Pepparkakor ginger biscuits
If you’ve ever been to Scandinavia at Christmas time, you will have been offered any variety of these ginger biscuits. We practically live off them during the colder months, but they are certainly a buiscuit, suitable all year round. Note - this dough requires min 12h rest time before baking
Ingredients
- 550 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 pinch ground all spice
- 1 pinch salt
- 150 g butter - room temp
- 200 g golden syrup
- 100 g caster sugar
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 150 ml double cream
Instructions
- Mix the flour and bicarbonate of/baking soda with the dry spices and salt.Add the butter and all the other ingredients and mix until you have an even dough. It may still be sticky, but shape into a log and wrap in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the refrigerator overnight before using. Try to resist eating the dough every time you pass by the fridge. Yes, we know it is hard not to do…Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured work surface and use cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes. You want the biscuits/cookies to be thin.Place on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 5–6 minutes or until the biscuits turn a darker shade of brown. This is a large quantity of dough so you may need to bake the biscuits in batches (or you can freeze part of the dough for next timeyou wish to whip up a few trays).Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Variations:
- Flavour with the zest of one orange for citrus hit
- Add chopped almonds
- Add food grade cedar oil for a distinct flavour (you only need a little bit)
… or let the kids run wild with icing and decorate little heats, gingerbread people shapes – or even make a ginger biscuit house. This dough is very versatile.
In Sweden these are called Pepparkakor – in Norway, Pepperkaker (Peberkager in Danish and in Finnish, Piparkakut). All have slightly different regional differences, but by and large, the end result is similar: A fragrant, spiced biscuit, easy to make, bake and decorate. And terribly hard to stop eating.
Find this recipe and many more in Bronte’s Christmas cookbook ScandiKitchen Christmas – available signed from our website. Also available in the US and Canada on Amazon – and in Italian, German and Russian in the respective countries.
