For the eighth year, Anna’s Pepparkakor is launching a temporary flavor for the Christmas season. In the Taste of the Year, two of our most loved pastries become one, as the gingerbread meets the flavors of vanilla, cinnamon and a hint of apple in an irresistible taste of freshly baked apple pie with lots of custard.
In 2014, Annas Pepparkakor introduced a tradition of launching a new temporary flavor before each Advent and Christmas season. Previous flavors include the bestsellers Polka, Licorice and Toffee, all of which pushed the boundaries of what a gingerbread can taste like. With Ã…rets smak 2022, you flirt with both tradition and innovation.
Two beloved pastries with a long history become one
This year’s Limited Edition combines two of our most traditional and beloved pastries, gingerbread and apple pie, both of which also have a long history. The first written down recipe for apple cake can be found in Cajsa Warg’s cookbook from 1755.
– We hope that the 2022 Limited Edition will be appreciated by many! With the flavors of vanilla, cinnamon and an undertone of apple in combination with the traditional gingerbread, we have tried to create a taste experience of freshly baked apple pie, with extra custard of course. Of course, we follow the good tradition of baking on tin, which gives Anna’s gingerbread cookies their wonderful crispness, says Eva Forsberg, Category Marketing Manager at Anna’s Gingerbread Cookies.
Gingerbread’s journey from medicine to beloved Christmas cookie
Gingerbread is one of the world’s oldest baked goods and the first documented writings about gingerbread in Sweden date back to the 1440s. It was nuns in the monastery in Vadstena who baked and sold gingerbread primarily for medicinal purposes, and the gingerbread was then baked with what were considered to be healing spices such as anise, cedar oil, lemon, orange peel and cardamom. The cookies were believed to have a calming effect and ease indigestion and were also believed to cure everything from cholera to depression. Gradually, the medicinal aspects faded away and the tasty cakes became a luxury for royalty and the better served at the year’s festivities. It was not until the 19th century that gingerbread began to be baked in Swedish homes, and gingerbread baking became more and more concentrated around Christmas.
