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Swedish · Scandinavian

Swedish gingerbread biscuits (pepparkakor)

Vegetarian

Pepparkakor

Wafer-thin, snappy Swedish Christmas biscuits spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, made from a syrup dough that rests overnight before rolling.

Swedish gingerbread biscuits (pepparkakor) is a Swedish sweet from Sweden, ready in about 13 hours 45 minutes and made with golden syrup and ground ginger. It serves 80 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
45 min
Cook
30 min
Rest
30 min
Total
13 h 45 min
Serves
80
Level
Easy
Calories
45

Includes resting the dough in the fridge overnight (about 12 hours).

Ingredients

80 biscuits

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Gently heat the butter, sugar (opens in a new tab), syrup and spices in a saucepan (opens in a new tab), stirring, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat, stir in the water and leave to cool to lukewarm.

  2. Step 2

    Mix the flour with the bicarbonate of soda (opens in a new tab), then stir in the syrup mixture to make a soft, smooth dough. Wrap and refrigerate overnight — it firms up and the flavour deepens.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C (fan 180 °C). Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, roll it out on a floured surface as thin as possible — about 2 mm — and cut out hearts, stars, pigs or gingerbread people.

    Dough being rolled out with a rolling pin
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Bake on lined trays for 5–6 minutes until a shade darker and fragrant. They burn quickly, so watch the last minute.

  5. Step 5

    Cool on the tray for a minute (they're soft while hot), then on a rack until crisp. Decorate with piped icing if you like.

About this dish

Origin
Sweden · Well documentedThin spiced ginger biscuits are made all over Scandinavia and northern Europe at Christmas.Also popular in Norway, Finland, DenmarkMore food from Sweden
Dish
Snack · Sweets & confectionery
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
aromatic / warmly spiced, sweet, peppery
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb
With the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead · Child-friendly
Cook more with
Golden syrup · Ground ginger · Unsalted butter · Sugar · Cinnamon · Cloves
Techniques
Baking

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom unsalted butter
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

45 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 11 g · recipe makes 80

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 5%
  • Carbohydrate 63%
  • Fat 31%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy45 kcal402 kcal
Protein0.6 g5.5 g
Carbohydrate7.3 g64.6 g
Net carbohydrate7 g62.4 g
Sugars2.8 g25 g
Added sugars2.9 g25.6 g
Fibre0.2 g2.1 g
Fat1.6 g14.1 g
Saturated fat1 g8.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol4 mg36 mg
Sodium17 mg154 mg
Salt equivalent0 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
9 mg
Calcium
3 mg
Iron
0.3 mg
Magnesium
2 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
13 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
16 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: icing sugar.
  • Golden syrup: Cane syrup (FDC 167743) used as a stand-in for golden syrup (partially inverted refined cane-sugar syrup).
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Roll the dough between sheets of baking paper to get it really thin without extra flour.

Common mistakes

  • Rolling thick — pepparkakor should be thin and snappy, not soft.

Serve with

  • With glögg-style warm spiced juice, or with blue cheese as Swedes often do.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 weeks in an airtight tin.

Variations

  • Gingerbread house: Roll the dough 4 mm thick, cut walls and roof panels and bake 10–12 minutes until firm.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 45 min

    Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

  2. Rest · about 12 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 30 min at 200 °C

    Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

  4. Cool · about 30 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 13 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Cracked or domed top

    Likely causes

    • Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
    • Too much leavening
    • Overmixed batter

    What to do

    • Lower the oven 10–15 °C
    • Use the exact leavening amount
    • Fold just until combined
  • Dry or crumbly

    Likely causes

    • Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
    • Over-baked
    • Too little fat or sugar

    What to do

    • Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
    • Check 5 minutes early
    • Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

Reviews & corrections

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