Making Swedish pepparkakor—or gingerbread cookies—is a holiday tradition in our family. I entered these at the Iowa State Fair and took home a blue ribbon.—Kathleen Olesen, Des Moines, IA,
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- FROSTING:
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 5 tablespoons water
- Red Hots, optional
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Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar, shortening, vanilla and enough water to reach spreading consistency. Decorate cookies with frosting and, if desired, Red Hots.
Freeze option: Transfer wrapped disks to a resealable plastic freezer bag; freeze. To use, thaw dough in refrigerator overnight or until soft enough to roll. Prepare, bake and decorate cookies as directed.
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Nutrition Facts
1 cookie: 201 calories, 9g fat (4g saturated fat), 19mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate (19g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.
