Family recipe for German peppernuts. Small, dense spice cookies that are tantalizing when dipped in coffee, or great on their own. This is the traditional version with molasses.
I made these for my dad for Christmas, as I remember him eating a stale, pre-packaged version when I was growing up. I hated them, but my practice batch disappeared quickly. I substituted the brown sugar for a less sugar brown sugar blend and doubled the spices on the second batch to make them a little more potent. So far, everyone who has tried them has asked for the recipe. Thanks! (The molasses and rolling in powdered sugar are essential in this cookie.)
Read MoreThere is something really wrong with the ingredient balance in this recipe. I followed the directions carefully and exactly, and came up with a dough that was much, much too dry, and wouldn't stick together enough to form balls. I should have given it up then, but instead I looked online and other recipes said you may need to add some water to make them stick, so I tried that. I think maybe I should have added a second egg instead, but it doesn't really matter, because after baking them for the full 12 minutes, they were still uncooked on the inside (yes they were smaller than 1" round) and the part that was cooked, tasted terrible, like just a paste made of molasses and flour. NOT a good pfeffernusse recipe!! Look elsewhere!
Read MoreI made these for my dad for Christmas, as I remember him eating a stale, pre-packaged version when I was growing up. I hated them, but my practice batch disappeared quickly. I substituted the brown sugar for a less sugar brown sugar blend and doubled the spices on the second batch to make them a little more potent. So far, everyone who has tried them has asked for the recipe. Thanks! (The molasses and rolling in powdered sugar are essential in this cookie.)
To be fair, I used black pepper instead of white, and ended up using a bit more ginger that called for (more spilled out of the jar), but I compensated with extra cinnamon and these turned out well. They will be very soft when taken out of the oven at the proper time, and are better after sitting for several days. And definitely roll them in powdered sugar after they cool!
There is something really wrong with the ingredient balance in this recipe. I followed the directions carefully and exactly, and came up with a dough that was much, much too dry, and wouldn't stick together enough to form balls. I should have given it up then, but instead I looked online and other recipes said you may need to add some water to make them stick, so I tried that. I think maybe I should have added a second egg instead, but it doesn't really matter, because after baking them for the full 12 minutes, they were still uncooked on the inside (yes they were smaller than 1" round) and the part that was cooked, tasted terrible, like just a paste made of molasses and flour. NOT a good pfeffernusse recipe!! Look elsewhere!
I used black pepper instead of white pepper and these came out just fine.. makes the house smell wonderful.
4-3-20 made half a batch made 35 cookies followed recipe exactly cooked for 9 minutes next time double amounts of cinnamon anise and ginger
