Pepparkakkor (Swedish Gingersnaps), Gluten-Free

Humpty wants these cookies!

It’s almost Christmas (for those of you who celebrate it)!  And that means I have time to squeak in one or two more Christmas cookie recipes.  I have about eleventy million in my recipe binder, but I’ve been picking and choosing ones that are particularly holiday-appropriate.

Today’s recipe is for pepparkkakor, a Swedish gingersnap cookie traditionally made at this time of year.  This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe shared with by Emily, of the West of the Loop blog.  The recipe comes from Emily’s Swedish grandmother.  Emily and I met a couple of years ago on Canning Across America.  Emily sent us one of the very first essays we posted on the site–about canning with her kids!  It’s a delighful essay–please check it out.

Anyway, in November, I posted a request on Twitter for people’s favorite holiday cookies.  Emily immediately sent this recipe and said she’d appreciate it if I could adapt to gluten-free.  My answer was, “of course!”  This is the type of recipe that falls into one of my favorite categories: family recipes.  I love, love, love family recipes.  There’s some so special about family recipes.  I love to keep family cooking history alive.    Thanks for the lovely recipe, Emily and  Emily’s grandmother!

Pepparkakkor (Swedish Gingersnaps) , Gluten-Free
-adapted from a recipe from Emily Paster
-maked 3-4 dozen, or more, depending the size of your cookies

Ingredients
(note: I cut Emily’s recipe in half)
1/2 cup (1 stick; 4 oz; 115g) unsalted butter (or butter substitute), softened
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) molasses
1 1/2 C + 1/8 C (235g) Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup silvered almonds, chopped (optional)
Note: Emily’s grandmother didn’t use baking soda, so these cookies are on the dense and crunchy side. If you want a bit of a lighter cookie that’s a little less dense and more crisp, add 1 tsp of baking soda to your dry ingredients.  Either way is delicious!

In a small bowl, mix together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt (and baking soda, if using).

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar (you can do this with a mixer or just by hand).  Add the molasses and mix until completely integrated.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until all the ingredients are well integrated.  Add the almonds if using, and mix in well.

Shape the dough into a log that is 2″-2 1/2″ thick.  Wrap log in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours) or overnight or until you need it.

When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Remove your cookie log from the refrigerator.  Unwrap and using a ruler or measuring tape, mark off 1/4″ thick segments.  Cut the log at the marks and put the dough disks on the cookie sheets with 1″ in between each.

Bake at 350 degrees F until cookie looks like it’s a bit darker in color (the dough is already very dark)–about 9-12 minutes.  I baked mine for 10-12 minutes.  Watch them carefully so that they don’t burn.  Remove from oven and place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.  The cookies will become crisp as they cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Note:  If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.

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