Peppery gingerbread cookies

Named after pepper, a spice that was very expensive and rare in the past, paprenjaci are an indigenous Croatian as well as Zagreb pastry, as described by August Šenoa in his renowned novel "Zlatarevo zlato".

Today, paprenjaci have become of the most well-known tourist souvenirs of Zagreb, with numerous guests from all over the world taking them home as a pleasant and tasty memento of Zagreb.

 

Ingredients for 40-50 pieces

For the dough:

400 g all-purpose flour

120 g of pure lard

150g granulated sugar

½ teaspoon minced cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch of salt

130 g ground walnuts

1 egg

2 egg yolks

90 g of honey

grated zest of one orange

 

Also:

Flour for work surface

 

Preparation:

Sift strong and plain flour in a suitable bowl, add ground walnuts, nutmeg, powdered cinnamon, ground cloves, freshly ground pepper, baking soda and orange zest. Mix well. Then add lard and mix the mass well until it becomes grainy. Next, add a whole egg, two yolks and honey. Mix the ingredients well using a cooking spoon. Move the mixture to a worktop, knead the dough and shape it into a ball. Wrap it in cling wrap and leave to rest for 60 minutes in a cool place. When rested, flour the dough and roll it to a thickness of about 0.5 cm on a floured board. Flour the relief moulds used for shaping the paprenjaci and press the desired relief shapes into the dough. Thus decorated, cut the dough into appropriately sized squares, move them to a baking tray covered with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 °C. Cool the baked paprenjaci before serving.

Celebrities about Zagreb

THE BLACK KEYS (Patrick)

THE BLACK KEYS (Patrick)

This is our first time in Zagreb. We're really having a great time. We won't be able to see the coast, but we'll get some rest and walk around the city...

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Chris Urbanowicz

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Alex Kapranos

Alex Kapranos

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Juliette Gréco

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Snoop Dog

Snoop Dog

Everything is great here, the girls are beautifull, the service is exceptional. What more can I ask from the town?

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Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly

We're enjoying this Tuesday in Zagreb. We're heading onto the main stage of the INmusic Festival soon.

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50Cent

50Cent

I was very looking forward to coming to Zagreb, especially because my mother travelled with me. My people found out everything about it, so that we could see the main stuff in the city!

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Pixies

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Courtney Thorne Smith

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Melanie Fiona

Melanie Fiona

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