Swedish Christmas Cookies - A method To Make Pepparkakor

Christmas is a extra time in Scandinavia and Sweden in particular. Tradition and inheritance are extremely foremost to Swedish culture and there are many traditions which are widely upheld. In most former Swedish homes, the smell of home baked foods and desserts fill the air at Christmas time. The Swedes easily love to cook and for many, the holiday season and the Christmas Eve celebration is the highlight of their year.

One recipe, which is very favorite in Sweden, is for a cookie called the Pepparkakor.

Cookie Recipes

Pepparkakor, easily translated, means "pepper cookies" but I've yet to see a recipe that included any pepper. They are similar to the American gingersnap cookie but they are ordinarily thinner, crisper and smoother in texture.

Many refer to this cookie as a "ginger thin" and they are ordinarily called "gingernuts" in the United Kingdom. Also their great taste, pepparkakor cookies are used as Christmas decorations as well. They are often shaped like little men or women, pigs, hearts or goats. If left round, they are decorated with frosting to give them more character.

Using a drinking straw, you can originate a small hole in the pepparkakor cookie prior to baking. After the cookie has cooled, tie the cookie to the Christmas tree with a beautiful white or red colored ribbon.

Swedish Christmas Cookies or Pepparkakor

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies (depending on shape/size)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

8 ounces butter

2/3 cup water

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg

1 tablespoon light (or dark) corn syrup

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Preparation:

The dough should be well-chilled before baking. You can whether start a day early and chill overnight, or start making ready 1-2 hours before the cookies will be needed.

In a heavy pot, combine the molasses, sugars, spices and water. Turn the heat up and bring the compound to a boil while stirring frequently.

Add the butter to the compound (in pads or chunks) and remove the pot from the heat. Continue stirring the compound until the butter has melted and the compound is uniform in consistency. Pour the hot compound into a large mixing bowl. In someone else bowl, combine the flour, corn syrup, egg and baking soda and whisk until well-blended. combine with the hot compound and stir until the dough has formed. Place the dough on a lightly floured board and knead for 1-2 minutes. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill until the dough is firm (1-2 hours or overnight).

On a lightly floured board, roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch in thickness (the thinner, the crisper) and whether cut into shapes or make round cookies about 2 inches in diameter. Put the cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown. remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.

About the only thing left to do is to enjoy these breathtaking Swedish Christmas cookies with the ones you love... Enjoy!

Swedish Christmas Cookies - A method To Make Pepparkakor

Meringues: Weeping Meringues and a No Fail method for Meringue

Someone recently emailed us with a inquire about meringues: how to keep them from weeping. I asked the two experts that I know, our pastry chef, Marne and my mother. Marne's first inclination was that she might not be beating the whites enough, therefor the sugar crystals are not fully incorporated causing it to weep. My mum automatically assumed that the eggs were not a room temperature when she started. So we put out collective heads and books together and came up with the following:

Tips for Meringue and a recipe:

Cookie Recipes For Kids

1. Detach eggs while they are cold.

2. Allow whites to come to room temperature (always) since that is the temp they need to be beaten at to incorporate more air.

3. Use a small deep bowl and make sure the beaters are very clean (any grease will interfere with the beating) the whites will increase 2 1/2 - 4 times their customary volume. A rotary hand mixer will make a soft meringue but you will need an electric mixer to make a hard meringue.

4. When the whites are beaten to the foamy stage, add salt and cream of tartar (1 tea to each 1 cup beaten egg whites) cream if tartar helps it reach maximum volume and increases the stability.

5. The amount of sugar to add depends on the type of meringue: 2 T sugar to each egg white for soft meringues (toppings) and 4-5 T per white for hard meringues (shells). Beat in sugar gradually, 1 T at a time until no grains of sugar can be detected. The sugar is added when the whites have reached soft peaks; if added too early, meringue will not reach its full volume.

6. When spreading meringue, make sure it is spread over the entire exterior so that the filling is wholly covered and the meringue is attached to the edge of the dish. This prevents shrinkage of the meringue while baking.

7. To forestall weeping, make sure you bake them properly. Bake a soft meringue in a preheated 350 oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meringue, or until golden brown. Cool at room temperature. After it reaches room temp, you can refrigerate.

Here is an method to keep your meringue from weeping and it will hold up a a few days.

for a 9" pie: 4 eggs at room temp, 6 T sugar, 1/48 tea salt, 1/2 tea vanilla

Put egg whites and sugar in mixing bowl and place the bowl in a pan of hot water. Stir constantly, until whites feel warm, then add the salt and vanilla. Remove the bowl from the hot water and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff, firm and shiny. Spread on filling, taking care to cover and touching edges to seal. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until delicately browned.

Allow to cool before cutting or chilling.

Meringues: Weeping Meringues and a No Fail method for Meringue

Cookie method - Italian Butter Cookies

Italian butter cookies are very appetizing cookies. It is one of the favourite cookie formula that everyone likes. Each formula are prepared differently by distinct persons. But i made this cookie very precisely because i love this cookie very much and i love to eat it. Kids enjoy and love to dip this cookies into chocolate and sprinkles.

The assorted items that are required to put in order this Italian Butter Cookies are:

Cookie For Kids

Flour - 4 cups Sugar - 1 cup Orange rind - two and a half tea spoon Rum Egg Yolks beaten - 4 Unsalted Butter cut into pieces - 1 1/2 cups Egg White Beaten - 1

The assorted steps for making ready the butter cookie are:

Step 1:

Mix flour, sugar and orange rind together.

Step 2:

Add egg yolks and rum together in the former composition and mix it fully after adding each item.

Step 3:

Now cut the butter into flour mix and then add the pastry blender. Now get the crumbly and then knead into a dough.

Step 4:

Now roll the dough on the board. The board should be 1/4 inch thick. Then cut the dough into shapes. Now keep the dough on cookie sheet. Fill it with egg white and then the cookies should be baked. The cookies should be baked at 350F for a time of colse to 15 to 20 minutes.

After it is cooled, the cookie should be dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkles. Now the tasty italian butter cookie is ready to eat.

Cookie method - Italian Butter Cookies