combined. Mix in flour to make a sticky dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead the dough 1 to 2 minutes, adding more flour if needed, to make a smooth, workable dough. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and place the balls on the prepared baking sheets at least 1 inch apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from sheets immediately to cooling racks to prevent cookies from getting too hard.
• Stir together confectioners' sugar and water to make a glaze, and drizzle each cookie while slightly warm with about 1/2 teaspoon, spreading it around the top of the cookie.