Pfefferneuse peppernuts, a beloved traditional German Christmas cookie, captivates taste buds with its distinctively spicy yet harmonious flavor profile. These delectable morsels, often adorned with sparkling sugar crystals, exhibit a delightful crunch upon each satisfying bite. Pfefferneuse peppernuts boast a rich history, with their origins dating back to the 16th century, and they have become an integral part of German holiday celebrations. Whether enjoyed as a festive treat, gifted to loved ones, or cherished as a culinary keepsake, pfefferneuse peppernuts hold a special place in the hearts of many.
Let's cook with our recipes!
PEPPERNUTS RECIPE {PFEFFERNüSSE/PäPANäT}
Peppernuts also called Pfeffernüsse or päpanät are small, spiced cookies which are a common treat in Mennonite homes during the Christmas season.
Provided by Angela @ Mommy Moment
Categories Dessert
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar with a mixer. Add eggs and continue beating. Slowly add the corn syrup and the milk mixture.
- In a separate bowl mix together remaining ingredients (dry). Then add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until a dough ball is formed. Put dough mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. (Works best if you can leave the dough in the fridge overnight or even up to 2 days)
- Roll dough into long snake like rolls till they are between the width of dime and a nickle. I do this on parchment paper to make it easy to transfer the rolls onto a greased cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer till firm. Then slice the rolls in about 1 cm pieces and place flat on pans. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.
PEPPERNUTS COOKIES RECIPE (PFEFFERNüSSE COOKIES RECIPE)
This Peppernuts cookies recipe makes traditional German cookies (Pfeffernüsse Cookies) that are small, crunchy, spicy, slightly sweet and very tasty! These cookies are a wonderful gift for giving during the holidays!
Provided by The Wanderlust Kitchen
Categories Desserts
Time 3h
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- In a large mixing bowl (preferably a Kitchenaid stand mixing bowl), add the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, and cream and mix well.
- Add the eggs, salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, anise oil, baking soda and baking powder and mix well.
- Add one cup of flour at a time and mix until the flour is absorbed into the dough. You do not have to over mix it. Note that the dough gets very stiff and can easily burn out hand mixer motors. For this reason, you should use a heavy duty stand mixer. In either case, if your mixer is struggling, then stop using the mixer and mix in the rest of the flour by hand. It can be quite a workout!
- Put the bowl of dough into the refrigerator for 30 minutes and allow the dough to get a little stiffer.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. If you have a double oven, then preheat both ovens.
- Lay out aluminum foil for the baked cookies to cool on.
- Tape wax paper to the top of your table, counter, island, or other kitchen work area.
- Scoop out a lemon-sized amount of dough and roll it into a ball in your hands.
- Place the dough ball onto the wax paper and use your palm and fingers to roll it out into a thin rope of dough 1/4 inch in diameter. The key is to be consistent and make these all the same size so they will cook in the same amount of time. If the dough is sticking to the wax paper, then sprinkle a small amount of flour on the wax paper to prevent this.
- Use a knife to cut the rope into small nut sized pieces of dough and place them on a baking sheet where they are not touching and there is room for them to grow as they bake so that the baked cookies won't be touching each other.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-12 minutes until they are a golden brown color. Check them at eight minutes and bake them longer if needed. Make sure that you do not bake them too long or the underside will burn.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to the aluminum foil. The cookies will be a little soft when they first come out of the oven but will become very crunchy as they cool.
- Repeat rolling the dough, cutting the dough, loading the baking sheets and baking the cookies until all of the dough is used. This is a fun activity to get your whole family involved in for baking these holiday cookies.
- After the cookies have completely cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month. If the cookies are not quite crunchy, you can leave the lid off of the container for a few hours and they will get crunchy.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 cup, Calories 96 kcal, Carbohydrate 16 g, Protein 1 g, Fat 3 g, SaturatedFat 2 g, Cholesterol 11 mg, Sodium 46 mg, Sugar 8 g, UnsaturatedFat 1 g
PFEFFERNüSSE (GERMAN "PEPPER-NUT" CHRISTMAS COOKIES)
The name "Pfeffernüsse" translates to pepper-nut, even though these cookies don't contain either. Back in the day, "pepper" was a generic name for any type of spice, and these were were called "nuts" because they looked like nuts! Misleading names aside, I think this is the best Christmas cookie of all time. They're soft and chewy with a thin, crisp icing and the perfect combination of warming winter spices. Pack up a tin and share these delicious cookies with family and friends!
Provided by Chef John
Categories German Cookies
Time P1DT1h50m
Yield 52
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Combine white and brown sugars in a saucepan with honey, water, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and cayenne pepper. Place over medium heat and whisk until the sugars dissolve and it just starts to simmer, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and let cool for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add salt, baking soda, heavy cream, and egg and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add flour and stir together with a wooden spoon until everything comes together as a dough.
- Transfer dough to a piece of plastic wrap. Press into a ball and wrap tightly. Place in the refrigerator and let rest for 1 to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and scoop into rounded teaspoons. Roll each one into a smooth ball if desired, and place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the center of the preheated oven until cookies are perfectly dome-shaped with light golden brown bottoms, 9 to 10 minutes; don't overbake. Let cool on the pan all the way down to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes.
- While the cookies are cooling, repeat Steps 5 and 6 to shape and bake the remaining cookies.
- Make icing by placing powdered sugar in a bowl. Stir in lemon juice, a few teaspoons at a time, until icing is very thick, but still slightly runny.
