There is no biscuit which says "Christmas in Sweden" more than traditional Pepparkakor, commonly referred to as "ginger thins" in the US or "gingernuts" in the UK. Pepparkakor (literally pepper cookies) are an integral part of the Christmas eve feast in Sweden and are also used to decorate our Christmas tree. While you will usually see them in the traditional shape of a heart, the pig and Christmas goat shapes are also very popular. What? You don't know about the Christmas goat?

These biscuits sell here in their millions, with Annas being the most popular brand. Pepparkakor are so popular that they even sell ready made dough in the supermarket chilled section that you simply roll out and cut into shape. In fact, when I suggested making my own peppakakor, L-G thought I meant buying the dough. He was most surprised when I said I wanted to make them from scratch.

There are as many variations on this recipe as there are cooks in Sweden, so I decided to go with one printed in the national daily newspaper, DN. (Swedish only, but I'll translate the tweaked recipe below).

I began by assembling all of the ingredients together - always wise before you start. Note that the white poodle in the basket is optional :-)




Swedish Pepparkakor

250 g margarine or butter
1½ cups sugar
3/4 cup light syrup (golden syrup is fine)
3/4 cup water
2 dessert spoons ground cinnamon
1 dessert spoon ground cardomom
1 dessert spoon ground cloves
½ dessert spoon ground ginger
½ dessert spoon dried crushed bitter orange peel (optional)
1 dessert spoon bicarb soda
6 cups plain flour




I use the term "dessert spoon" as Swedish tablespoons are smaller than those we use in Australia. The recipe in DN specifically said no ginger, but there was no way I was making gingerbread with no ginger! The very idea! And I did not use the dried bitter orange as L-G doesn't like orange in cakes or biscuits. I used normal baking margarine, but by all means use butter.


To make up the biscuit dough, measure out the sugar, syrup and water into a saucepan. Bring it to a rapid boil, stirring well and remove from heat.

Slice up your margarine (or butter) into cubes and put them in a large mixing bowl along with all of the spices. Pour over the boiling sugar mixture and wait until all of the margarine melts, stirring now and again. Let the mixture cool to roughly room temperature.

Meanwhile, blend the flour with the bicarb soda. When mixture has cooled, blend the flour a cup at a time into the spicy fat/sugar mixture. Blend well into a rather loose dough. Don't panic and be tempted to add more flour. The mixture hardens over time.

Now, leave the dough to rest for a day or two. You can either cover your bowl and leave it on the bench, or wrap in plastic and put it in the fridge. Over time, the flour swells as it absorbs the moisture and the dough becomes easy to roll.

To bake the biscuits:

Preheat your oven to 190° C (400° F)

Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll out a piece at a time. It's always easier to work with smaller pieces. Knead each piece and roll out onto a lightly floured board. The dough ought to be around 1/8 inch thick. Don't apply a lot of pressure to the dough, but use light, smooth rolling and keep the board well floured. You may need to keep lightly flouring your rolling pin as you go.




Cut out the figures with your cutters and use an egg slice to transfer them to your baking tray (lined with baking paper). Bake in the oven between 4-6 minutes or until browned. Watch them carefully as they unfortunately burn very quickly.




Leave to cool on the paper. When cool, remove and store in an airtight container. This recipe makes about 10 dozen or so biscuits, depending on the size of your cutters. I used the ones you see here - angel, pig, cat, goat and polar bear. But I've added this set to my Christmas wish list (are you reading this, Santa?), so next year hopefully the family can munch on Aussie shaped gingerbread! Wouldn't that be something?





I can tell you that when the hot sugary mixture hit the butter and spices, the beautiful heady, spicy aroma immediately transported me back to my childhood kitchen where I watched my mother and grandmother prepare the boiled fruit cakes and plum puddings for Christmas. It was a kitchen surrounded by warmth, love and the wonderful generosity of my gran, who always had time and a word of encouragement for me. It's amazing how powerful an image smell can conjure up.

Now, Swedish custom says that you should place a pepparkakor in the palm of your hand. Then, you should make a wish. Using the index finger of your free hand, tap the biscuit in the middle. Swedish tradition states that if the pepparkakor breaks into three pieces, your wish will come true.

If, however, the pepparkakor does not break into three pieces, don't despair, you'll just have to enjoy eating the biscuit in smaller pieces.