Pepparkakor, crisp, thin cookies, laced with ginger, cloves, and cinnamon, are a popular Swedish Christmas tradition.
Author: Anne Papina
Recipe type: dessert
Cuisine: swedish
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
3½ cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
¾ cup light molasses
1 tsp grated lemon peel
Frosting
⅓ cup egg whites (about 2 egg whites)
3¾ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Day 1, Make the Dough
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.
In your mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and lemon peel, and beat until well blended.
Stir in the flour mixture about ⅓ at a time, and mix until well blended and smooth. Divide the dough into four parts, wrapping each part in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Day 2, Make the Cookies
Preheat oven to 375F.
Lightly grease several cookie sheets.
Roll out one part of the dough at a time on a floured board, about ⅛ inch thick. The dough gets very sticky, so keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator until you're ready to roll it out.
Use cookie cutters about 2 to 3 inches in diameter to cut out cookies.
Place cookies on cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool.
Frosting
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with the powdered sugar to make a smooth, stiff frosting. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to use (to prevent drying out).
Decorate
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a number-3 or -4 small tip for writing with frosting. Pipe the frosting, following the outline of the cookies.
Allow frosting to dry, and store in a covered tin.
Notes
This recipe makes 7 to 10 dozen cookies.
Recipe by Webicurean at http://blog.webicurean.com/2013/11/20/pepparkakor-twelvedaysofsanta/