Pepparkakor Gingersnaps: Virtual Cookie Exchange 2018

Pepparkakor Gingersnaps are traditional Swedish biscuits or ginger cookies.  They are often served with a Swedish mulled wine called glögg.  However, we just stick with a nice glass of cold milk.

I have been given the awesome privilege of being included in this Virtual Cookie Exchange along with 13 other bloggers. We are going to be sharing some of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes. I will link their recipes below, so be sure to check them out.

For my husband and I, these gingersnaps hold a special place in our hearts.

Each evening on our honeymoon, Pepparkakor Gingersnaps where left on a cute little plate in our cabin. We would enjoy them with a cup of hot chocolate sitting in front of a fire.  On the last evening a recipe card was included with the cookies.  We were so excited to take a little bit of our honeymoon home with us.

Brian and I have been married for 26 years, and, every once in awhile, I make a batch to remind us of Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri.  We were married right before Thanksgiving and everything was already decorated for Christmas.  It was a magical few days!

This year I am excited to share them with you!

First a little note on the molasses.  The recipe calls for light molasses; however, my grocery store only had the regular dark molasses.  Light molasses is typically sweeter than the dark version.  The cookies will cook up fine with either one, so don’t fret if you can only find the dark molasses.  Just know that they won’t be as sweet. 

Ingredients:

1.  2/3 c. light brown sugar
   
2.  2/3 c. light molasses
3.  2 tsp. ground ginger
4.  1 tsp. ground cinnamon
5.  1 tsp. ground cardamon
6.  1/2 tsp. ground cloves
7.  12 tbs. butter, cut up
8.  2 eggs
9.  5 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, approximately
10.  1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

Start off by combining the brown sugar, molasses and spices in a 1 1/2 qt saucepan.  Heat the mixture to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and add the hot sugar mixture. 

Stir until the butter melts.  Blend in the eggs.

Stir 2 cups of flour and the baking soda together, then gradually mix it into the butter mixture. 

Mix in enough additional flour to make the dough stiff.

Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Once you are ready to actually make the cookies, cut the dough into quarters, and then shape one quarter at a time into balls, using a rounded teaspoonful of dough for each ball.  (Refrigerate the dough you are not working on). 

I only baked up one quarter this day.  I decided to do both balls and shaped cookies with that dough. 

It really is a great dough for rolling and making shapes.

Once you have them like you want them, place the balls or shapes on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until light brown, approximately 10-12 minutes.  Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.

I forgot that the balls do not spread out like a regular cookie.  Therefore, they are softer than the shape cookie.  My husband prefers the shaped, but my daughter-in-law preferred the balls.  Either way, they are delicious!

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we do!

Be sure to check out all these other ladies and their amazing recipes which are part of this year’s Virtual Cookie Exchange.

Amanda at Cozy Tasty Home

Jennifer at Yellow Rose Jenny

Amy at Essentially Handmade Shop

Gabrielle at Life with the Correas

Jersey at Farmhouse-bc

Dana at St. Martha’s Lens

Anja at Our Gabled Home

Brianne at Homemade on our Homestead

Rachael at Australian Working Mama

Missy at Rambling Rose Farmhouse

Lyndsy at Treasured Oak Springs

Callie at This Corbett Life

Kelly at The Willow Mama

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