Although I have a tried and tested recipe from Sweden, I have also found a great explanation and recipe
here.
Ingredients
| ½ Tbsp | | cardamom pods* - seeds removed and crushed |
| 150 g | (1¼ sticks) | butter or margarine |
| 250 g | (1 cup) | sugar (white, brown or a mixture) |
| 50 g | (2½ Tbsp) | golden syrup (light corn syrup) |
| 20 g | (1 Tbsp) | treacle (dark corn syrup) |
| 1 Tbsp | | ground ginger |
| 1 Tbsp | | ground cinnamon |
| ½ Tbsp | | ground cloves |
| ½ Tbsp | | bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) |
| 100 ml | (6½ Tbsp) | water |
| 450 g | (3½ cups) | plain (all-purpose) flour |
*Or 1 tsp of ground cardamom
Mix the butter, sugar, syrup and treacle in a large saucepan. Heat gently until the butter melts, stirring continuously.
4. Turn off the heat, add the spices and mix thoroughly.
5. Add the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and stir again.
6. Add the water and stir once more.
7. Add the flour and stir thoroughly until it is completely mixed in.
8. Empty the mixture into a bowl. When cool cover with cling film (food wrap) and then leave the dough to rest in the fridge overnight or, if you can, even longer (a week is ideal).
9. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas 6, fan 180°C).
10. Take a small portion of the dough for a test bake and return the rest to the fridge. The dough will be very firm and hard to roll initially. Knead it to soften it a bit, but it is easier to work when it is cold and fairly stiff.
11. Roll it out thinly on a lightly floured surface or onto greaseproof paper. Cut into shapes using a biscuit (cookie) cutter.
12. Lift the biscuits on to cold baking trays (cookie sheets), lightly greased if not using greaseproof paper. Bake for 5-8 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on them as they burn very easily, but they should be crisp.
12. If the test batch spreads out and the biscuits lose their shape, add some more flour, and do another test bake.
13. If the test batch is good, remove enough dough for another batch and return the rest to the fridge. Bake in batches until all the dough has been used.
14. Once baked, leave to cool for a minute or two and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing (frosting)
The quantity below should be sufficient to ice a large batch of pepparkakor.
| 1 | | egg white |
| 225 g | (1¾ cups) | icing sugar (powder sugar) |
| 1 tsp | | lemon juice |
Whisk the egg white in a large bowl until frothy. Using a large spoon or a mixer on slow speed, add the icing sugar a tablespoonful at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and beat the icing until it is very stiff and white and stands up in peaks. Cover the surface with a damp cloth if not using immediately.
Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle and pipe away! Icing is harder than it looks so, unless you are a very experienced icer, I recommend keeping the designs really simple!
