Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Baltic Christmas Day 11 - Vegan Piparkūkas

On Day 11 of 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas we welcome another new contributor to the series, Annelī Cers! We spent Thanksgiving with family this year, and when the first piparkūkas (the Latvian Christmas cookie, similar to gingerbread or a spice cookie) of the season made their appearance, everyone dug right in. There were two recipes, my vecmammas, and Annelī’s – who challenged everyone to taste-test and identify which were hers. When nobody could tell the difference, I knew we would have to share Annelī’s recipe on the series. Without further ado, Annelī’s Vegan Latvian Gingerbread cookies, vegānas piparkūkas!


Becoming vegan was an easy choice; I can stand up for animal rights by refusing to contribute to the suffering of farm animals, decrease my carbon footprint by consuming less land-, water-, and energy-intensive foods, and respect my body by decreasing the chance of developing health issues related to the consumption of animal products. Yet, people often ask me if I miss traditional Latvian food, often heavy in meat and dairy, and I can confidently say that I don’t. I enthusiastically accept the challenge to recreate dishes typically based on animal products. The iconic Latvian piparkūkas contain lard, butter, honey, and eggs, so last year I attempted to “veganize” these delicious holiday treats by adapting my grandmother’s recipe. This year I altered last year’s recipe, where I used coconut oil and flax seed egg substitute, and the vegan piparkūkas were already a hit at Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Making piparkūkas with Vecmamma (age 3)

Serious business with Vecmamma and Andis

Vegan Piparkūkas


Ingredients: 

½ cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup molasses
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup vegan butter (Country Crock Plant Butter with Almond Oil, suggested)
3 tablespoon vegetable shortening (Nutiva Original Shortening, suggested)

2 ½ cups white flour, sifted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon black peppers
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon coriander
Be generous with the spices; don’t level measuring spoons!

Sifted flour with spices

Directions: 

Mix and boil corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar, butter, and shortening in a large pot. Remove from heat. Immediately add sifted flour mixed with spices. Mix well with wooden spoon, and let cool slightly, mixing occasionally.  

½ cup egg substitute (JUST Egg, suggested)
JUST Egg substitute works significantly better than flax eggs in achieving the right dough consistency.

When the dough is still warm, add egg substitute, and mix thoroughly. Continue to let the dough cool, mixing occasionally.

2 ¼ cups white flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

When the bottom of the pot is no longer hot, add sifted flour mixed with baking soda and baking powder. Knead dough until well mixed.

Cover dough and let rest for at least one hour. Dough can be used right away or stored in the fridge.

Egg wash: JUST egg mixed with a splash of water

To make the piparkūkas, preheat the oven to 400-425°F and place parchment paper on baking sheets. Prepare egg wash by mixing JUST Egg with a splash of water. Begin rolling out a fist-sized piece of dough on a floured surface. Continue rolling, occasionally flipping the dough and adding flour to prevent the dough from sticking to surface. When dough is as thin as possible, use cookie cutters to form piparkūkas. Place the piparkūkas on prepared baking sheets and brush with egg wash, conservatively. Bake the piparkūkas for about 4-6 minutes, watching them VERY carefully; they can and will burn very quickly! When golden brown, remove from oven and let cool on a rack.


Paldies Annelī, for sharing your recipe! Over the years we have gotten many requests for vegan/vegetarian alternatives to the Baltic Christmas favorites, and while we have featured one or two vegan recipes – blood sausage and sauerkraut – many of the traditional recipes seem difficult to adapt. This is slowly changing as more options for egg and dairy substitutes become readily available, and conversations regarding vegan pīrāgi are periodically cropping up on social media - I think this trend will continue. I commend you for your effort, and wish you continued luck in the challenge!

Annelī is currently editor for the American Latvian Youth Association magazine Vēja Zvani, the most recent edition of which is a historical compilation and can be found here. The vegan blood sausage recipe can be found here.

Please join us tomorrow on 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas for the great cookie exchange!


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