Pepparkakor (Swedish Gingersnaps)
Pepparkakor are thin and crispy Swedish gingersnaps. These cookies are traditionally eaten in December in Sweden with a cup of coffee or some glögg. Enjoy!Note: Note, unless you have a professional size mixer, mix together 1/2 batch at a time so that you don't overwork the mixer. See the bottom tips for the amounts needed to make a half batch.
Equipment
- Standing mixer
- Cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 300 grams unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks + 5 tablespoons)
- 2.1 cups sugar (2 cups + 2 tablespoons)
- 7 tablespoons syrup (I use Lyle's golden syrup) (just under 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 13 tablespoons water (3/4 cup + 1 tablepoon)
- 6.1 cups all purpose flour (6 cups + 2 tablespoons) (you could also use half white whole wheat flour if you wanted)
For Rolling out the Cookies
- extra flour as needed
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients, except about 1 cup of the flour, to the bowl of a large standing mixer. (Note, unless you have a professional size mixer, mix together 1/2 batch at a time so that you don't overwork the mixer). Mix on low to medium speed until well combined.
- Empty the dough onto a work surface and add the last bit of flour. Form into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least one night.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and let warm up a bit.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working on a lightly floured work surface, take a small chunk of the dough. Knead it a bit and form it into a ball. Roll it out until it’s very thin (thinner than your average sugar cookie). Every now and then lift the rolled dough up from the table and make sure it’s not sticking to the work surface. Add a little more flour to the work surface or rolling pin as necessary.
- When the dough has been rolled thin, use the cookie cutters to press out shapes. When you have filled the dough with shapes, peel away the surrounding dough. Transfer the cut shapes onto a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 3½ to 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on the cookies as they can burn quickly.
- Let the cookies cool a bit on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool more. They should be thin and crispy when cooled.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Wrap any unused dough in plastic and transfer it back to the refrigerator for another day.