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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Holiday baking has commenced! Swedish Gingerbread

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I feel like I was just saying last year, “I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving!!” Well..it’s been a whole year since then and again I’m saying, “I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving!!” But it is and it’s time to get into the holiday spirit! My favorite thing to do in preparation for the holidays is to bake! There are several great things I like to bake and during the holidays I love gifting sweet things from the oven.

One of my very favorites is Pepparkakor, or Swedish gingerbread/ginger thins. I am part Swedish but don’t really have any traditions from that side of the family so a few years ago I found an authentic recipe{so authentic it’s in the metric system} and started baking!

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Pepparkakor is perfect kick off to holiday baking. Everyone in the house knows what’s going on in that kitchen because it smells so delicious and spicy. It smells like Christmas! Pepparkakor is full of spices like cloves, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cardamom, brown sugar, and molasses. 

When I was in high school I worked for Ben & Jerry’s. During the holidays we had Festivus Ice Cream, which was delicious{and hilarious}!! This dough smells like what that ice cream tastes like. Unfortunately Ben & Jerry’s no longer makes Festivus so if you had it and loved it you should make these cookies!

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The evolution of our Pepparkakor dough. It takes a LOT of flour to mix up this dough. Once you mix it up you separate it into small batches, wrap in cellophane and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. It will get harder and a little less sticky once it cools and sets.

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When you’re ready to start rolling and cutting your cookies be sure to have a bag of flour at hand. I generally use at least 4 cups just to flour the surface, roller, and cookie cutters. This dough is STICKY! I also have to roll and scrape several times per half batch to get the right consistency and because the cut pieces tear or stick to the surface. BUT it’s totally worth it because of how delicious and fragrant these treats are.

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Into the oven they go! Mmmmm. Smells good!

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Did I mention everyone loves them! Why hello there!

What are your favorite things to bake or cook during the holidays?

If you would like to make your own Pepparkakor you can find the recipe here.

Happy a bright day and happy baking!

Bright Girl

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