What I think of as Peperkoek is a cake/bread rather than a cookie. Dark ginger in color, comes in a rectangular log. Sometimes pre-sliced. Spicy and delicious with unsalted butter. In Belgium, there were also "Honeykoek" (I don't know if it's a variation) that came with pearl sugar pressed into the top.

The thin spice cookies are also delicious. I call them "Speculoos", which may be specific to Belgium. I have made them at home, courtesy of the book "Everybody eats well in Belgium".

Sound like they come from the same root. Pepparkakor is a swedish thing, but googling tells me it translates to pepper cake. Sounds like they kept the name as they changed the result.

flea has a recipe for speculaas that she makes at Christmas. I know because I make a lame speculum joke every time I see the recipe lying around.

Maybe peppar maps onto "spice."

I think there's good sense in NYCistas being worried. I'm sure Boston's Great Molasses Flood of 1919 smelled pretty good at first, too.

I just placed a stock photo image that looks like the photographer traveled to Heaven to get the shot. Check out image FLW100 at : here

Well, I've had my first official freak-out when I told a client on the phone that I would be out of the office this afternoon. She just flipped out like a mammal. It was great! I'm totally feeling the schadenfreude!

I left home without my migraine meds.

D'oh.

I turned back to get them, of course.

From what I'm reading, the original cakes did contain pepper as well as honey, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and anise. They pretty much just dropped the pepper and a few other spices and replaced the honey with molasses.

They pretty much just dropped the pepper and a few other spices and replaced the honey with molasses.

That's a shame -- pepper in spice-things is really, really good and should be done more.

I just placed a stock photo image that looks like the photographer traveled to Heaven to get the shot. Check out image FLW100

Ooooh, pretty.