My friend Karlis Streipes lives in Latvia, but many years ago lived in Topeka for a time. He used to make a delicious traditional Latvian gingerbread cookie and yesterday offered to give me the recipe to post on here. Here it is. These aren't that difficult to make, just a bit time consuming. Here is Karlis' recipe as he sent to me on Facebook. They cookies are quite tasty! Enjoy!
Hi, Don! You will need 1/3 cup molasses, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 3 tbsp. of lard (don't be afraid of it -- it'll just make sure the gingerbread doesn't stick to the pan). Put all of these in a pot and heat, stirring frequently, until melted together (you can soften the butter and lard in the microwave first). When melted, take off the flame and add 2.5 cups of flour and the following spices: 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. cardamom, 1/2 tsp. coriander. Stir together and let rest for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beat two eggs thoroughly, add to the mixture, stir, and allow it to cool completely. Now sift together 2-1/4 cups of flour with 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder. Gradually add the dry mixture to the dough, stirring until you can no longer stir and then kneading. At first the dough will stick like glue. Keep kneading, adding more flour bit by bit if necessary. Eventually the dough will become dark and shiny. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and rest for an hour. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Liberally flour your work surface. Roll some of the dough quite thin. Press out shapes, put on the pan, and bake until gingerbread is golden brown and lightly browned along the edges. This will not take more than 4 or 5 minutes if you have rolled the dough thinly. When the cookies cool, they will slide right off the pan. Enjoy!
