You could map the peoples of American and Europe by their affinity to particular spices. It’s built into the cultural DNA. The former Vikings (Danes, Swedes and Norwegians) love cardamom for obscure reasons going back to the Middle Ages – and Cardamom Snaps are enough to make you consider moving! Americans in the Northeast somehow formed a unique love for cinnamon that resulted in Snickerdoodles. Italians feel as much amore toward the licorice flavor in Anisettes and Pizzelles as they do for the basil in pesto or the tomatoes in a good ragu. It doesn’t stop, and it’s even more powerful with the particular spice blends.
Find a lady friend from the Czech Republic and give her a sniff of the Pardubice Gingerbread mix. Her smile will light up the room. “I know that smell!” Same thing with that nice boy from Holland when he gets a whiff of the spice mix we use for Speculaas. The peoples of Germany and Scandinavia love gingerbread with enough molasses to bite you back, but did you know the ginger and molasses always get balanced with a blend of orange, cinnamon, and pepper? Read on! Here are some samples of the spice mixes we’ve collected, with the amounts normalized to around 3-4 tablespoons for comparison purposes (individual recipes may use more or less).
German/Dutch Spice Cookie Blends
The Germanic speaking regions of Europe (which includes the Swiss, Dutch, and other nations in the general language group) adore spice cookies of many kinds. It’s a cultural characteristic that crosses national borders. Individual cities loudly proclaim their superior blends in the form of competing commercial products sold across the continent. Regional pride definitely trumps nationality on this one! A typical household will buy one brand and then use it for every cookie they make, with the other ingredients adding all the difference. Soft, butter-free Lebkuchen accented with honey, molasses, and an array of candied fruit; crunchy, starter-friendly Pfeffernusse with their characteristic dome shape, sugar icing, and an extra hit of pepper; moldable Speculaas and Spiced Springerle with or without nuts, respectively; all are built around a spine of cinnamon with a body of other spices to make something unique. We have accumulated four favorite variations over the years:
Lebkuchen & Pfeffernusse #1, from Germany & the Low Countries
(10 tsp.)
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. mace or nutmeg
+ 2 tsp. pepper for Pfeffernusse
Lebkuchen & Pfeffernusse #2, from Germany & the Low Countries
(10 tsp.)
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. mace or nutmeg
1 tsp. pepper
¾ tsp. cardamom
¾ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. anise (star is preferred)
+ 2 tsp. pepper for Pfeffernusse
Lebkuchen & Pfeffernusse #3, from Germany & the Low Countries
(10 tsp.)
2 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. orange or lemon zest
+ 2 tsp. pepper for Pfeffernusse
Speculaas, from Holland
(10¼ tsp.)
4½ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. allspice
1½ tsp. cloves
1½ tsp. nutmeg
¾ tsp. cardamom
¾ tsp. ginger
¾ tsp. pepper
Spice Snaps
Please make a mental note here: “I need to add Cardamom Snaps, Cinnamon Cookies, and Anise Cookies to this list”. We’ve omitted all the cookies that feature a particular spice from this list because they “feature” a given spice rather than working to achieve a balance. Ginger Snaps are the exception because they are all about finding a perfect balance between the bite from the molasses and the counterpoint bite from the ginger. The extra spices turn out to be essential:
Classic Ginger Snaps, from Northern Europe
(8½ tsp.)
6 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cardamom
+ ¼ cup molasses
Fresh Ginger Snaps, from Northern Europe
(12¼ tsp.)
6 tsp. fresh ginger
3 tsp. candied/crystalized ginger
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. clove
¼ tsp. black pepper
⅛ tsp. cayenne (optional)
+ ¼ cup molasses
Icelandic Spice Mix
(8½ tsp.)
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
1½ tsp. dried ginger
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
Molasses Gingerbreads
Say the word “Gingerbread” to Americans and this is the flavor profile we think of. Again, the form may change from an actual quick bread to a crunchy snap, a chewy cookie, a drop cookie, a molded display cookie, or an all but inedible structural board for building houses, but the basic formula remains the same: molasses, orange, fresh ginger, dried ginger, cinnamon, pepper, and cardamom. Here’s a fun fact. It’s hard to find a gingerbread recipe that doesn’t include fresh ginger, but every author seems to think it’s his or her personal secret ingredient!
The drop cookie has a special history we out to mention. We got it from a book by Marcus Samuelsson, one of the great culinary geniuses of our time, who grew up eating this cookie from his Grandmother’s kitchen in Gothenburg, Sweden. Talk about a recommendation!
Very Spicy Molasses Gingerbread
(17 tsp.)
6 tsp. orange zest
4½ tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
3 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pepper
½ tsp. ground cardamom
+ ¾ cup molasses
Regular Molasses Gingerbread
(10¾ tsp.)
4 tsp. orange zest (1 orange)
2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tsp. ginger
1½ tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
½ tsp. ground cardamom
+ ¾ cup molasses
Ginger Citrus Drop Cookies
(3 tsp.)
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. cloves
+ ¾ cup molasses
+ 1 cup finely chopped candied citrus peel
Honey Gingerbreads and Spice Cookies
Say the word “Gingerbread” to people in East-Central Europe and they’ll default to a honey-based cookie instead of one that relies on molasses. The most famous comes from a little Bohemian town called Pardubice (par-du-bitz-eh), with its guild that goes back to medieval times. The Polish version is less subtle but some people actually prefer it. (Kate being Czech, we have to say that with a sniff of regional disdain of course).
These regions also make a ton of molasses based cookies but will typically use a blend more like one of those above for that purpose. These formulas are optimized to play with honey. NOTE: We almost always add 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the Czech and Polish mixes because we like the complexity. We haven’t tried it for Leckerle.
Honey Pardubice Gingerbread, from Bohemia
(12½ tsp.)
6 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pepper
¾ tsp. anise (star or seed)
¾ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. nutmeg
OPTION: 9 tsp. cocoa powder
Honey Pierniczki Gingerbread, from Poland
(12 tsp.)
6 tsp. ginger
3 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. cardamom
OPTION: 9 tsp. cocoa powder
Leckerli, from Switzerland
(9 tsp.)
4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. pepper
Spiced Molasses Wafers and Snowflakes
Who would have guessed that wafer cookies require a different spice blend from other molasses-and-ginger cookies? It certainly surprised us! NOTE: The “Scandinavian” mix here is one that Scott developed on his own based on other cookies from that region. It uses cocoa and coffee flavors to make up for a steep decline in the color and bitterness from a greatly reduced level of molasses.
All of these cookies get rolled out wafer thin and usually feature ornate cutouts and other decorations.
Snowflakes, from Moravia
(9½ tsp.)
3 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. caraway
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
Snowflakes, Scandinavian Cocoa
(9½ tsp.)
11 tsp. cocoa powder
6 tsp. espresso powder
1 tsp. cloves
½ tsp. cinnamon
Pepperkakor/Peppernoten, from Scandinavia
(9¾ tsp.)
3 tsp. orange zest
2¼ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. cloves
1½ tsp. cardamom
1½ tsp. ginger