Black Pepper Cookies

I was a little afraid of this recipe, having not tried to rival my Swedish mother’s “Pepparkakor,” or gingerbread cookies, prior to this baking. I’m happy to report the black pepper cookies were a terrifically successful variation on this Swedish classic. Both the taste and the aftertaste have a nice spicy tone. I missed the cloves of my mother’s version just a bit, but liked the inclusion of black pepper and cocoa powder. The dough came together with ease. After chilling, I found I needed to bring the temperature up a bit to avoid cracking while I rolled it out, but once it was a bit warmer, it was easy to work with. I baked for 10 to 12 minutes and flipped the trays halfway. Bake only until there is just the smallest amount of golden brown visible: these cookies are not intended to be browned like butter cookies. For a slightly less crisp cookie, I think a minute or so less baking would still provide authentic texture, without veering toward crunchy. Although the gingerbread cookies of my childhood were thinner and more delicate than these, the sturdiness is a positive feature, allowing complicated shapes to be made without undue fear of breakage. And they could potentially also travel well, a real plus for the winter holiday season.

For extra-precision, especially with detailed shapes, it’s a good idea to place the cookie sheet in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, and then place it directly in the oven; the cookies will retain their shape better this way. This is a great cookie to pierce and hang, as described, since it is sturdy enough to hold up to treatment as a decoration. I would never ice a gingerbread cookie, but I will decorate a bit with currants or almonds when I roll out and bake the rest of the dough.

The dough is a long-term keeper: simply wrap well (I use a double layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of heavy duty aluminum foil) and refrigerate. Then remove when ready to bake a tray or two — or more! This recipe will make a lot of cookies: how many depends on the size of the cutters used. The dough scraps can be re-rolled over and over again until they are no longer rollable. In the case of my test recipe, I re-rolled one piece of dough four times with success and only stopped re-rolling it because the scraps became too small. Not only will the dough keep well, but the baked cookies will also keep well. I remember my mother baking gingerbread cookies among the first batches of the holiday season, then storing the cookies in very tightly sealed cookie tins. In the unlikely case there are any left over when ringing in the New Year, they will still be fresh and tasty if carefully stored. And, though Americans see these cookies nearly exclusively as a holiday treat, they are not only a Swedish classic but also a Swedish standby. My mother used them as her year-round go to, in the same way Americans might make sugar or butter cookies, or chocolate chips. In Sweden, while the shapes might change seasonally, gingerbread cookies are never out of season. I needn’t have feared this recipe. Quite the contrary, it brought back lots of terrific childhood memories — memories of my kitchen and my mother and lots of lots of holiday festivities and Swedish traditions, all floating through my mind as the lovely aroma wafted through my kitchen.

These are excellent all-around spice cookies. The pepper gives them just enough kick, but not so much that my (fairly picky) toddler would reject them. The black pepper cookies are crisp and sturdy enough to be mailed or made into ornaments, and they keep very well. A note on the color: owing to the cocoa powder I used, my cookie dough was quite dark, and the baked cookies were almost a mahogany color. I settled on a 12-minute baking time. The yield is indeed a lot. Half of the recipe yielded seven dozen 2 1/2″ round cookies, including rerolled scraps.

I was in search of the PERFECT unusual, cookie to take to my first Christmas exchange. I was to be the first male attendee in a decade-old affair, so I needed to “hit one out of the park,” so to speak. I needed twelve pounds of cookies, so I rolled the dough into one-inch ropes and cut them into one-inch knots and after baking I merely shook them in confectioners’ sugar. They were wonderful. Trust me, if you enjoy a great spice cookie, look no further.