Baking Through Fika: Pepparkakor (Gingerbread Cookies)

, , , , , , , 0 Comments

When I first bought the Fika cookbook and saw this recipe I knew we’d be making these for Christmas.  But as all things seem to go in my house, I almost forgot to make them!  Here they are just in time.

Pepparkakor-11

I thought it was going to be this perfect afternoon with my two older kids.  All laughter and smiles, Christmas music playing in the background, my little guy playing happily in his high chair watching us and not fussing.  But once I started getting everything together for our cookie decorating I was reminded that rarely does that perfect experience you’ve created in your head actually come to fruition.  Not only is that just the way life goes, but kids are just unpredictable.  My daughter was having a longer than normal nap, and if we wanted to get finished before dinner we had to go on without her.  My son was just impatient with the process of getting it all ready.  I had the cookies made ahead of time, but had to make frosting and gather sprinkles, and then I had to explain to him what to do when all he wanted to do was do it!  A few times while I was getting everything set up he said, “I think I’ll just go do legos/play outside/get my cars instead, mom.”

Thankfully he did sit down with me for a good while and decorate.  And he liked it! He was even bummed when we ran out of cookies to decorate.  I’d love to instill, if not a passion for cooking and baking, at the very least a good understanding of the kitchen in my kids. I recently started participating in Kids Chefs Club.  Every month you receive a cooking tool, a card with activities and recipes, and access to online content to help your child learn about being safe in the kitchen, kitchen tools, nutrition and basic kitchen skills.  The first month my son got the apron he’s wearing in the pictures below.  Every time he helps me cook he wants to put it on.  We are going on our third month.  My kids’ desire to help me with meals has increased a great deal.  That has been both very exciting and very challenging.

Pepparkakor-7

Cooking with kids takes longer and is messier than cooking on your own.  It also takes a good bit of patience and a great deal of letting go!  I like control in the kitchen, so letting my kids help has been tough, but really good for me, and it’s been great for them.  If you’re interested in trying Kids Chefs Club here is a discount code that will give you 20% off any membership plan, either 3, 6 or 12 months.  It’s valid until the end of the year, December 31, 2015!  Just use HolidayFriends15 at checkout.  If you need a last minute gift, this would be a great one.

Pepparkakor-8

Now about these cookies!  They are spiced wonderfully and I really enjoy the crunch they have…if you bake them right 😉  I forget how much I love cardamom sometimes, but then I notice it in something and am reminded of how warm and unique and wonderful it is.  These take a little time and patience.  Instead of simply creaming butter with sugar to begin, you must boil together sugar, molasses and water which you then mix into the butter. After cooling it down, you make the dough.  Then you have to chill the dough for at least 24 hours.  If I’m not in a time crunch, this type of recipe is good for me since I often don’t have the freedom to complete a recipe start to finish without interruption from the kids.  So spreading it out over a couple days was no problem!  I wasn’t stressed thinking, “Oh! I have to finish those cookies!” I was able to finish part of the recipe and think, “Now I just have to wait.  The recipe says I can take a break.  Thank, you recipe.”

My first batch was the best.  Working with a little dough at a time (since it warms up and gets soft pretty quickly) roll and cut your cookies. Bake for 4-6 minutes at 400°F, “but don’t overbake!” says the recipe. I did 5 minutes and they were a teensiest bit dark but good.  My next batch I did for 4 and a half minutes.  They were soft coming out of the oven and I just thought they’d set up nicely after they cooled.  So I did 4 and a half minutes for the rest of them.  After the first batch they did not get that nice crunch that pepparkakor should have. They still tasted great, but were on the soft side.  I tried to bake them more after they’d cooled with not much luck.  Now I know that while overbaking is bad, so is underbaking.  You basically need perfect baking time.  Good luck!  I’d rather have them a little overbaked (but not burnt) to be honest, nice and crunchy.  But that’s just me.

Pepparkakor

Pepparkakor-2

Pepparkakor-5

Pepparkakor-3

Pepparkakor-4

To decorate I used royal icing so that it would harden completely.  It isn’t the tastiest, but you get mostly spice from the cookie and a simple sweet crunch from the icing.  This recipe is what I used.  It’s more than you need, and you will have to add some water to make it more pipe-able.  Just a teaspoon at a time until you get it where you want it.

I’ve seen so many insanely beautiful holiday cookies all over blogs and on Instagram lately that I was feeling like I’d better do something awesome.  But there’s no joy in trying to do something just as or more awesome as other people.  So we had fun with these and didn’t worry about all those other people.  Enjoy and have fun with these!

Pepparkakor-12

Pepparkakor

From FIKA

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 1/2 ounces butter cut into pieces
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon (equal to 1 1/2 teaspoons) ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking soda
  • 3 cups flour plus more for rolling

Directions

  1. Combine sugar, molasses and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from the heat and add in the butter, stir to melt completely.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.
  2. Mix flour and the rest of the dry ingredients together.  In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix to combine.  Place dough in a plastic bag and chill for 24-48 hours.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°F
  4. Work with a handful of dough at a time (return what you’re not using to the fridge) and roll out on a floured surface, cut desired shapes and move to a cookie sheet.
  5. Bake for 4-6 minutes, until cookies begin to brown on the edges.

