Friday, December 02, 2011

Delights of December Day 1 ~ Pepparkakor Cookies


I've been thinking for weeks that I would like to post something special for my readers each day of December, but thinking about it is as far as I got.  And now I'm already a day late!  What I decided to do, after much thought, is to re-post the ideas and recipes I shared in December 2006.  It has been 5 years, and many of my readers are more recent than that, so these things will be new to many of you.  Hope you enjoy!


Well, as promised, here is the first of a month's worth of Christmas ideas. Pepparkakor are Swedish spice cookies. They will add such a Christmasy aroma to your house! Don't be scared off by the fact that you have to roll and cut them. This is a very easy dough to work with. Here's the recipe:
PEPPARKAKOR
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tblsp. dark molasses
1 egg 3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tblsp. cinnamon
1 Tblsp. ginger
1 Tblsp. cloves
Juice and grated rind of 1 orange Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy; add molasses and egg. Mix until blended. Sift flour, soda and spices into creamed mixture. Add orange juice and rind; mix until well blended. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8” thickness. Cut into heart or reindeer shapes.  Transfer to cookie sheets.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes,
until brown. Cool on rack and store in a covered tin. Makes at least 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

I found this recipe in an old Country Woman magazine. The lady who submitted it said that these were the first cookies she baked each year to make her house really smell like Christmas. It works! Of course, you need not limit yourself to hearts and reindeer; that’s just what I usually do. Sometimes I cut some pine trees and moose as well. These are yummy whatever shape you choose to make them!

6 comments:

  1. These cookies sound yummy! I would love to try them but don't have any molasses--I wonder if honey would work as a substitute?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm... I'm sure honey would work as far as the consistency of the dough and texture of the cookies are concerned. But it sure wouldn't taste the same. You could certainly try, though. They would be tasty, I think; just not the same.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I held out for the molasses and made these cookies this afternoon and I am glad that I did! This recipe is full of yummy goodness!!! Boy did everyone pour into the kitchen when these came out of the oven! I will make these again and again. Thank you so much Mrs. T for sharing this delicious recipe! I printed it directly from your blog for my recipe notebook and the picture that you chose to post with it makes such a nice presentation in my little cookbook to boot!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mrs. Smith,

    I am so happy these turned out well for you!!!! Thanks for the great description of how much your family enjoyed them. I'm honored that you even printed the recipe off for your recipe notebook. Isn't it fun when a new recipe seems to become an instant tradition?

    ReplyDelete
  5. It sure is, and by the way, guess what my daughter and I just had for breakfast? :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, too funny! My hubby baked some spice cookies last night that were soooo good. A new recipe to us, similar to gingersnaps but without any ginger. They are in the freezer but I have been thinking about them all morning!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my kitchen table! I love company here in my kitchen, so be sure to leave a comment so I'll know you've visited! I'll answer your questions and comments here on the blog unless you request otherwise.