Piparkukas appears as a signature dish in 1 Latvia cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Piparkūkas (Latvian gingerbread) · Riga
Thin, crisp gingerbread cookies spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and black pepper, baked through Advent and at the Doma laukums Christmas market.
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.
Where to eat in Riga:
- Liepkalni
- Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters