These Swedish gingerbread cookies are an annual treat during the holidays in my husband's family. I've had the recipe for decades but never made them until recently. I added my Mother-In-Law's Swedish Pepparkaka Cookies to my baking list this holiday season because sadly we lost her in September and in her honor I wanted to keep the family tradition going.


Welcome to the 5th annual 12 Days of Holiday Ideas event, hosted by Shirley of Intelligent Domestications and Erlene of My Pinterventures. Between Nov. 11th and December 6th there will be hundreds of new ideas shared by over 55 Co-host bloggers!

Go here to see our kick-off collection of Holiday ideas as well as all of this year's talented participating DIY and Foodie Blogs. Download this year's November and December calendars with all of the topics and dates so you can make plans to watch for ideas!

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Mother-in-Law's Swedish Pepparkaka Cookies

The cookies are more commonly known as Pepparkakor but Mr. Frugalista's family always refers to them as Pepparkaka. Peppar meaning pepper and kaka meaning cookie. Apparently, at one time the recipe did include pepper but over the generations, it was eliminated.

The custom was to place a cookie in the palm of your hand and make a wish. Using the index finger or thumb of your other hand, you would tap the cookie in the middle. If it broke into three pieces, your wish would come true.


The shape of the cookies was also symbolic and commonly cut in stars, hearts, men, women, pigs, or goats. The animals symbolizing fertility or mid-winter feast. Heart shapes were thought to make you gentler and kinder. My mother-in-law was a very quiet, unassuming, kind, and gentle woman and so I choose the heart shape to honor her.


Pepparkaka cookies are decorated with white icing piped along the edges but they can be left plain like my mother-in-law preferred them.

I chose to make mine look more festive by giving them a light dusting of powdered sugar. I hope my mother-in-law would approve.


Another cookie that has become part of my holiday baking regime is my Mom's Traditional Shortbread Cookies but with a lavender twist. The recipe has been in my family for generations and when we lost Mom in 2017, I continued the cookie tradition in her memory.

Pepparkaka ingredients

These are the ingredients to make these mouth-watering Swedish Christmas cookies. You'll find the printable recipe card further down in the post.


The cookies are a two-day affair but so worth the wait. You make the dough one day and let it stand in the fridge overnight and bake them the following day.

Helpful tips for baking Pepparkaka 

Wait approximately 10-15 minutes after taking the chilled dough out of the fridge before rolling it because the dough tends to crack.

Dip the cookie cutters in flour first because they have a tendency to stick a bit.

Don't overcrowd the cookie sheet like I did below because the cookies rise quite a bit. Some of my hearts were stuck together but once they were completely cooled I was able to separate them with a quick snap.


These delicious cookies have that gingersnap but are soft on the inside. I promise you will not be able to stop at just one. I love to dip them in coffee or tea.

Can I freeze Pepparkakor cookies?

Yes, you can. In fact, I froze these after they were sprinkled with powdered sugar! I precut several pieces of wax paper to fit my long rectangular plastic Tupperware container that I've had since the late 70s. I placed the cookies in single layers covered with a sheet of wax paper and carefully added the next single layer. I managed to fit all five dozen cookies in four single layers.

I'd be so thankful if you pinned this recipe or shared it with a friend. With gratitude! -Marie



If you have any questions about this cookie recipe, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

As promised, here is the printable recipe card should you want to make these Swedish Pepparkaka Cookies.




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There are several more holiday desserts and treat recipes below from our talented co-hosts on this leg of the 12 Days Of Holiday Ideas Tour. Don't forget to enter the Giveaway at the bottom of this post too. Good Luck!

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