History

Piparkūkas have been baked in Latvia since the medieval Hanseatic era, adapted from German lebkuchen and Scandinavian pepperkakor traditions. The black-pepper note in the spice blend gives the cookies their distinctive Latvian character. Every Latvian household bakes piparkūkas through Advent. The Doma laukums Christmas market, running late November through early January, runs 80+ stalls selling spiced gingerbread alongside mulled wine and smoked meats.

Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 60Hands-on 45 minTotal 12 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g plain flour
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 150g butter
  • 100g honey
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of salt

Method

  1. Melt the butter, honey and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool until just warm.
  2. Whisk in the egg, then add all the spices, baking soda and salt.
  3. Sift in the flour and mix to a smooth, sticky dough. Wrap and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours) for the spices to bloom.
  4. Roll the chilled dough out very thin, 3 to 4mm, on a floured surface. Cut into shapes (hearts, stars, gingerbread figures).
  5. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 6 to 8 minutes until deep golden at the edges. Watch closely; piparkūkas overbake fast.
  6. Cool fully on a wire rack. Store in an airtight tin; the cookies improve over a week as the spices settle.

Tip from the editors. The black pepper is essential to the Latvian character. Don't substitute it out, even if it sounds strange in a sweet cookie.

Where to eat piparkūkas (latvian gingerbread)

Piparkūkas (Latvian gingerbread) in Riga

Liepkalni ★ 4.5

Bakery€centrsMon-Fri 07:30-19:00; Sat-Sun 08:00-18:00Walk-in onlyLatvian rye bread and pīrāgi

Liepkalni's Krišjāņa Valdemāra branch is the central Riga outpost of the country's most-cited rye specialist, baking dark Dienas loaf and pīrāgi daily.

Tip: Buy a whole Dienas rye and a tray of bacon-onion pīrāgi for a picnic in Vērmanes park or by the canal.

Worth the queue: Dienas rye loaf

Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela 62a, Rīga, LV-1013

Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters ★ 4.3

Brunch€centraltirgus-maskavasMon-Sun 07:30-18:00

The Centrāltirgus bakery pavilion runs counter-served pīrāgi at €1 to €2 per piece, anchoring the city's cheapest Latvian breakfast or lunch.

Try: Pīrāgi (bacon-onion pastries)

Tip: Buy three pīrāgi and a kvass for under €5; eat at the market's outdoor benches.

Nēģu iela 7, Rīga, LV-1050

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