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.

2 editor picks for Piparkūkas (Latvian gingerbread) in Riga, ranked by editorial score. All Riga signature dishes · Piparkūkas (Latvian gingerbread) across every city.

Liepkalni ★ 4.5

€BakeryCentrs

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.

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

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Centrāltirgus Pīrāgi Counters ★ 4.5

€Street foodCentraltirgus Maskavas

The bakery pavilion at Centrāltirgus runs multiple counters baking traditional Latvian pīrāgi, bacon-onion pastry pockets that anchor a Latvian lunch.

OrderTwo bacon-onion pīrāgi, hot from the oven; pair with a kvass at the next stall.

TipCounter prices stay €1 to €2 per piece; the morning bake comes out around 09:00.

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