Heck No, it's Not Too Early for Christmas Cookies!

or..."The Seven Cookies of Christmas, 2009"

Cookie #1: Pepparkaker

It took spending six Christmases together for my husband to finally tell me that I was doing things all wrong in the baking department. And no, I wasn’t over-baking my fruit cakes or putting too many sprinkles on my cookies.

As it turns out, Norwegian tradition says that one must bake seven different types of Christmas cookies in order to have a proper Christmas. What a disappointment the past holiday seasons have been with only four or five cookie varieties. The good new is, I’ve been scouring my recipe box, latest issues of Gourmet Mag., and my greatest Goodwill score to date- a Scandinavian cookbook from 1968 with a terrific pickled herring photo on the cover to whittle down my list to the seven best. Luckily, with already one successful 7-cookie Christmas under my belt, this Christmas is guaranteed to be a good one. 

With still a few weeks left before Thanksgiving, all you Americans reading this may think that I’m jumping the gun on my Christmas baking and planning. Of course, you will all have to remember that over here in Norway, the great day of thanks is not recognized and the stores have gone into full-swing with their red, gold, and silver decorations. I didn’t think letting you in early on my seven best Christmas cookie picks for 2009 could do any harm. Besides, we don’t need an excuse to start cramming our faces with all of that buttery, sugary, cinnamony, vanillay, chocolaty, almondy goodness. Am I right?

Now, if you break out the calendar, I think you’ll agree that today is an appropriate starting point for cookie number one. Seven weeks before Christmas...seven cookies for Christmas. It's simple math, my friends. 

Up first is THE Norwegian Christmas cookie, which is also very popular in Denmark and Sweden, Pepparkaker (pep-ar-kak-aire). Learn to say it, learn to bake it, learn to love it. They're honest to goodness one of my all-time favorites. Not only do they last at least a month in a well-sealed container, they let you show off your cutest cookie cutters, and can even play double duty if you hang them up with a ribbon as decorations on your tree or throughout the house.

Pepparkaker. Scandinavia’s answer to ginger cookies. Crisp, spicy, and mighty cute.  I guess it dosen’t hurt that they’re good too.

Check back each and every Sunday up until Christmas for the next 6 installations of this series! 

Christmas Cookie #1

Pepparkaker

Norwegian Christmas Pepper Cookies

*This makes a VERY large batch. Try halving the recipe if you’re a pepparkaker virgin or baking for a small household

(The recipe for these came from a hilarious source, my “Norwegian for Immigrants textbook"! My teacher, Steinar, would be too, too proud if he only knew.)

 

1/2 cup + 1 T. (5 ounces/140 g) butter, room temp.

1/2 cup (115 ml) light corn syrup

1 1/3 cup (600 g) sugar

1/3 cup + 1 T. (85 ml) heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ginger

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder (add 1/2 t. more if you want a higher rise)

3 1/4 cup (450 g) All-Purpose flour

 

1. In a large bowl, mix the butter, syrup, and sugar together until well blended.

2. Stir in the cream, spices, baking powder, and flour. Mix until well blended.

3. Form dough into a round, flat, patty. Cover well with plastic and place in the fridge overnight (Or for at least 6 hours).

4. Place a little flour on a clean work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out until 1/10” thick (in other words, very, very thin). You may need to let the dough warm up a tad before doing this.

5. Using your favorite cookie cutters or just a small cup or bowl, cut out shapes from your dough. Make sure to collect your scraps and roll those out again. If you plan on using your cookies as decorations, cut out a small hole at the tops so that you can later loop a string or ribbon though.

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F/180C for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

7. Leave your cookies plain, or, decorate with icing, red hots, sprinkles, etc...

Comments

[Amy]

Hi Siri!
Your name leads me to think you have Nordic origins? Could I be somewhat right? I was born in PA and lived awhil there, lived awhile in Kansas but call Texas home, I graduated from high school there, met Stig there when he was an aupair in Austin, and my family still lives there.
Pepperkaker are good, no doubt and there is a definte difference in the quality you get in stores and homemade. I tried to do the seven sorts of Christmas cookies when I first began living here, but to be honest, they are extremely similar, not all that great and I'm American! So I compromised, we do some Norwegian cookies and some American and we make seven types..although not all seven make it to Christmas...hahahaha..Last year I tried making Smulteringer for the first time....as a twist I put powder sugar on some of them..sure miss powder sugar donuts in America and while they were sweet and good, the plain ol' smulteringer when done correctly are to die for also..
Have to admit I was a pillsbury doughboy type baker before coming to Norway, thankfully though I have a grandmother who adores cooking and baking and shared some secrets with me over the years so when I couldn't find the baked goods from America I missed here when I first moved here, then I would make them myself..and don't mind tooting my own horn I've become better then the pillsbury doughboy and just as round as him after 14 years of baking ;-)) hahaha...Have a great day!

