Pepparkakor (Swedish Ginger Cookies)

Thin, crispy & flavored with cinnamon, ginger & cloves, these Pepparkakor (Swedish Ginger Cookies) are tasty & relatively low in calories.

Swedish Pepparkakor is a traditional Swedish ginger cookie that is especially popular around the holidays. They are available commercially as Anna’s Ginger Thins–though I think it’s even more fun to bake your own!  ‘Cause how can you beat an elegant crispy gingersnap when the snow is flying!

Now “Anna” makes her Swedish Ginger Thins in small flower shapes, which is cute and a perfect for any occasion.  But I figured that Christmas calls for fun shapes like acorns, donkeys and more.  

Of course, the delicious spice flavoring is another part of the attraction. And I am especially fond of anything with ginger since it’s anti-inflammatory and gives a cookie enough flavor to swap in some whole wheat flour for the white. 

This recipe is based on one from Good Housekeeping (now behind a paywall), though I used molasses instead of dark corn syrup and swapped in some whole wheat flour. 

Why You’ll Love This!

Flavorful.  With tasty ginger spice flavors and a beautiful crunch, these cookies are a sensory delight!

Healthier.  Stronger flavors like gingerbread spice make it easier to use some whole wheat flour in a recipe.  So I use half whole wheat, to add some extra fiber and nutrition.

Fun and Versatile.  Cut these into any shape for any occasion.  I first made them as elephants for World Elephant Day!

Swedish Elephant spice cookies

What You’ll Need

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour, whole wheat flour.  This forms the bulk of the cookie.  You can use only all-purpose flour if you prefer.
• Baking soda.  This keeps the cookies from being too dense.
• Butter.  This address richness, moisture and flavor.
• Sugar. This adds sweetness.
• Mild molasses. This adds gingerbread flavor, sweetness, and moisture. I usually look for a milder molasses as I have occasionally gotten a darker molasses that is too bitter.
• Heavy cream.  This helps to hydrate the flour and adds richness.
• Cinnamon, cloves, ginger.  This adds gingerbread flavor.

Special Tools

• You’ll need a rolling pin and wax paper (or silpats) to roll the cookies thin.

Step by Step Overview

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, scraping bowl as needed. Beat in molasses and cream until well-blended.

Mix flours with baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Add to butter mixture and mix until blended.

Divide dough into 4 pieces and flatten so they chill faster. Separate pieces with wax paper or plastic, seal (I put into a sealed container to avoid plastic use) and refrigerate 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Between two pieces of floured wax paper, roll first piece of dough to 1/8 inch thick.  (Being thin helps you get a crisp cookie.)

Using a floured cookie cutter, cut dough into cookies.

Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place trimmings back in refrigerator to re-roll at end.

Bake cookies 9 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Don’t underbake. Let cookies firm up on cookie sheet for a minute or two then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining dough and trimmings.

Tips & FAQs

Be sure to roll the Pepparkakor dough very thin and don’t underbake the cookies.  This will help you achieve the delightful crispness that characterizes this cookie.

I sometimes have a little light cracking on the edges when rolling out the dough, especially if it’s a bit too cold.  In that case I just press the dough back together again and reroll gently before I cut the cookies.

Since the dough needs to be rolled very thin I found I sometimes had problems with small pieces of a cookie sticking in the cutter or breaking off.  The donkey’s tail was especially problematic.  When this occurred, I retrieved the tail and pressed it back on by hand.  Once baked, it held together fine.  

In my test of keeping this week’s cookie collection for two weeks (sealed in Tupperware), these lost their crispness.  The flavor was still good and they still disappeared, but they weren’t as nice.  So this may be a cookie to bake within a few days of use.  I hear they can be frozen but I haven’t tested this.

FInally, the picture below is to prove it doesn’t need to be Christmas to eat Swedish Ginger Cookies!

But for more tasty #Christmascookiesweek recipes, check out:

• Nutmeg Cookies with Rum Icing by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Classic No Bake Cookies by Blogghetti
• Fruitcake Shortbread by That Recipe
• Nutella Cookies by Magical Ingredients
• Peanut Butter Frosted Jammy Bits Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Pepparkakor (Swedish Ginger Cookies) by Art of Natural Living
• Peppermint Stick Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Swedish Spice Thins (Pepparkakor)

Thin, crispy and flavored with cinnamon, ginger and cloves, they are tasty and relatively low in calories.

Author: Inger

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Cookies & Candies

Cuisine Scandinavian

Servings 36

Calories 70 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup mild molasses or half molasses and half maple syrup
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or non-dairy cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

Instructions

 

• In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, scraping bowl as needed. Beat in molasses and cream until well-blended.
• Mix flours with baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Add to butter mixture and mix until blended.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces and flatten so they chill faster. Separate pieces with wax paper or plastic, seal (I put into a sealed container to avoid plastic use) and refrigerate 1-2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Between two pieces of floured wax paper, roll first piece of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a floured cookie cutter, cut dough into cookies. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place trimmings back in refrigerator to re-roll at end.
• Bake cookies 9 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cookies firm up on cookie sheet for a minute or two then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining dough and trimmings.

Notes

The yield (and therefore calorie count) will vary based on thickness and cookie cutter size.

Be sure to roll these cookies very thin and don't underbake them to achieve the delightful crispness that characterizes this cookie.

Nutrition

Calories: 70kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 52mgPotassium: 54mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 104IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 0.4mg

I am not a health professional and nutrition data is calculated programatically. Accuracy may vary with product selection, calculator accuracy, etc. Consult a professional for the best information.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Updated from the original published Aug 12, 2015.

• ← Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
• Sandbakkels (Scandinavian Sugar Cookies or Tarts) →