Pepperkaker (Nordic Gingerbread Cookies)

Name: Pepperkaker (Nordic Gingerbread Cookies)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 13 h
Total time: 14 h
Cuisine: Scandinavia
Ingredients: 150 g (10½ tbsp) unsalted butter; 150 g (¾ cup) sugar; 100 g (⅓ cup) golden or dark syrup, or half molasses, half honey; 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) heavy (double) cream; 8 g (1½ tbsp) ground ginger; 8 g (1 tbsp) ground cinnamon; 4 g (2 tsp) ground cloves; 2 g (1 tsp) ground cardamom; 1 g (½ tsp) ground black pepper; 5 g (1 tsp) baking soda; 1 pinch fine sea salt; 375 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling; 1 egg white (about 30 g), or use pasteurized egg white; 175 g (1½ cups) powdered (icing) sugar, sifted; 2 ml (½ tsp) lemon juice

Thin, crisp, deeply spiced Nordic-style biscuits

Makes: about 80 cookies (6 cm / 2½ in)
Hands-on: 1 h
Total: 14 h
Level: Some skill

These are the thin, snappy spiced biscuits baked across Scandinavia every December, rolled out and cut into hearts, stars and figures. The dough needs a night in the fridge, then rolls out beautifully thin for cutting, and the baked biscuits keep for weeks.

Ingredients

Dough

150 gunsalted butter (10½ tbsp)
150 gsugar (¾ cup)
100 ggolden or dark syrup (⅓ cup)or half molasses, half honey
100 mlheavy (double) cream (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)
8 gground ginger (1½ tbsp)
8 gground cinnamon (1 tbsp)
4 gground cloves (2 tsp)
2 gground cardamom (1 tsp)
1 gground black pepper (½ tsp)
5 gbaking soda (1 tsp)
1 pinchfine sea salt
375 gall-purpose flour (3 cups)plus extra for rolling

Icing (optional)

1egg white (about 30 g)or use pasteurized egg white
175 gpowdered (icing) sugar, sifted (1½ cups)
2 mllemon juice (½ tsp)

Diet: Vegetarian
Allergens: gluten, milk, egg
Origin: Scandinavia
Season: Winter

Method

In a saucepan, warm the butter, sugar and syrup over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth, 3–4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and spices. Cool for 15 minutes until lukewarm. 20 min
Whisk the baking soda and salt into the flour. Add to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon to a smooth, soft dough. It will be soft and sticky; that's fine.
Divide in two, flatten into discs, wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours, until firm. 10 h
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line baking sheets with baking paper. Take out one disc at a time and let it soften for 5 minutes. 5 min
Roll the dough on a lightly floured counter or between two sheets of baking paper as thin as you can, about 2 mm. Cut out shapes and lift them onto the sheets with a palette knife, 1 cm apart. Reroll the scraps once, chilling them if they get soft.
Bake one sheet at a time for 5–7 minutes, until a shade darker and just firm at the edges. They burn quickly at the end, so watch the last minute. They crisp as they cool. 6 min
Cool on the paper for 2 minutes, then on a rack. For icing, whisk the egg white with the powdered sugar and lemon juice until thick and smooth, pipe onto completely cool cookies and leave to dry for 2 hours. 2 h

Why it works

Melting the sugar and syrup with butter and cream makes a smooth, warm base that the spices bloom in, releasing their aromatic oils. The dough is soft at first but firms dramatically as the butter sets in the fridge, which is what lets you roll it paper-thin. Baking soda reacts with the mildly acidic syrup and also breaks down in the oven's heat, filling the dough with fine bubbles, and its alkalinity speeds browning, so the biscuits bake crisp, porous and dark rather than chewy.

Common mistakes

Skipping the overnight chill. The dough is too soft to roll thin.
Rolling too thick, which gives soft, cakey biscuits. Aim for 2 mm.
Walking away during baking; 30 seconds turns them from dark gold to bitter.

Variations

Gingerbread house: Roll to 4 mm, cut out walls and roof from paper templates and bake 10–12 minutes; glue together with thick icing.
Orange pepper: Add the finely grated zest of 1 orange and an extra ½ tsp black pepper.

Make ahead and storage

The dough keeps a week in the fridge or 3 months frozen. Baked cookies keep 4–6 weeks in an airtight container.

Notes

Fan oven: 180°C (350°F). The icing uses raw egg white; use pasteurized egg white if serving to pregnant women, young children or anyone vulnerable.