These mouth-watering Swedish Gingersnap Pepparkakor Cookies are a family Christmas baking tradition in my husband's family.

I've had the recipe for decades but never made them until recently. They are great dipping cookies and I promise you won't be able to stop at just one!

The motivation for finally trying my Mother-in-law's cookie recipe is because we lost her in September and I want to keep the family tradition going in her memory.

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Go here to see our kick-off collection of Holiday ideas as well as all of this year's talented participating DIY and Foodie Blogs.

Swedish Gingersnap Pepparkakor Cookie Recipe

The cookies are more commonly known as Pepparkakor but Mr. Frugalista's family affectionately pronounces them PepparKAKA cookies.

The name is derived from Peppar meaning pepper and kakor meaning cookie. Apparently, at one time the recipe included pepper but over the generations, it was eliminated.

The Swedish custom was to place a cookie in the palm of your hand and make a wish. Using the index finger or thumb of your other hand, you would tap the cookie in the middle. If it broke into three pieces, your wish would come true.

The shape of the cookies was also symbolic and commonly cut in stars, hearts, men, women, pigs, or goats. The animals symbolizing fertility or mid-winter feast.

Heart shapes were thought to make you gentler and kinder. My mother-in-law was a very quiet, kind, and gentle woman and so I choose the heart shape to honor her.

Pepparkakor cookies are decorated with white icing piped along the edges but they can be left plain like my mother-in-law preferred them.

I chose to make mine look more festive by giving them a light dusting of powdered sugar. I hope my mother-in-law would approve.

This recipe has been added to my annual Christmas baking list along with my mother's Shortbread Cookies. Another recipe that has been steeped in tradition for generations that I continue in her memory.

Pepparkakor Cookie Ingredients

These are the ingredients to make these mouth-watering Swedish Christmas cookies. I've included a printable recipe card further down in the post.

• 3 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tbsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup molasses

The cookies are a two-day affair but so worth the wait. You make the dough one day and let it stand in the fridge overnight before baking them the following day.

How To Make Pepparkakor Cookies

1. Sift the dry ingredients, except for the sugar, in a separate bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the eggs and molasses.
4. Stir in dry ingredients in increments until well blended.
5. Shape the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Let stand in the fridge overnight.
7. Cut the dough into 4 pieces.
8. Roll the dough on a floured surface 1/8 inch thick.
9. Cut the cookies with a heart, star, or gingerbread man cookie cutters dipped in flour.
10. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
11. Bake in 350°F oven for 10 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.
12. Makes approximately five dozen cookies.

Helpful Tips

1. Wait approximately ten minutes after taking the chilled dough out of the fridge before rolling it.
2. Dip the cookie cutters in flour first because they have a tendency to stick.
3. Don't overcrowd the cookie sheet (like pictured below) because the cookies rise and spread.

Can I freeze Pepparkakor cookies?

Yes, you can. I froze these after they were sprinkled with powdered sugar. Layer the cookies between sheets of wax or parchment paper in air-tight food storage containers.

As promised, here is the printable recipe card should you want to make these Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies.

Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Recipe Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Author: Interior Frugalista

prep time: 30 M cook time: 10 M total time: 40 M

Also known as Pepparkakor, these mouth-watering Swedish Ginger Cookies have been a Christmas tradition in my husband's family. They have that ginger snap on the outside with soft centers on the inside. Great dipping cookies!

ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tbsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup molasses

instructions:

How to cook Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies

1. Sift the dry ingredients, except for the sugar, in a separate bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add eggs and molasses.
4. Stir in dry ingredients in increments until well blended.
5. Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Let stand in the fridge overnight.
7. Cut the dough into 4 pieces.
8. Roll out the dough on a floured surface 1/8" thick.
9. Cut with heart, star, or gingerbread men cookie cutters dipped in flour.
10. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
11. Bake in 350°F oven for 10 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.
12. Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.

NOTES:

Prep time does not include letting dough stand in the fridge overnight.

Calories
916.30

Fat (grams)
38.78

Sat. Fat (grams)
23.42

Carbs (grams)
133.47

Fiber (grams)
3.07

Net carbs
130.40

Sugar (grams)
65.45

Protein (grams)
10.80

Sodium (milligrams)
1023.52

Cholesterol (grams)
134.81

Created using The Recipes Generator

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! If you try these Christmas Gingersnap Cookies, I'd love to hear what you think about the recipe.

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12 Days Holiday Ideas Blog Hop

Day 1 - Gift Guides
Day 2 - Survival Guides
Day 3 - Holiday Kid Activities
Day 4 - Party Games
Day 5 - Holiday Advent Calendar
Day 6 - DIY Wreath
Day 7 - DIY Ornament
Day 8 - Holiday Printables
Day 9 - Christmas Potluck Recipes
Day 10 - Holiday Desserts & Treats (you are here)
Day 11 - Christmas Breakfast Recipes
Day 12 - Christmas Tree Tour

There are several more holiday desserts and treat recipes below from our talented co-hosts on this leg of the 12 Days Of Holiday Ideas Tour.