Pepparkakor – Swedish Ginger Cookies

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These Swedish Ginger Cookies (Pepparkakor) are soft and lightly sweet with subtle notes of warming ginger and cinnamon. The perfect pairing with a cup of coffee or glass of milk after dinner 🙂

One of my earliest memories from my childhood is of 5-year-old me sitting on the couch one night drinking Sleepytime Tea and eating storebought Swedish pepparkakor cookies with my dad.

After all these years I realized…”Hey! I’m part-Scandinavian. I’m sure we have a family recipe card for pepparkakor somewhere!” So I looked through our Norwegian Christmas recipes like Krumkaker and Almond Skillet Cake, and lo and behold, we had a family recipe for pepparkakor! …(“pepperkaker” in Norwegian).

So now I am enjoying making my own homemade pepparkakor cookies, and I do believe I like them even better than the storebought ones 🙂

The Norwegian spelling of this ginger cookie is “Pepperkaker”, and the Swedish spelling is “Pepparkakor” (which is what I’m using in this post). Any way you spell it, this soft ginger cookie is a staple Scandinavian Christmas cookie that can also be enjoyed year-round.

Why You’ll Love Pepparkakor

• Light – Because pepparkakor is not a decadent cookie, it truly sits light in your stomach…meaning you can enjoy a few in one sitting. I even find the little bit of gingery-ness to be soothing on my stomach after dinner.
• Gingery and Cinnamony – These Swedish Ginger Cookies are not too spicy…the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves are subtle and add to the sweetness of the cookie.
• Make fun shapes! – While Pepparkakor are often baked in circle shapes, the whimsical child in me finds the pepparkakor to be WAY more delicious when they are in the shapes of hearts, stars, or Christmas bells 🙂 I show you how below!

Tips for Making Pepparkakor

• BAKE TIME – Pepparkakor are often baked until crisp, but I like to keep mine soft. They crisp up a little more as they cool as well. Bake them to your preference!
  • For Soft Pepparkakor: Bake 8-12 minutes
  • For Crispier Pepparkakor: Bake 12-15 minutes
• Pressing the Pepparkakor – Use a sugared glass bottom to press the balls of dough flat on the baking sheet. I find that touching the glass bottom into the mixing bowl of dough first gives the sugar something to stick to.
• How to Make Cookie Cutter Shapes – This Pepparkakor dough is too soft to be rolled out, so you have to cut out each shape individually.
  • Press one of the balls of dough down flat with your fingers until large enough to fit your cookie cutter. Then use your cookie cutter to cut out the shape. Excess dough from around the edges.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. softened butter (I use salted butter)
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Ways to Enjoy Pepparkakor

These Swedish Ginger Cookies are light, cinnamony/gingery, and comforting. They are the perfect sweet treat with coffee, tea, or a glass of milk after dinner or for a bedtime snack.

Add this Swedish Ginger Cookie recipe to your holiday cookie platter along with other Scandinavian Christmas favorites like Krumkaker, Almond Skillet Cake, and Buttery Oatmeal Cookies. These recipes are absolutely delicious and ALWAYS a hit 🙂

How to Make Pepparkakor

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add in the egg, and beat until incorporated.

Add the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and honey. Mix well.

Add in the flour and mix a soft dough comes together.

For Circular Pepparkakor

1. Roll the dough into 1.5″ balls and roll each ball in a dish of granulated sugar.
2. Place the dough balls on the cookie sheet and flatten with a sugared glass bottom to approximately 1/4″ thickness (you can make them thicker or thinner…it’s up to you!). NOTE* – You can also use your fingers to flatten the dough if the glass bottom isn’t working for you.

For Cookie Cutter Shapes

The pepparkakor dough is too soft to be rolled out. Here’s how to turn these cookies into fun shapes 🙂

1. Roll the dough into 1.5-2″ balls ( depending on the size of your cookie cutter) and roll each ball in a dish of granulated sugar.
2. Place the dough balls on the cookie sheet and flatten with a sugared glass bottom to approximately 1/4″ thickness or big enough to fit your cookie cutter (you can make them thicker or thinner…it’s up to you!). NOTE*– You can also use your fingers to flatten the dough if the glass bottom isn’t working for you.
3. Press your cookie cutter into the dough, and remove the excess dough from the outside.

After a few tries, you’ll figure out how large to make your dough balls to fit the cookie cutter you are using.

Baking the Pepparkakor

Bake for 8-12 minutes for soft pepparkakor. If you prefer a crisper cookie, bake for 12-15 minutes.

Let cool completely on a cooking rack, then store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

More Scandinavian Recipes

• Scandinavian Almond Skillet Cake
• Krumkaker – Norwegian Christmas Cookies
• Buttery Oatmeal Cookies

Shop this Post

• Nordic Ware baking sheet
• electric hand mixer with storage compartment
• set of mixing bowls
• Christmas cookie cutters

Hey! I’m so glad you’re here. Please leave a review and give this recipe 5 stars if you try it and love it!

Wherever you find yourself today…take time to nourish yourself! — body, mind, and soul <3

Warmly, Caroline