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Swedish Pepperkakor Waffles! YUM!! I don’t know if they have these in Sweden or not. I got inspired to create this recipe after I made my Pepperkakor cookies. If you are new to my blog then you may not know that all my recipes are grain free, refined sugar free, and many are dairy free.

Happy Sankta Lucia (Santa Lucia) to all my friends who live are Scandinavian or who live in a Scandinavian country. Perhaps you don’t know who Saint Lucia is. Well, she was a young woman who was a Christian martyr who was killed for her faith sometime around 280 – 300. There are many legends to how she came to be a much-celebrated saint in Scandinavia.

There are special songs that are sung on Lucia. Special cookies and sweet breads are made and are served on Lucia Day. On Saint Lucia day the oldest girl of the household dresses up in a white gown with a red sash and a wreath of candles in her hair. Her siblings dress up too.  If she has sisters then they wear similar white gowns and silver sashes. If she has brothers, then they dress in white gowns and a white cone-shaped hat with stars on it. The oldest brings a tray of the cookies and sweet breads and coffee to her father. In many cases today the oldest daughter brings the specialty food items and coffee to both her parents.

In the old days, Santa Lucia was celebrated on the winter solstice supposedly the darkest day of the year. It was a promise of the light to come. This holiday is both Christian and secular. There is a lot of Christian symbolism. The wreath of candles symbolizes that Christ came into the world to bring light. Lucia symbolizes the Virgin Mary. The red sash she wears reminds us the Christ was crucified and a soldier pierced his side with a sword. All the children wearing white symbolizes the angels that came to sing on the night Christ was born. The boys wearing a star hat symbolizes the bright star and that the wise men came. This is the first celebration in the season of Christmas in Sweden. It is to remind us of the reason for the season. This is why Santa Lucia is celebrated in the churches in Sweden.

My children have not only performed Lucia at home for their father but have also performed at various Scandinavian Lodges as well as nursing homes and veteran hospitals. Children from Scandinavian backgrounds gather together to learn Christmas songs in Swedish and English and then perform at Scandinavian lodges, nursing homes, veteran hospitals etc. All the children are excited to hear the announcement of who will be Lucia.

It is wonderful to see how the elderly and our veterans react. It is especially touching when the elderly or the veteran is also of Scandinavian descent and joins in on the singing. One veteran said he had not heard those songs or thought of Santa Lucia since he was a small boy.

I remember my mother dressing my brothers and I up to go to neighbors who were from Sweden or of Scandinavian descent to sing to them in Swedish and English and to bring Swedish traditional baked goods.

If you are not celebrating Saint Lucia today then perhaps you would like a little taste of Sweden for breakfast. This has a wonderful sweet taste of cinnamon with a little ginger and clove in the background.

You will need to make coconut buttermilk. Find the recipe here.

Print Recipe

Swedish Pepperkakor Waffles

This has a delicate flavor of cinnamon.  Pepperkakor is Sweden's version of gingerbread.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time2 mins

Total Time32 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, Swedish

Keyword: Waffle

Servings: 6 waffles

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup melted coconut buttermilk
• 1/8 cup apple cider
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp coconut nectar
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsps baking soda
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground clove

Instructions

• Preheat waffle iron. 
  
• Separate your eggs into separate bowls. 
  
• Beat egg whites until stiff peaks and set aside. 
• In a separate bowl mix together eggs, coconut buttermilk, and melted coconut oil until combined. For recipe to coconut buttermilk see https://larenascorner.com/2018/06/07/keto-coconut-milk-yogurt/
  
• Add coconut nectar and apple cider to the egg mixture and mix until blended. Set aside the egg mixture.
  
• In a separate bowl combine cassava flour, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and clove until thoroughly blended. 
  
• Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the egg mixture and blend until combined. 
  
• Add in the remaining flour mixture into the egg mixture until completely incorporated. 
  
• Lastly, fold in the egg whites into the egg mixture. Fold from the bottom up. Continue to fold in the egg whites until they are incorporated. 
  
• Add a small amount of oil to the waffle maker. Add about 1/4 cup of batter and cook your waffles one at a time until cooked through and crispy. Approximately 1-2 minutes cook time.