The Kitchen

You need

• 3 cups (360 g)all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp (5 g)baking soda
• 2 tsp (4 g)ground ginger
• 1 tsp (2 g)ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp (1 g)ground cloves
• ½ tsp (3 g)salt
• 1 stick (115 g)unsalted butter, soft
• ½ cup (100 g)light brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup (170 g)molasses
• 1 (1)large egg

What to do

1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar together until pale and fluffy.Timer: 3 minutes
3. Beat in the egg, then the molasses, until smooth.
4. Add the flour mix in two parts. Stir until you have a soft dough with no dry streaks.
5. Split the dough in two. Press each half into a flat disc and wrap it. Chill for 1 hour.Timer: 1 hour
6. Heat the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)
7. Roll one disc out on a floured counter until it is ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Cut your people and set them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on a sheet. Keep the other disc in the fridge.
8. Bake for 8 minutes for chewy cookies, or 10 for crisp ones. The edges should look set.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)Timer: 8 minutes
9. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move the cookies to a rack. Roll and cut the second disc and the scraps.Timer: 5 minutes
10. Wait until the cookies are fully cool, then decorate with icing.

Tip. The dough needs the hour in the fridge. Warm dough sticks to the counter and the cutters lose their shape.

The classic rolled gingerbread cookie, with molasses for the dark color and the deep taste.

You need

• 1 cup (200 g)short-grain rice, pudding rice or arborio
• 2 cups (480 ml)water
• 4 cups (950 ml)whole milk
• ½ tsp (3 g)salt
• 1 tbsp (14 g)butter

• To serve

• 2 tbsp (25 g)sugar, for the top
• 1 tsp (2 g)ground cinnamon

What to do

1. Put the rice, water and salt in a heavy pot that holds at least 3 quarts (3 L). Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover.
2. Let it simmer until the water is soaked up.Timer: 10 minutes
3. Pour in the milk and stir. Bring it back to a gentle bubble.
4. Cook on low with the lid off. Stir every few minutes so the bottom does not stick. It is ready when it is thick and creamy.Timer: 40 minutes
5. Stir in the butter. Taste it, and add a pinch more salt if it needs it.
6. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Ladle the porridge into bowls and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.

Tip. Cold milk poured around the edge of the bowl is how many Swedish families eat it.

A Swedish Christmas morning dish. Families often hide one whole almond in the pot, and whoever finds it in their bowl gets a small prize.

You need

• 2¾ cups (330 g)all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp (4 g)baking powder
• ½ tsp (3 g)salt
• 2 sticks (225 g)unsalted butter, soft
• 1 cup (200 g)granulated sugar
• 1 (1)large egg
• 2 tsp (10 ml)vanilla extract

What to do

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.Timer: 3 minutes
3. Beat in the egg and the vanilla.
4. Add the flour mix a little at a time. Stir until the dough comes together.
5. Press the dough into two flat discs and wrap them. Chill for 1 hour.Timer: 1 hour
6. Heat the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)
7. Roll one disc out on a floured counter until it is ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Cut shapes and set them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart.
8. Bake until the edges just start to turn gold. Pull them out before they brown all over.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)Timer: 9 minutes
9. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a rack. Ice them when they are completely cool.Timer: 5 minutes

Tip. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment and you need no extra flour.

A plain, sturdy cut-out dough: the one you roll thick enough to ice.

You need

• 3½ cups (420 g)all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp (7 g)baking soda
• ¼ tsp (1 g)salt
• 1½ sticks (170 g)unsalted butter
• ¾ cup (150 g)granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (115 g)golden syrup or light corn syrup
• ⅓ cup (80 ml)water
• 2 tsp (4 g)ground ginger
• 2 tsp (5 g)ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp (1 g)ground cloves

What to do

1. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
2. Put the butter, sugar, syrup, water, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a medium pot. Warm on low, stirring, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Do not let it boil.Timer: 4 minutes
3. Take the pot off the heat. Let it cool until it is warm, not hot.Timer: 10 minutes
4. Pour the warm mix into the flour. Stir, then knead gently until the dough is smooth.
5. Wrap the dough and chill it overnight. If you are short on time, give it at least 4 hours.Timer: 4 hours
6. Heat the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)
7. Roll a small piece of dough very thin, about 1/16 inch (2 mm), on a floured counter. Cut hearts, stars or circles. Keep the rest of the dough cold.
8. Bake until the edges are a shade darker.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)Timer: 7 minutes
9. Cool on the sheet for 2 minutes. They get crisp as they cool.Timer: 2 minutes

Tip. Thin is the whole idea. If the cookies come out soft, roll the next batch thinner.

Sweden's Christmas ginger cookie. The dough is made with melted butter, syrup and a little water, rested overnight, and rolled very thin.

