Like most Americans, I have a mixed-bag when it comes to heritage. A little English. A little Scotish. A touch of Irish. Maybe a hint of German. And a whole lot of Swedish.

My great-grandmother immigrated to the US from Sweden as a 19-year-old. Alone. She came to Rockford, Illinois (a community with a large and established Swedish population) to meet her brother, who was already settled. She met and married her husband -- another Swedish immigrant -- and they had one child, my grandmother. Although my grandmother did not marry a Swede, my Dad was raised with significant Swedish influence.
I was also born in Rockford, and spent my childhood there -- surrounded by my Swedish family. Our Christmas traditions were heavy on Swedish heritage. . . especially when it came to food! Inlagd sill. Pannkakor. Lutfisk. Lingonberries. Smörgåstårta. Isterband.
As a kid -- an American kid -- I didn't really like or appreciate much of the Swedish fare served up around me. Never could get past the smell of lutfisk. Or the texture of the herring. I really liked lingonberry jam, though, and the pannkakor (pancakes). Mmmmm. But what I especially loved . . .
Pepparkakor!

Thin, crispy, incredibly tasty Swedish gingersnaps. My favorite cookie of all time!
Once my family moved away from Rockford, we left family gatherings full of Swedish food -- and a community of Swedes -- behind. My Mom (who is not Swedish and doesn't care for most of the foods) embraced tradition and made pepparkakor every Christmas using my great-grandmother's translated-from-Swedish recipe.

When I grew up and left home, I took the pepparkakor recipe with me.

They are not an attractive Christmas cookie. When I put them out for parties or holiday gatherings, most people are . . . not tempted . . . to pick one up. But when they do? YUM! They never hesitate again!
Tom (not Swedish) and my kids love pepparkakor! When Brian was little, he used to call them "popper-cookers." It really wouldn't be Christmas for me . . . without pepparkakor.
Which is why today, on Christmas Eve morning, I was up early to bake this year's batch. Although we've cut out a lot of fluff for this year's celebration, I needed to keep the pepparkakor in the mix!

Really. It wouldn't be Christmas without it! (Sorry, though, Dad. No lutfisk this year!!!)
***NOTE: You can find many recipes for pepparkakor online. Beware of those that don't include cardamom. "Real" Swedish pepparkakor includes cardamom. (My recipe - above - is translated from my great-grandmother's original pepparkakor recipe.)
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Mom Update: Surgery went very well and she's in recovery mode.