Pepper cake or Pipari
The cookie we all love has a long history. As far back as Pharaohs in Egypt, people baked spicy honey cakes that were the food of the gods. With the ancient Greeks and Crusaders, the delicacies arrived in Europe and all the way to Finland. A document from Turku, dating back to 1685, mentions that two barrels of pepper cakes were imported from Germany. The name comes from the fact that in addition to ginger, orange peel and cloves, allspice was added to the dough. Pepparkakor has remained in the Swedish name throughout, but in Finnish it is pipari, not pippurikakku.
Gingerbread recipe from grandma
In our shop, we share with you all a recipe that has been in the family of our owner, Susanna, since the 1940s, which we printed into a dishcloth. Christmas Gingerbread. The recipe stays with you for the whole Christmas baking season and you can clean the flour off the tables – practical, isn’t it? And if you don’t have time to bake, make a nice gift box by gathering the spices and ingredients together and decorating the box with just this recipe sheet. A nice, easy and eco-friendly gift for a neighbour. In the top left-hand corner, there’s space for a cut for the ribbon, which you can make with a sharp knife.
How to bake non-stick dough
Always flour the table before rolling out the dough. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough as well. For the best dough, use marble dough that has rested in the freezer overnight. You can also buy steel and plastic dough rollers, which are hollow inside. You can fill them with cold water and just close the cap carefully. Roll out a thin sheet and take out your most beautiful cookie cutters.
The symbolism of pepper shapes
Today, all kinds of moulds are available, from moomies and poppies to cars and even different breeds of dogs. The symbolism of traditional moulds is disappearing, but did you know that the piggymould has historical roots in Viking sacrificial bread? They were used to wish for wealth and success. Flower moulds, on the other hand, represented a good harvest or fertility. Faith, hope and love are eternal themes with hearts, stars and birds. For us, the bird is also a symbol of peace and is sure to be popular, especially this Christmas.
Mould size challenges the baker
After rolling out the dough sheet, you should position the moulds so that there is no excess dough in between. The only thing to remember here is to put one cookie size on one baking sheet. Otherwise, the small ones will burn and the big ones will not cook enough. So use all the baking sheets and table tops.
How to save electricity
When baking cookies, the baking time is only a few minutes. That’s why it’s a good idea to bake all the cookies first and then heat up the oven. You can also make box cakes or bread in the reheat oven after the cookies are ready. At the very least, it is a good idea to time the oven-roasted root vegetables for the afterglow of the baking evening.
Recycling of waste dough
Nothing eatible should be thrown away. When you have some dough left and all the necessary cookies are baked, you can roll the remaining dough into bars. These can be flattened or patterned on the edges of cookie cutters. This way you get glogie sticks, which can be decorated with sweet melted white chocolate. Salty sticks are made from softened blue cheese.
Gift tips for Christmas parties and Christmas sales
- Make a stack of biscuits, wrap them in cellophane and top with the Anna-Mari West design. Merry Christmas cloth.
- Put the spices in a jar or all the dough ingredients in a pretty basket and on top of the recipe sheet.
- Around the mulled wine bottle in the warm autumn colours Autumn Glögi and a cinnamon stick and a couple of gingerbread cookies to hang on a ribbon.
- Pipes in a box and a wish Let there be Christmas a dishcloth.