Traditional Swedish Cookies Recipes

SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR COOKIES

Steps:

• 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 350F. 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.
• 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.

SWEDISH BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add syrup. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough into eight portions. Roll each portion into a 9-in. log. Place 3 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into 1-in. slices. Remove to wire racks. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

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.

TRADITIONAL PEPPARKAKOR (SWEDISH SPICE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Sift together dry ingredients; set aside.
• Cream sugar and butter.
• Add egg and molasses.
• Blend in dry ingredients thoroughly. Let dough stand overnight for easy rolling.
• On a well-floured board, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
• Cut into shapes (we usually make gingerbread people) and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
• NOTE: Prep time does not include time to let dough rest overnight.

SWEDISH SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour and baking powder; gradually add to the creamed mixture. , Using a cookie press fitted with disk of your choice, press dough into desired shapes 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-11 minutes or until edges are firm and lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Frost as desired.

DRöMMAR - TRADITIONAL SWEDISH DREAM COOKIES

Steps:

• To make dream cookies: in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add the canola oil slowly while mixing with the mixer.
• Mix flour and baking powder in separate bowl.
• Stir in flour mixture by hand to form a smooth dough.
• Place the dough in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 F (150°C).
• Roll dream cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the dream cookies are lightly browned with cracks on the surface.
• Note: Do not open the oven until cookies are done!

FATTIGMAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Cream together eggs, sugar, and brandy, if using.
• Stir in melted butter.
• Gently fold whipped cream into batter.
• Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.
• With a light hand, mix dry ingredients into batter to form a soft dough. You want to avoid handling dough too much. Otherwise, cookies will end up tough.
• Chill dough, covered, for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
• Roll chilled dough out on a floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
• Using a fattigman cutter or a pastry cutter, cut dough into diamond shapes about 1 1/4-inch wide by 3 1/2 inches long. If you're using a pastry cutter, cut dough first into 1 1/4-inch strips and then cut across these diagonally to form diamonds.
• Use a knife to cut a 1/2-inch slash in the middle of each diamond.
• Twist one corner of each diamond up through center slash to make a knot.
• Heat 2 inches of oil in the bottom of a heavy pot to 375 F.
• Drop in pastry knots and fry until golden brown, turning occasionally.
• Remove and drain on paper towels.
• Sprinkle cookies with vanilla sugar or confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

KRINGLA

Steps:

• Start the night before by mixing together the heavy cream and sour cream in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth, then cover with cling film and refrigerate.
• When ready to start, set the cream mixture out to room temperature. Next, preheat your oven to 475°F (246°C) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• In a large bowl cream together the sugar, shortening, and egg yolk.
• Stir in the vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the cream mixture then transfer the wet ingredients into the creamed sugar. Mix until well combined. Add the flour until completely incorporated into the dough, which should be sticky when done. *You can chill the dough for an hour before handling it to make the next step easier if desired.
• Since the dough is sticky, use a well-floured surface to roll the dough out onto. Pull off roughly 1 1/2-inch ball-shaped portions of the dough and roll them in the flour to coat all sides. Then move them to the side of your working surface where there is less flour and roll them out to a rope shape (approximately 8-9 inches long). Shape the rope into an '8' or 'infinity sign' or fold over like a pretzel shape, or you can also shape them into round coils - but these take longer to bake.
• Place each shaped dough piece onto your prepared baking sheets then bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the bottom just begins to turn a light golden color. *Depending on the thickness of the 'ropes', the cooking time can be longer.
• Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

SWEDISH CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, cardamom, and salt in a bowl.
• Put the butter and confectioners' sugar in a food processor, and process until smooth. Pulse in the egg, vanilla, and lemon zest until combined. Add the flour mixture and process to make a soft buttery dough. Divide the dough in half onto 2 (12-inch long) sheets of plastic wrap. Using the plastic, shape into rough logs. Refrigerate the dough logs for 30 minutes until just firm enough to shape into uniform logs, 8-inches long by 2-inches in diameter. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Scatter either the sanding sugars or toasted nuts on a work surface and roll the logs until completely coated. Cut into 1/4-inch thick cookies and space about 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until golden around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.