Swedish Ginger Cookies - Think gingerbread, only more intense in flavor, super thin & crunchy & with waaay less decorations. Norwegians make a similar cookie - traditionally they cut theirs into diamonds & put an almond in the middle. Danes do the same, only theirs are rounds. Us Swedes though - we like the fancier prettier decorations. Hearts, stars, scalloped cirles, animals then the edges are piped with a fine line of royal icing in either straight lines, zigzags, loops or dots. I have never seen pepparkakor done with much icing. Always just enough to emphasize the outline of the cookie - but it's just enough, flavor wise. Here is a simple recipe to try.
1/4 pound of butter (softened)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 small egg
1Tb molasses
the juice and grated rind of 1/2 an orange
2-1/2 cups of sifted flour
1 tsp. ginger
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
Royal icing to decorate.
As with most cookies, cream the butter, sugar - add the egg, molasses & orange juice & grated peel. In a seperate bowl, sift together your dry ingredients, then mix them into the wet. Chill the dough very well. Overnight is best, and I've even left it in the fridge for a few days when I'm really rockin' on cookie making.
Roll out small amounts on a lightly floured board to right around 1/8 of an inch thick - thinner is better!!! Cut into desired shapes & place an inch apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet or a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375* for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown (watch very very close. They go FAST. ) Remove from pans immediately(they will continue to cook on the pan otherwise) and let cool totally on wire racks. When cool, outline each cookie with royal icing, as desired. Makes around 5 dozen.
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