PEPPARKAKORS

PEPPARKAKORS image

Yield 5 dozen, approximately

Number Of Ingredients 11

2 scant T baking soda
1 c butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
2 T white corn syrup
3 c all-purpose flour
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground cardamom
1 t ground clove
(You'll also need a rolling pin of some kind, cookie cutters, sheet pans, and cooling racks of some sort.)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, but do not cream them to a lighter color. Stir in the egg and corn syrup, then gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. If the dough is too sticky to handle at this point, gather it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it for at least an hour. When it feels ready, cut it into manageable sections and roll out thinly -- less than one-eighth an inch. (Keep unused portions of dough covered.) Cut out and place on ungreased baking sheets. (We decorate these with colored sugar in my family, but that's purely optional.) You may re-roll scraps of dough, but be aware that they'll be a little tougher due to the additional flour and handling. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, or until the centers are just set. Because of their thinness, they overbake easily. When you remove them from the oven, allow them to rest on the pan for a few moments, then remove to cooling racks. They'll crisp up as they cool.