Swedish Gingerbread Cookies: Thin, Snappy, & Holiday Spiced
Swedish gingerbread cookies are commonly eaten during the fall and winter holiday season. They are flavorful, spiced gingerbread crispy cookies often used as the cookie base for gingerbread houses due to their sturdiness and crispiness. The spices in this version aren’t many, but they are pretty heavy. If you like spices, particularly cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and of course black pepper, you should enjoy this variation.
Servings: 40 cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 300 g (2½ cups) all-purpose flour fluffed, scooped, and leveled off if using a measuring cup
- 4 g (1 tsp) baking soda
- 3 g (½ tsp) salt
- 7½ g (3 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 5 g (3 tsp) ground ginger
- 3 g (1½ tsp) ground cardamom
- 3 g (1½ tsp) ground cloves
- 2 g (1 tsp) ground black pepper
- 113 g (8 tbsp) butter softened
- 134 g (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
- 38 ml (2½ tbsp) molasses
- 60 ml (¼ cup / 4 tbsp) whole milk
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting on baked cookies if not icing optional
Optional Icing & Décor:
- 240 g (2 cups) powdered sugar
- 45–60 ml (3-4 tbsp) milk
- food coloring
- edible cookie décor like sprinkles nonpareils, etc.,
Instructions
Day 1: Make the Dough: ~20 minutes
- To a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper. Stir well to combine all ingredients and set aside.
- To a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, add butter and use paddle attachment or hand mixer to blend the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar, molasses, and milk. Blend again until smooth.
- With the machine on low, slowly add the flour mixture. If using a hand mixer, add the flour mixture in two to three stages mixing or stir in between until combined.
- Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a small rectangle or oval and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Store the dough in the fridge overnight up to 3 days.TIP: Storing the dough for hours in the fridge allows time for the spices to meld together producing a well-balanced spice cookie.
Day 2 or Another Day: Roll, Cut, Bake, & Decorate Cookies:
- Remove dough from the fridge and set it on the counter to warm up for about 10 minutes, so it can be manipulated more easily. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190˚C).
- When dough has softened some, place one half on a lightly floured work surface sprinkled with sugar (or use powdered sugar). Use a rolling pin to roll dough to about ⅛ - ¼ -inch thick.
- TIPS: Adding both flour and sugar (or powdered sugar) to a work surface prevents the dough from sticking along with maintaining a sweet exterior. A thinner cookie (⅛- thick dough) will result in an overall crispier cookie. A thicker cookie (¼ -inch dough or larger) will be crispy on the exterior and slightly chewy in the center.
- Use preferred or seasonal cookie cutters of any shape to cut out cookies. Place cookies 1-inch apart on the lined baking sheet.
- Once filled, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be puffed, dry, and have darker brown bottoms.TIPS: Bake the first pan of cookies while rolling and cutting out any remaining dough. For any dough scraps, knead the dough back into a ball and flatten out as before. If any small amount of dough is left from the first dough half, add it to the other dough half, knead, flatten, and cut out more cookies.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
- Once cooled, dust powdered sugar over each cookie or decorate by piping on icing.
Make Icing & Decorate (Optional):
- For one color, add powdered sugar to a small bowl. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach a smooth thick glaze.
- For multiple colors, divide powdered sugar between several bowls and add a smaller amount of milk until desired consistency and add drops of food coloring to reach desired color.
- Use a spoon to spread the icing and cover the cookie completely or use a piping bag to pipe on icing in specific designs. Then, add sprinkles or other edible décor.
Video
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
Since these flavors enhance with time, bake a batch, and store them covered in your pantry until you're ready to serve them or give them away as gifts. It goes without saying that the holiday cookie platter or a cookie exchange works with this cookie. Don’t forget the gift bags! Place a few of these cookies in a decorative holiday cellophane bag, add a bow, attach the recipe; voila, you have a holiday gift!
Baking Suggestions:
Consider baking only a few cookies first to ensure the thickness and crispiness are appropriate for your needs. If not, adjust by rolling the dough thicker or thinner and baking a minute more or a minute less.
Icing Suggestions:
For additional flavors, add clear vanilla extract or other like almond or orange extracts to the icing. Test a cookie with the icing to determine if additional liquid or sugar should be added to adjust consistency. Allow icing to harden before attempting to stack the cookies. Use a small piece of wax paper between cookies when stacking to prevent sticking icing. If you do not have a piping bag, place icing in a zip top bag, cut off the tip of the bag, and use the zip top bag like a piping bag in squeezing the icing onto the cookies.