You need

• 2 cups (480 ml)whole milk
• 2 tbsp (10 g)unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp (25 g)sugar
• a pinch (a pinch)salt
• 1 oz (30 g)dark chocolate, chopped
• ½ tsp (2 ml)vanilla extract

What to do

1. Put the cocoa, sugar and salt in a small pot. Add ¼ cup (60 ml) of the milk and whisk to a smooth paste.
2. Set the pot over medium-low heat. Whisk in the rest of the milk.
3. Heat, stirring now and then, until it is steaming. Do not let it boil.Timer: 5 minutes
4. Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the chocolate and the vanilla until the chocolate melts.
5. Pour into two mugs. Add marshmallows if you have them.

Tip. A skin on top means it got too hot. Whisk it back in, or lift it off with a spoon.

The stove-top kind, made from cocoa powder, milk and a little dark chocolate.

You need

• For the dough

• 1 cup (240 ml)whole milk, warm, about 110°F (43°C)
• 2¼ tsp (7 g)instant yeast, one packet
• ¼ cup (50 g)granulated sugar
• ½ stick (55 g)butter, melted and cooled
• 1 (1)large egg
• 1 tsp (6 g)salt
• 4 cups (480 g)all-purpose flour

• For the swirl

• ½ stick (55 g)soft butter
• ½ cup (100 g)light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbsp (15 g)ground cinnamon

• For the glaze

• 1 cup (120 g)powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp (30 ml)milk

What to do

1. Warm the milk until it feels like a warm bath on your wrist. Stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Wait for foam on top.Timer: 5 minutes
2. Whisk in the rest of the sugar, the melted butter, the egg and the salt.
3. Add 3½ cups (420 g) of the flour, a cup at a time. Stir until you have a shaggy dough. Keep the rest of the flour for the next step.
4. Knead on the counter, adding the rest of the flour a spoonful at a time, only while the dough sticks to your hands. Stop when it is smooth, a little tacky, and springs back when you poke it.Timer: 8 minutes
5. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with a towel. Let it rise until it is twice as big.Timer: 1 hour
6. Butter a 9 by 13 inch (23 by 33 cm) pan.
7. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 16 by 12 inches (40 by 30 cm). Spread on the soft butter. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle it over the top.
8. Roll it up from the long side into a log. Cut it into 12 slices with a sharp knife or a piece of thread. Set them in the pan, cut side up.
9. Cover the pan and let the buns puff up. Heat the oven while you wait.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)Timer: 30 minutes
10. Bake until golden on top.Oven or pot: 350°F (175°C)Timer: 22 minutes
11. Whisk the powdered sugar and milk into a thick glaze. Let the buns cool a little, then drizzle it on.Timer: 10 minutes

Tip. Make them the night before: after step 8, cover the pan and keep it in the fridge. Bake in the morning.

Kanelbullar in Sweden, cinnamon rolls elsewhere: a sweet dough rolled around cinnamon sugar.

You need

• 8 cups (2 L)apple cider or cloudy apple juice
• 3 (3)cinnamon sticks
• 12 (12)whole cloves
• 1 inch (2.5 cm)piece of fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 (1)orange, sliced
• 2 tbsp (30 ml)maple syrup, if you want it sweeter

What to do

1. Pour the cider into a large pot.
2. Add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger and orange slices.
3. Heat on medium until it steams and tiny bubbles show at the edge. Turn the heat to low. A hard boil makes it taste flat.
4. Simmer on low so the spices have time to give up their flavor.Timer: 20 minutes
5. Taste it. Stir in the maple syrup if you want it sweeter.
6. Pour through a strainer into mugs. If you have more cinnamon sticks, put a fresh one in each mug.

Tip. Use whole spices, not ground. Ground spices make the cider cloudy and gritty.

A drink with no alcohol in it, heated slowly with whole spices so the house smells like it.

You need

• 2½ cups (300 g)all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (100 g)granulated sugar
• 1¾ sticks (200 g)unsalted butter, soft
• ¼ tsp (1 g)salt
• 1 tbsp (12 g)sugar, to sprinkle on top

What to do

1. Heat the oven. Line an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper, with the paper hanging over two sides.Oven or pot: 325°F (160°C)
2. Beat the butter, sugar and salt together until creamy.Timer: 2 minutes
3. Stir in the flour until it looks like crumbs. Then squeeze it together with your hands. Stop as soon as it holds. More mixing makes it tough.
4. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Prick it all over with a fork. Chill it.Timer: 20 minutes
5. Bake until the edges are pale gold. The top should stay light.Oven or pot: 325°F (160°C)Timer: 35 minutes
6. While it is still warm, cut it into 16 fingers and sprinkle with the sugar. Leave it in the pan to cool.Timer: 15 minutes

Tip. It keeps in a tin for about a week, and it is better on the second day.

The old Scottish rule is one part sugar, two parts butter, three parts flour, by weight.