Saffron buns and gingerbread biscuits
Swedish Christmas is not Christmas without lussekatter and pepparkakor.
The sweet yeast rolls that Swedes serve during the Christmas season are flavoured with golden saffron and dark raisins and often shaped into a special kind of saffron buns called lussekatter (‘Lucia cats’).
The Swedish-style gingerbread biscuits are called pepparkakor. They are cut in the shape of little men, women, pigs, hearts or other figures, and are often decorated with frosting. Children often help build little gingerbread houses to celebrate Christmas.
Swedes often serve saffron buns and gingerbread biscuits with glögg, Swedish mulled wine or coffee.
Saffron buns recipe
Ingredients
(25 buns)
1 g saffron threads
50 g yeast
200 g sugar
300 ml milk
1 egg
150–200 g butter
1 tsp salt
750 g flour
100 g raisins
Glaze:
1 egg
2 tbs water
Preparation
To make lussekatter (‘Lucia cats’), grind the saffron along with a cube of sugar, using a mortar and pestle. (For those who think ahead: drip a little cognac on top, and let stand a few days.) Crumble the yeast in a bowl and stir in a few tablespoons of milk. Melt the butter and pour on the milk.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except the raisins, and knead the dough in a dough mixer for 10 minutes. Carefully mix in most of the raisins, cover the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Divide the dough into 25 pieces and roll the buns in an oblong shape, about 10 cm (4 in) long. Cover them and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll them twice as long and twist the ends of each bun in opposite directions to form a sort of figure 8. Put one raisin in the middle of each half figure 8.
Place on a greased baking sheet and let rise under a towel for about 90 minutes, or until the buns have doubled in size. Bake in the oven (220°C/425°F) for 5 minutes. Beat together the egg and water, brush the mixture on the buns. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.
Conversions and abbreviations
1 g = 1 gramme = 1/1,000 of a kg
1 kg = 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds (lb)
1 dl = 1 decilitre = 100 millilitres (ml) = 1/10 of a litre = 0.4 US cup
1 litre = 10 dl = 0.9 UK quart (qt) = 1.06 US liquid quart
1 fl oz, UK = 1 fluid ounce = 1/33 UK quart = 30 ml
1 fl oz, US = 1/32 US qt = 28 ml
1 lb = 16 oz = 450 ml
1 tsp = 1 teaspoon = 1/6 oz = 5 ml
1 tbsp = 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 1/2 oz = 15 ml
°C = degrees Celsius
°F = degrees Fahrenheit
For more online conversions: onlineconversion.com.
Gingerbread biscuits recipe
Ingredients
200 g (7 oz) brown sugar
200 g (7 oz) white sugar
200 g (7 oz) dark corn syrup
150 ml (¾ cup) water
300 g (10 oz) butter
2 tbs ground cinnamon
2 tbs ground ginger
2 tbs ground cloves
1 tbs baking soda
0.9–1 kg (2−2¼ lb) flour
Preparation
To make gingerbread dough, heat the brown sugar, white sugar, corn syrup and water in a pot. Add the butter and let it melt. Stir and let cool slightly, then blend in the spices and baking soda. Then mix in the flour to a smooth consistency. Sprinkle a little flour on top and put the dough out to cool, preferably overnight.
Take the dough and knead it smooth on a baking table, adding more flour if desired. Roll it thin and cut into shapes, using the desired cookie cutters.
Bake in the oven (180°C/350°F) for 8–10 minutes. Let the gingerbread biscuits cool on the baking sheet.
