Pebernødder (meaning “pepper nuts”), are small Danish ginger cookies spiced up with a dash of white pepper. They are served as snacks all throughout the month of December in Denmark.
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking ammonia or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 generous pinch of white pepper
2/3 cup half-and-half or light 10% cream
3 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
- Beat together butter and shortening in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking ammonia or cream of tartar, allspice, baking powder, and cloves. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add cream, beat until well combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer (a stand mixer should be able to handle all the flour but it will probably become too stiff for a hand mixer). By hand, stir in the remaining flour (if any) to make a stiff dough. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill 1 hour or until firm. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Roll dough into six 10-inch-long ropes about 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Place about 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.
Notes
- Danish immigrants brought this to the USA and some American families of Danish origin know these as Musner.
- Photo courtesy of Infinite Ache cc.