Recipes · Latvian · Gingerbread
Piparkūkas (Latvian Spiced Christmas Biscuits)
One serving has 205 kcal and 3 g protein, and at least a fifth of a woman's daily need of thiamin (20%). Ready in 760 minutes.
- Preparation: 750 min
- Cooking: 10 min
- Makes: 1 serving (52.8 g)
- Difficulty: Medium
- Diets: Vegetarian
- Contains: dairy, egg, gluten
Ingredients
- 9 g Dark syrup (or golden syrup)
- 6 g Sugar
- 8 g Butter, unsalted
- 3 g Eggs, whole, raw
- 26 g Flour, all-purpose
- 0.15 g Baking soda
- 0.2 g Cinnamon, ground
- 0.05 g Cloves, ground
- 0.1 g Ginger, ground
- 0.05 g Cardamom, ground
- 0.05 g Black pepper, ground
- 0.03 g Nutmeg, ground
- 0.2 g Orange zest, grated
Method
- This makes one serving of six to eight thin biscuits; piparkūkas dough is made in a big batch, so multiply everything by 30 or more for a season’s baking.
- Warm the syrup and sugar in a pan over low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved; take it off the heat and stir in the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg and orange zest.
- Add the butter in pieces and stir until it has melted, then leave the mixture to cool until just lukewarm.
- Beat in the egg, mix the baking soda into the flour and work it in, kneading into a smooth, firm dough.
- Wrap the dough and leave it in the fridge for at least 12 hours; Latvians often keep it for several days, as the spices deepen.
- Roll it out very thinly, 2-3 mm, on a lightly floured surface and cut out stars, hearts and other shapes.
- Bake on a lined tray at 200°C for 5-7 minutes, until a shade darker and just firm at the edges; they crisp as they cool.
- Cool on a rack and keep in an airtight tin; in Latvia piparkūkas are baked all through Advent and set out for guests until Christmas.
Nutrition per serving
| Nutrient | Per serving | Share of a day's need |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 205 kcal | 10% |
| Carbohydrates | 32.8 g | |
| Water | 9.2 mL | |
| Fiber | 0.89 g | 3% |
| Protein | 3.2 g | 7% |
| Tryptophan | 0.04 g | |
| Threonine | 0.09 g | |
| Isoleucine | 0.12 g | |
| Leucine | 0.23 g | |
| Lysine | 0.09 g | |
| Methionine | 0.06 g | |
| Cystine | 0.07 g | |
| Phenylalanine | 0.16 g | |
| Tyrosine | 0.1 g | |
| Valine | 0.14 g | |
| Histidine | 0.07 g | |
| Fat | 7.1 g | |
| Monounsaturated | 2 g | |
| Polyunsaturated | 0.41 g | |
| Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) | 0 g | |
| Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) | 0 g | |
| Omega-6 | 0.3 g | |
| Saturated | 4.2 g | |
| Trans-Fats | 0 g | |
| Cholesterol | 28.4 mg | |
| Calcium | 11.9 mg | 1% |
| Copper | 0.05 mg | 6% |
| Iron | 1.6 mg | 9% |
| Magnesium | 7.9 mg | 3% |
| Manganese | 0.3 mg | 17% |
| Phosphorus | 37.3 mg | 5% |
| Potassium | 44.1 mg | 1% |
| Selenium | 10 µg | 18% |
| Sodium | 52.2 mg | |
| Zinc | 0.26 mg | 3% |
| Thiamin (vitamin B1) | 0.22 mg | 20% |
| Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 0.15 mg | 14% |
| Niacin (vitamin B3) | 1.6 mg | 11% |
| Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) | 0.17 mg | 3% |
| Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) | 0.02 mg | 2% |
| Folate (vitamin B9) | 49.4 µg | 12% |
| Cobalamin (vitamin B12) | 0.04 µg | 2% |
| Choline | 10.4 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 59.6 µg | 9% |
| Vitamin C | 0.29 mg | 0% |
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3) | 2.5 IU | 0% |
| Vitamin E | 0.29 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin K | 0.86 µg | 1% |
Shares of a day's need are for a woman of 30, 165 cm, 60 kg, lightly active, by the US and Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes. SustainBite works out each person's own needs, by the standard where they live: the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations in Norway, the UK's, EFSA's in the EU.
Climate footprint
0.1 kg CO2e a serving: lower than most breakfasts, sides, desserts and drinks on SustainBite. Source: ADEME, Agribalyse 3.2.
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