Ginger: the taste of Christmas
Cookies are a seasonal delight
Dear Eric: I hope that, with your Latvian heritage, you can help. Years ago, you ran a column on Christmas cookies. I’m trying to recall if you included Latvian ginger cookies (piparkukas). I recently baked my mother-inlaw’s recipe and they didn’t turn out. Did you publish a recipe for piparkukas? If so, can you repeat it? Louise Egan Miska Dear Louise: When you speak of my Latvian heritage, you are talking about my late father’s side of the family. His name was Imants Akis, and he immigrated with my grandparents to Canada after the Second World War.
When I was growing up, Latvia, which was then occupied by the Soviet Union, was often discussed when my father and grandparents got together. Around Christmas there were tasty ginger cookies, too. As a kid, I inhaled them, and it wasn’t until I received Louise’s query that I realized the Latvian connection.
This style of cookie is enjoyed in other parts of northern Europe. The recipe Louise is remembering from my column on Christmas cookies was a Swedish version a friend gave me called “pepparkakor.” The Swedish name sounds similar to the Latvian name for the cookie, “piparkukas.”
Recipes for the cookie are similar, but ingredients and method vary. This cookie takes a bit of time to make, and the dough needs an overnight rest in the fridge.