This traditional Swedish Pepparkakor Recipe makes deliciously crisp spice cookies with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. They’re a Scandinavian Christmas tradition and they’re absolutely fabulous!
Have you ever seen a cuter Christmas cookie?
This recipe comes from the Nordic Baking Book by Magnus Nilsson. Nilsson runs the famed restaurant Fäviken, in Sweden. The book is a fascinating, well-researched collection of traditional Nordic baking recipes from breads to cakes and cookies.
I think cut out cookies are a must, at least once during the holidays. This pepparkakor recipe is lighter in color and flavor than my Easy Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing recipe. The paler cookies lend themselves to a fun Scandinavian modern theme and they’re a nice change from tired old gingerbread men 😉
What are Pepparkakor? (peh-par-KAH-kor)
Pepperkaker in Norway, Piparkakut in Iceland, Brunkager in Denmark, Piparkokur in Iceland
Pepparkakor, or pepper cookies in Swedish, are spiced ginger cookies. They come under the general heading of gingerbread cookies, and are traditionally baked for St Lucia’s Day (December 13th.) They’re also eaten at Christmas and make beautiful rustic ornaments for the Christmas tree.
Want to make pepparkakor ornaments?
Use a small straw to pierce a hole in the cookies before baking. If the hole fills in during baking, pierce again just after the cookies come out of the oven. When cool, thread a thin ribbon or string through the hole for hanging.
Ingredients in pepparkakor
- flour
- butter
- golden syrup (sirap) or honey
- milk
- spices ~ cinnamon, clove, ginger, and cardamom. I used freshly ground cardamom because I was low on the pre-ground stuff, which resulted in a distinctive flavor that I really enjoyed.
What is golden syrup?
- Golden syrup (sirap) is a kind of sugar syrup that is common in Scandinavian baking. It’s used the same way that molasses is used in gingerbread cookies, but it is much lighter in color and flavor.
- Many stores in the US do carry imported golden syrup, so definitely use it if you have it! You can also substitute honey like I have here, or even maple syrup.
I rolled these cut out cookies out a bit on the thicker side, so they bake up somewhere between soft and crunchy. This way I can package them as gifts for friends without worrying about breakage. You can roll them out thinner for more of a crisp cookie if you like.
My reindeer, Dala horse, and moose cookie cutters are perfect for pepparkakor
Pepparkakor cookies can be cut in simple hearts or star shapes, or made in any shape you like. I used simple Scandinavian modern horse, reindeer, and moose cutters.
- Find Dala horse cookie cutters here.
- Find the set I used here.
How to get soft, unique colors from a basic box of food coloring
Don’t settle for the brash boring colors that come out of the little bottles, here are some easy tips for mixing truly beautiful, custom shades that take your cookies to the next level.
- To get pastel shades, especially when coloring small amounts of glaze, don’t add full drops of color, which can be too intense. I sometimes put a drop of coloring on a small plate, and use a toothpick and add small amounts to my glaze. Be sure to mix in thoroughly before adding more, it takes time for the coloring to get fully incorporated. Remember, soft colors are generally more appetizing then deep dark colors when it comes to frostings and glazes.
- To create subtle color variations try adding a small touch of the opposite color in the color wheel. For reds, add a tiny touch of green, for blues, add orange, for purples add yellow ~ and vice versa.
No food coloring? Try these natural food coloring ideas
- Matcha powder makes a pretty green
- Freeze fried berries like blueberry and raspberries (Trader Joe’s carries them) can be pulverized into a fine powder and used for pretty pinks and purples.
- Ground turmeric and saffron make glorious yellows.
How to do simple decorations on gingerbread cookies
Decorated Christmas cookies don’t have to be complicated to be gorgeous, and you definitely don’t have to be an artist to pull it off!
- You can coat these cookies with a layer of frosting, or decorate the plain cookies for a rustic look, both are beautiful.
