Norwegian Pepper Cookies

I first had Norwegian Pepper Cookies in the jungles of the southern Philippines around Christmas time in 1982. One of my very best friends and a collaborator in surveying some of the ethnic languages of the island of Mindanao, was Dag Wendel, a tall slender good humored Norwegian. Dag and I were a real Mutt and Jeff pair as we made our way in and out of some very remote tribal areas.

That Christmas Dag's wife Åsa introduced our family to Norwegian Pepper Cookies, a Christmas tradition.

In a move some years ago, I lost Åsa's recipe, but I eventually managed to get a copy of the recipe the the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC uses for cookies they give away at Christmas time each year.

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Norwegian Pepper Cookies

yield: about 5 dozen

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cups butter
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking powder


Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the cream. Add the baking soda and little water (no more than 2 tablespoons) to the butter mixture.

2. Sift the spices, baking powder and flour into the butter mixture. Blend until a nice dough is formed. Roll dough into sausages about 2-1/2 inches in diameter wrap tightly and let dough chill thoroughly.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Remove chilled dough and cut into thin slices. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 6 to 8 minutes. Let cookies cool on wire rack.