**Pfeffernüsse: A Journey Through History and Taste**
Pfeffernüsse, also known as pfefferkuchen or pfefferneuse, are traditional German Christmas cookies that have captivated taste buds for centuries. These bite-sized delights, typically prepared during the holiday season, are characterized by their distinctive peppery flavor, a result of the inclusion of white or black pepper in the recipe. While pfeffernüsse are commonly associated with Germany, variations of this delectable treat can be found across Europe, each region adding its unique touch to the culinary symphony. This article presents a collection of pfeffernüsse recipes that explore the diverse culinary traditions and flavors associated with these beloved cookies. From the classic German pfeffernüsse, known for their subtly spicy warmth, to the Austrian pfefferkuchen, renowned for their soft and chewy texture, this compilation offers a taste of Europe's rich baking heritage.
PEPPERNUTS (PFEFFERNUSSE COOKIES)
Peppernuts (or Pfeffernusse Cookies) are a traditional German cookie often made in Mennonite communities in the US. They are a highly addictive, tiny, crunchy cookie filled with warming spices and are perfect for gift giving during the holidays!
Provided by Bettie
Categories Christmas
Time 1h19m
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, anise extract, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, white pepper, and clove or cardamom into the bowl and mix until everything is incorporated.
- Add the flour into the dough and mix just until it is incorporated. You do not want to mix for a long time, just until the flour is incorporated in.
- Press the dough out to about 1" thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Divide your dough into 16 pieces. Press 1 piece of dough into a ball and roll it out between your hands and a clean work surface to form a thin rope, about 1/4" thick. Use a sharp knife (or I like to use a bench scraper) to cut out tiny nut size pieces of dough. Place on a baking sheet. You can completely fill your sheet in a single layer, but you will need to bake these in several batches to get them all baked. It typically works out to be cutting out the next sheet pan of cookies while the one before it bakes.
- Bake at 350F (177C) for 10-14 minutes, until a dark golden brown. Check the cookies at 10 minutes and bake longer if needed. The cookies will be slightly soft when they first come out of the oven but will become very crispy as the cool. Store the completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.
PFEFFERNUSSE (PEPPER NUTS) "THE GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIE"
This is a VERY spicey version of this cookie! If you like less spice start with a quarter of the spices and add to taste.
Provided by Sarah Prieb
Categories Cookies
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- 1. This cookie seems difficult but if you prep everything a head then all you have to do is throw it in the bowl. So, candy the orange peel, zest and juice the lemon, measure the spices, and use a food processor or nut grinder to get the nuts to a coarse grind.
- 2. Cream the butter, sugar and egg.
- 3. Add molasses and vanilla, stir to combine.
- 4. Add candied orage peel, lemon zest, juice, and spices, stir to combine.
- 5. Slowly add flour and nuts.
- 6. Cover and refrigerate over night.
- 7. Shape into 3/4 in. balls (or scoop with sml cookie dough scoop) onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.
- 8. Bake at 325 F for 15-18 mins. until cookies are set and bottoms are LIGHT golden brown. They will firm as they cool. Over baking will result in a hard cookie. Let cool on cookie sheet for a minute then place on cooling rack that is over a sheet of foil.
- 9. TIME TO GLAZE: Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth with the consistancy of warm honey. Hold cookie by bottom and dip the top portion in the glaze, replace on cooling rack. Glaze the cookies while still warm.
- 10. CANDIED ORANGE PEEL: Cut top and bottoms off oranges so they can sit flat. With a knife or vegtable peeler cut the skin off the orange so that it has a little of the pith as possible. Pulse in the food processor until coarsely ground.
- 11. To make the peel less bitter add to a pot of boiling water. Boil 1 minute, let stand 10 mins. Strain through sieve.
- 12. Bring sugar and water to a low boil. add the peel and simmer 3 mins. strain through sieve and spread out on waxed paper. Let dry.
GERMAN SPICE COOKIES (PFEFFERNUSSE)
German for "pepper nut," pfeffernusse cookies are named for the pinch of pepper added to the dough before baking. It joins a quartet of warm spices -- cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes
Yield Makes about 60
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, brown sugar, and molasses on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off a heaping teaspoon of dough, roll into a ball, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough, spacing balls 1 1/2 inches apart. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.)
- Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Glaze: Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk, and kirsch, if desired. Using a fork, dip each cookie in glaze to coat. Tap to remove excess glaze and place on wire rack to dry. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- To decorate: While the glaze is still wet, top cookies with a small pinch of peppercorns, if desired. Alternatively, let glaze dry completely before mixing together luster dust and kirsch with a small paintbrush. Lightly brush tops of cookies with luster dust mixture, if desired. Let dry before serving. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
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.
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
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
PFEFFERNUSSE
These nut-sized cookies are spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and pepper. They are called Pepperkaker, in Norway.
Provided by Kristi
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European German
Yield 96
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time. Add almonds, if desired.
- Roll into one inch balls and arrange 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11 to 14 minutes.
- Cool and store in airtight containers for 3 days to mellow flavors.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 50.7 calories, Carbohydrate 7.1 g, Cholesterol 7.7 mg, Fat 2.2 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 0.9 g, SaturatedFat 1 g, Sodium 42.4 mg, Sugar 2.9 g
Tips:
- Chill the dough before baking: This will help the cookies hold their shape and prevent them from spreading too much.
- Use a cookie press: This is the easiest way to shape the cookies and ensure they are all uniform in size.
- Don't overbake the cookies: They should be baked until they are just set, but not browned.
- Roll the cookies in powdered sugar: This will give them a sweet, festive coating.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container: They will keep for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
Conclusion:
Pfeffernusse are a delicious and festive German cookie that is perfect for the holiday season. They are easy to make and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Whether you are a fan of traditional German baking or you are just looking for a new holiday treat to try, pfeffernusse are sure to please.
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