Swedish Spritz and Christmas Cookie Trays

, , , , , 0 Comments

While I love this time of year I must admit that it stresses me out!  I start to get bogged down in the to-do lists and parties and gifts and travel arrangements and forget to savor the season and really focus on Christ and the miracle of his birth and the wonder of it all!  I’ve been trying to reinforce with my kids that Christmas isn’t just presents, Santa, cookies and Jingle Bells, but I’m not being the best example by stressing out about all of those things.  Does anyone else have this problem?!  Any advice on how to find balance?

Today is the last day of preschool before Christmas break and I’ve tried this year to keep things simple for teacher gifts.  A cookie tray and a gift card to one of their favorite stores.

Cookie Tray-2

All of the cookies on this tray can be made ahead of time and frozen for at least a couple of weeks which makes them great for the craziness of this time of year.

Here is the link for the Molasses Cookies and here is the Rosemary Pecan Shortbread.  Both of these are wonderfully spiced and amazingly delicious.  My husband does not like sweets and the molasses cookies are some of his favorites.

Cookie Tray

And here is the Spritz recipe!  It’s a family recipe that my mom, aunt and grandmother used.  These are straightforward butter cookies.  If you don’t have a cookie press you could maybe roll them in to balls and then roll them in sugar, but I haven’t tried that before.  Don’t be scared of a cookie press, though!  My mother in law passed down to me the one pictured below a few years ago and I just now worked up the courage to use it.  I wish I’d not waited so long!

20151208_230608935_iOS

A few tips:

  1. Use an ungreased cookie sheet!  I used parchment for my first batch, which was a mistake.  The dough didn’t stick to the parchment, it just stayed on the press!  Very frustrating.  There is enough butter in these that sticking shouldn’t be an issue 🙂
  2. Watch these carefully in the oven.  If they burn they’re just not very good.
  3. Place the red hots on the cookie in such a way that they’re not too close to the edge.  If they get too much heat from the metal of the pan they’ll melt.

SWEDISH SPRITZ

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • coloring (optional)
  • red hots or sprinkles

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F
  2. Cream butter and sugar together thoroughly.  Add in the egg and extracts and beat well.
  3. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together, then add to the butter mixture and beat until combined.  At this point you can color some of the dough if you want to.  The green trees have always been a favorite of my family!
  4. Fill cookie press with dough and fit with a plate.  Force dough out according to the directions for your press on to an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.  Press red hots into cookies if using.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes.  You may need to rotate them if you oven bakes unevenly.
  6. Cool and serve.  These freeze very well.

Baking Through Fika: Toffee Cookies

, , , , 0 Comments

This always happens.  After Halloween things just get a little nuts and before I know it it’s Christmas!  Anyone else feeling like that?!  In a mere 4 weeks we’ll be ringing in 2016.  Crazy.

I’ve been slacking off a little on the blog and on this Fika project.  After a couple of mishaps I got a little frustrated, so I wasn’t as excited about continuing and possibly encountering failure yet again.  And to be honest I wasn’t expecting much from this simple cookie.

Toffe Cookies-3

But these unassuming cookies are quite good and something I see myself making again, especially if I need to whip up dessert in a hurry.  These are great with a cup of coffee or tea (of course they’re included in a book called Fika!) but would also make a nice addition to a cookie platter.  They freeze nicely, so you could make them ahead of time and take them out when you need them.

Since the ingredients are so few the kind of vanilla you use is going to make a difference.  I’ve been partial to this Watkins Clear Vanilla lately, but it isn’t the same as pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, both of which would be terrific.  You could add a touch of almond extract if you were feeling adventurous or play around with all kinds of extracts really…maybe peppermint and then dip these in chocolate?  I might have a weekend project to work on…

I wasn’t sure about why they were called toffee cookies at first.  But the flavor is rich and buttery like toffee.  So I guess the name is fitting.

I made these twice thinking the first time I flattened the logs of dough too much and they spread more than they should have resulting in a pancake-like cookie log.  The next time I chilled the logs and hardly flattened them at all.  There was some change, enough that I’d still chill and flatten less, but not a huge difference that I’d say you absolutely MUST chill the dough.

Toffe Cookies-2

These really are quick, simple and delicious.  This would even be a great cookie to make with young kids.  Put them to work measuring, mixing, rolling and cutting.  I sliced these with a pizza cutter which made it a quick and easy task.  I don’t know about your kids, but mine love the idea of the pizza cutter and might get a little carried away with it so I’d have to do that job myself 🙂

Toffe Cookies-5

Toffee Cookies

Adapted ever so slightly from Fika

Ingredients

  • 1 stick of butter, softened slightly
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup in a mixing bowl and beat until thoroughly combined.
  3. Add in flour, salt, baking powder and extract and beat until it the dough together.
  4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 3 equal-sized pieces.  Roll each into a rope about as long as the baking sheet and about as thick as your thumb and carefully transfer to the baking sheet.  At this point you can chill the dough on the baking sheet for half an hour if you have the time.  If not, then just go ahead and put them in the oven.
  5. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they begin to brown.  Transfer the entire piece of parchment to a cutting surface and using a large knife or pizza cutter slice the warm cookies on an angle into pieces 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  Let cool and enjoy.