Pepparkakor Recipe (Swedish Ginger Cookies) - Texanerin Baking (2024)

FAQs

What does pepparkakor mean in english? ›

Pepparkakor or Pepparkaka means pepper cookie / pepper cookies.

Molasses: I typically opt for “original” (versus dark) unsulphured molasses. Eggs and baking soda: Two soft and chewy cookie staples. Flour: I typically use all-purpose flour for this classic recipe, but white whole wheat flour can work too. Spices: We will use a mixture of ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

How Long do Gingerbread Cookies Last. After you have baked your gingerbread cookies and they are decorated perfectly, they will last for 4-6 weeks. Gingerbread is a fairly dry type of cookie which extends it's shelf life. Less moisture means the cookies will be more resistant to mold.

Some consider these differences to be enough to place them into two separate categories. Ginger snaps (Pepparkakor) are typically baked for a longer time; they're thinner, chewier, and often with a more robust, well-expressed spice flavor than a standard gingerbread cookie.

One exception is Pepparkakor baked at home. If a Swedish family opts to bake Pepparkakor at home, they'll most likely do it a few days before December 13th. But while the tradition is still quite popular, the majority tends to opt for commercially packaged cookies.

Named for the spice known to reduce nausea, this sweet treat is especially beneficial to patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Ginger, among the most delicious and healthiest of spices, has long been used to help digestion, reduce nausea, and fight other conditions like the flu and common cold.

“There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

So how do you know that they're done? Here's how to tell if gingerbread cookies are done: They'll be firmly set. They'll be a lovely medium-brown color.

Shortbread, biscotti, gingerbread, and drop cookies like chocolate chip or oatmeal are all examples of sturdy cookies that hold up well once frozen. "They can stand up to the cold temperatures and won't be damaged when you mindlessly rummage through your freezer," says Jason Schreiber, baker and cookbook author.

Why are my ginger cookies flat? ›

If you use too much butter, the cookies will end up flat and greasy. And if you use too little flour, the amount of butter and sugar will be proportionally too high, meaning the cookies will spread for the aforementioned reasons.

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

Double-check the amount and type of flour you're using. All-purpose flour is commonly used in cookie recipes, if a recipe calls for AP and you decide to use something like whole wheat pastry flour or bread flour, it will absorb more liquid and lead to a dry dough.

Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.

In Medieval England, the term gingerbread simply meant “preserved ginger” and wasn't applied to the desserts we are familiar with until the 15th century. The term is now broadly used to describe any type of sweet treat that combines ginger with honey, treacle or molasses.

Lebkuchen (pronounced leyb-koo-kuh n) is a centuries-old German spiced treat traditionally baked during the winter holiday season. While lebkuchen is often translated to English as gingerbread, it's not exactly what most Americans envision when they think of gingerbread.

Origins and Tradition

Pepparkakor have a long history in Sweden. Gingerbread was introduced to Europe during the Middle Ages by crusaders who encountered similar spiced breads in the Middle East. In the 16th century, pepparkakor gained popularity in Sweden, particularly during the Christmas season.