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
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup honey, scant (100 ml)
- 1/2 cup milk, scant (100 ml)
- 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
For the 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
For 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 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.
For 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
The dough was way too crumbly, I had to add water and work the dough a lot to get it to roll out. And after all the work, the flavor is was unfortunately kind of bland.
I love these cookies so much so I’m making them for the first time for a Christmas gift! Question, is the dough suppose to be crumbly? When rolling out the dough, should I use water to keep the dough together?
The dough should not be crumbly, and depending on your flour, or how you measure it, etc, you may need to add a touch more milk to bring the dough together.
Hola Sue!!!
I would like to know if I can use mellasses (melaza) and if I can use in the same cantity of golden syrop…? last week I try mellases (the first time in my life) it was too sweet, may be too much so I am afraid if I will cook this cookies and I will make bad. I am sorry, my english is level 0 🙂 I prefer don ´t use google translate ( I am not myself)…
Felices fiestas 😀
Hi Sara! You can use molasses, I would use a light molasses (but not blackstrap molasses, which is very strong and bitter.) The cookies will be darker, and more like gingerbread. You can also use golden syrup. Hope this helps.
These cookies are beautiful and I love how you made the vine decoration on the reindeer antlers! However, I followed the link for the cookie set, and it seems to feature the moose, the dala horse, and a heart shape. I couldn’t find any cookie sets that feature the actual reindeer. Is it possible it came from a different set? I just wanted to let you know because you linked to it in the actual post and then again in the comments, but it doesn’t actually feature the deer, as far as I can tell.
Yes, it’s a small company and I think they must have changed out their offering. I’ll do some checking today and see if I can find my set and link to that.
Hey Sue,
I made these cookies recently and absolutely loved them, as did everyone in my household (even though I made them a bit too chunky). I did however find that trying to roll the dough out after being in the fridge almost impossible, I had to leave the dough out for a few hours before being able to effectively roll it. I’m just wondering if it would be ok to leave the dough in the fridge for less time, or omit the step completely? Any advice is welcome!
Yes, you can refrigerate for less time. It’s common to have to let dough sit out a bit after chilling, it’s just one of those baking annoyances. But feel free to refrigerate just long enough so the dough is firm enough to roll. Glad you liked them!
Hello Sue – how far apart do you space the unbaked cookies on the baking sheet? Thanks!
These don’t spread, but I always give cookies at least an inch or two.
Great, thanks for your quick and helpful reply Sue!
I roll my dough between two layers of plastic wrap. I cut the cookies with cookie cutters but don’t take them off the wrap until I put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Try `15. Then they will pop right off and you and put them on the cookie sheets. I roll my cookies as thin as I can and only bake about 4-5 minutes.
Sue, these really caught my eye with the pastel colours. So pretty! I like the deer shaped one. Any particular name it goes by? Or where did you get it?
Hi Coleen, I link to the set I used in the post, it’s a cute Scandinavian set, and you can find it on the Internet, here
So cute! I may have to break down and try some piping again!
Hello Sue – these are really lovely cookies, I love the subtle colours too! And that there is a good amount of cardamom.
I am definitely going to try out the recipe this coming weekend – how long will the cookies last in an airtight container?
Your blog is great, I always enjoy looking at the recipes and reading your notes.
Thanks!
Thanks so much Michele, and yes, these kinds of cookies keep really well, I’d be comfortable with up to a week. You could also freeze the undecorated cookies.
These are beautiful spice cookies Sue!! Love the pastel colors too! Your holiday treats are always an inspiration for us to get started with our baking.
Thanks so much, these were such fun to make!