- To make simple white designs on your pepparkakor put your glaze or icing into a small baggie, twist the frosting down into one corner, and snip off a tiny bit from the very tip of the corner of the bag. Pipe dots and lines onto the cookies by gently squeezing and twisting the bag. You can also use a store bought tube to do this, there’s no shame in that! Use these photos as a guide to inspire your simple decorations.
- Accent your designs with a touch of color using sprinkles like colorful balls and simple shapes like the holly leaves, below. A red nose on the reindeer is always fun.
More Scandinavian recipes from the archives ~
- Scandinavian Almond Bars
- Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Apples, and Brown Cabbage
- Finnish Salmon Soup
- Norwegian Rhubarb and Almond Cake
- Chopped Steak with Bacon and Mushroom Gravy
Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies
Equipment
- cookie cutters
Ingredients
cookies
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup honey, scant
- 1/2 cup milk, scant
- 9 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp ground clove
- 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp ground ginger
- 4 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
icing
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar, or more if planning to cover the whole cookie.
- water, to thin
- a few drops food coloring (optional)
- pearl sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
to make the cookies
- 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 350°F. 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.
to make the 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.
Notes
Nutrition
I have a go-to recipe for gingerbread, but was in the mood to try something different, so looked online for something Swedish, that might more closely resemble the cookies mom made (recipe lost, unfortunately). I used Lyle’s golden syrup, which I’m pretty sure mom used. These cookies were lacking in flavour (relatively speaking) and rather dry. I won’t be making these again.
I’m sorry these weren’t what you were looking for — it is definitely a different style of cookie than a traditional gingerbread, which tends to be much heavier on the spices and molasses flavor. The molasses in gingerbread cookies also tends to give them a bit of chew, these have a lighter flavor and a crisp texture that we love!
One of my favorite cookies. I grew up with these in a Swedish household. I use a dark Caro syrup and half Crisco half butter which gives them a nice crisp. Also roll between two sheets of wax paper with flowered bottom for ease.
I tried this recipe and it turned out fabulous. I loved the taste, and they turned out so soft. I am trying to carry on my Grandmas Swedish traditions and prepare some treats for St Lucy’s day. I was excited at how well these turned out, and I posted them to one of our Swedish groups. I was quickly Criticized, on how they were not true Swedish Pepparkakor, due to the color not being darker, and the only time there should be frosting is if you are writing God Jul! I was offended by the criticism, but I am choosing to keep this recipe.
Hmmmm, too bad you had to deal with negativity Trudy, that’s a shame. These are, in fact, authentic pepparkakor, but there is no one true recipe, as with so many foods around the world. I’m glad you’re enjoying them!
Hello, thank you for posting this recipe. Can I just ask, is it a direct copy from Nilsson’s book or have you amended it slightly? I know you’ve used honey instead of golden syrup, but are the measurements accurate to the original recipe? Thanks so much
Hi Carrie! Aside from cutting the recipe in half, and substituting honey for the golden syrup, the recipe is the same as in Nilsson’s book. Some of the ingredients didn’t divide evenly in half, which is why some of the amounts aren’t quite round. Hope this helps!
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! Both my boyfriend and I tried the recipe and we both had difficulties getting the dough to come together. It was very crumbly and needed extra milk to make it workable. Are the quantities of liquid correct?
These were just okay. I used golden syrup instead of honey and feel like all the spice flavors got sucked into that and disappeared. They hold their shape beautifully, but just zero flavor.
I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe! I like exploring my Swedish roots through food. I had never worked with a dough like this; it was an adventure and easy enough to roll after it had warmed up a few minutes out of the frig. I use an idiotic amount of cardamom in any recipe it calls for, and I threw in an extra half teaspoon here, too. They turned out fragrant and delicious. I am going to practice my frosting skills and make these again next year.
These cookies were great. Even my mom keeps saying they’re really good, and she usually isn’t impressed by anything (I legit was expecting her to be critical of them.) The flavour is great, perfect amount of spice. I like that they’re lighter in colour. I did use light golden brown sugar and maple syrup.
I found the dough a little on the dry side, but they baked up perfectly.
I just want to know.. where do I find the horse cookie cutter?!?!
You can find them here (affiliate link)