[rachel]

It might be a LITTLE early for Christmas baking, but I think Freya and I should make a batch next weekend. Thanks for the push!

[Heather]

Seriously, I love these cookies. Thanks for the reminder, and maybe next weekend I can bake. This weekend is the Pink Party for the ol' girl Lily!
I'll try to take photos!

[Murasaki Shikibu]

"As it turns out, Norwegian tradition says that one must bake seven different types of Christmas cookies in order to have a proper Christmas."

LOL...this is hilarious. They must have a similar tradition in Germany as well as my ex's mom bakes a mountain of different types of cookies in industrial quantities!

[Star Cookie Cutter Set]

Your husband sounds like a real pip lol. I moved to Pennsylvania a few years ago and I live in the heart of Amish country. Well all of the churches here have holiday bazaars and the best cookies you could possibly want. So I can bake my favorite chocolate chips and make my cute cut out sugar cookies and then go buy a bunch of homemade cookies traditional to many European countries. Lucky me, huh?

[Zeb]

Hi, love these, are they the same as the Swedish ones? Is one of your seven those little vanilla buttery flavoured cookies ? That's the ones I really want to make. Love your blog. best wishes, Joanna

[Lindsay Blaylock]

I finally got around to making these this weekend. Boy are they great with a cup of tea!! officially my new favorite christmas cookie... and they remind me of my summer in norway. I brought a big plate in to work this week and to rave reviews. Boston approves. :)

[Jana]

Hi Siri,
Have you ever heard of "ringekake"cookies? My mother in law made them. They are sort of snail shaped, cakey textured cookies. I can't find a recipe anywhere.

[siri]

Hi Jana- No I'm not familiar with ringekake. Were they chewy cookies? I even looked them up on the internet and didn't get any hits. Maybe they go by another name. Let me know what they tasted like. Almondy, maybe?

[mamaraby]

I can't tell you how excited I am to have found your blog...and this particular series of posts. This is *exactly* what I was looking for!

[Buggs]

Hmm, not norwegian but I make about 20 different kinds of cookies at Xmas. Went to Norway this summer with my sister and her friend from there just sent us a batch of "tin cakes". Flat and sort of toffeey. I hear they are a bear to make but they are so good I am willing. Any recipes out there?

[Siri]

Mamaraby- I'm glad to hear it!

Buggs- I've never heard of tin cakes. Tin or "tynn" in Norwegian simply means "thin". I'm guessing the cookies you had were just simply called tin because they were flat???

[Den Collins]

Good to see the traditions of Norwegian holiday baking remains alive and well. I'm fortunate to have learned directly from my Mormor. It's a personally happy tradition to continue using her krumkake iron each year with her recipe for those cookies. And then there's the berlinerkranser, hjortetake, serinakake, bordstabbler, and those wonderful heart-shaped waffles (also baked on Mormor's cast iron stovetop waffle iron).

[Lael]

I wish I had discovered this post going into Christmas season! I will definitely file it away for next year, as I'm determine to build my Scandinavian cookie repertoire...my family is Norwegian, and I love our traditions as well as the land itself (I've only had the opportunity to visit once, but would love to come again...even to stay!). Can't wait to browse through these recipes you've posted. Takk!

[Norwegiancaveman]

A bit late, but my oldemor called berlinerkranser for ringekake:
http://meny.no/Tema-med-Menykokken/Jul/Syv-slag-til-jul/Berlinerkranser2/

AND: tin cakes sound like my personal favorite: Tynnkake:)

[Nira]

Hello and greetings from hot steamy Israel :-)

I was wondering what is "heavy cream". Is it that milky liquid stuff with 38% fat ? the kind you buy in small quantities in the super - this is what they sell here. I am an Israeli , not christian ,but I wonder what coockies with black pepper taste like. Gotta try it .

Is there any substitute for corn syrop - because it is hard to find it here .(hard ,but not impossible :)

thanks for the recipe and have a pleasent summmer

Nira