- Dip the top of each cooled cookie into the icing. Let it drip, then flip it over and place on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment paper and let harden.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 67.7 calories, Carbohydrate 15.6 g, Cholesterol 4.4 mg, Fat 0.4 g, Fiber 0.2 g, Protein 0.8 g, SaturatedFat 0.2 g, Sodium 81.8 mg
PEPPERNUTS
I like to make these spicy peppernuts in quantity so that I can serve them in baskets - like you would salted nuts or candy. They add a wonderful spicy aroma to the air. This is based on a recipe I received many years ago from a Danish friend. Although the mere idea of baking hundreds of nut-sized cookies sounds like an enormous amount of work, I've simplified the procedure.
Provided by Food Network
Time 1h10m
Yield About 600 tiny peppernuts
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In the large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar using an electric mixer. Add the egg and ground nuts. In another bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder, soda, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until a stiff dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball. (At this point, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it to develop the flavor, for up to a week). Cut off a portion of the dough at a time and roll between your hands and a lightly floured work surface to make slim, ropes about 1/2-inch thick. Place 4 or 5 ropes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cut ropes into 1/2-inch pieces using a sharp, small knife. Separate the pieces. Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned and dry. Remove from the oven; cool on the baking sheet.
PFEFFERNEUSE (PEPPERNUTS)
From old German cookbook...here are the peppernuts made with corn syrup
Provided by Trudee
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European German
Yield 60
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar. Add corn syrup, egg and honey; mix well. Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Knead dough, which should be very stiff, by hand for 15 to 30 minutes. Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten slightly, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C ). Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 1 inch squares. Place on an unprepared cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until dry inside.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 132.6 calories, Carbohydrate 24.6 g, Cholesterol 11.3 mg, Fat 3.3 g, Fiber 0.4 g, Protein 1.7 g, SaturatedFat 2 g, Sodium 114 mg, Sugar 10.6 g
GERMAN PEPPERNUTS (PFEFFERNUSSE)
Pfeffernusse are a traditional Christmas spice cookie that's very tiny. The tradition is carried on by Mennonites in the US. This recipe yields almost rock hard little nuggets. My mother remembers her grandmother placing one cookie at a time on a teaspoon, slightly dunking it down into her elegant china cup of tea, and waiting a moment until it softened. I grew up eating them by the handful--no dunking needed. When I was a kid, we would make gallons and they kept until February. They can be attractively bagged to make gifts.
Provided by Kate S.
Categories Dessert
Time 1h15m
Yield 6 dozen
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat sugar with eggs for 15 minutes.
- Sift dry ingredients together, and stir into egg-sugar mixture.
- Mix in butter and honey and knead briefly.
- Roll dough into 1/2-inch-diameter snakes. Cut into 1/2-inch segments with floured paring knife. Arrange 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheet.
- Bake 10-15 minutes.
- Cool and store in airtight container in cool place.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 550.8, Fat 6.2, SaturatedFat 3.1, Cholesterol 72.2, Sodium 172.8, Carbohydrate 116, Fiber 2.2, Sugar 63.5, Protein 9.2
PFEFFERNUESSE COOKIES
A German holiday tradition, these fragrant cookies pack a warm rush of spices in every bite. Also called peppernuts, they go wonderfully with coffee or tea.-Joanne Nelson, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 50m
Yield 10 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- In a small saucepan, combine molasses, honey, butter and shortening. Cook and stir over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Stir in eggs and extract., Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, pepper and salt. Gradually add molasses mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 325°. Roll dough into 1-in. balls. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies to wire racks. Roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 42 calories, Fat 1g fat (0 saturated fat), Cholesterol 4mg cholesterol, Sodium 31mg sodium, Carbohydrate 8g carbohydrate (5g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 1g protein.
PFEFFERNUSSE (GERMAN PEPPER NUT COOKIES )
This is from Williams Sonoma and it has been a family favorite for years. It is a great twist on Gingerbread cookies.
Provided by Zookeenee
Categories Dessert
Time 59m
Yield 24 cookies
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, pepper, aniseeds, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg and cloves.
- In a large bowl, using an electic mixer set on medium speed, beat together the butter, brown sugar and molasses until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Beat in the egg.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture.
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours.
- Position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Butter 2 baking sheets, scoop up pieces of dough and roll between your palms into balls 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
- Place the balls on the cookie sheets spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom and firm to the touch, about 14 minutes.
- Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies cool slightly on the sheets.
- Place the confectioners' sugar in a sturdy paper bag, drop a few cookies into the bag, close the top securely, and shake gently to coat the warm cookies with the sugar.
- Transfer to racks and let cool completely.
- Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Tips:
- Use fresh ingredients: The fresher the ingredients, the better your peppernuts will taste. Use high-quality butter, eggs, and flour.
- Chill the dough before baking: Chilling the dough will help the cookies hold their shape and prevent them from spreading too much.
- Roll the dough out evenly: Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness. This will help the cookies bake evenly.
- Bake the cookies until they are just set: Overbaking the cookies will make them dry and crumbly. Bake them until they are just set in the center.
- Let the cookies cool completely before storing them: The cookies will continue to harden as they cool. Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.
Conclusion:
Peppernuts are a delicious and festive holiday cookie. They are easy to make and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With a little planning and preparation, you can make your own peppernuts at home. So, gather your ingredients, preheat your oven, and get ready to bake some delicious peppernuts!
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