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A traditional German spice cookie rolled in powdered sugar. These are redolent of many spices and include a little kick from lemon zest and some pepper!
Ingredients
1-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon lemon peel; grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup butter; softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup walnuts; finely chopped
1 teaspoon anise seed
confectioner’s sugar in a shallow bowl (for rolling warm cookies)
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F and lightly grease baking sheets.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, lemon peel, salt, spices & pepper.
- In big bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with milk, and beat it well after each addition.
- Stir in chopped walnuts and anise seeds with a wooden spoon.
- Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 2″ apart, on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15-17 minutes.
- Cool slightly on wire racks (until just handle-able). Roll in confectioners’ sugar while still warm; cool completely.
Notes
- Recipe of Cecilia Gustafsson (1891-1979), kindly contributed by Kurt Gustafsson.
- Wikipedia has an entry on Pfeffernusse history, traditions and variations.
Common spellings and misspellings: pfeffernuesse, pfeffernuessen, pfeffernuss, pepernoten, pepernoot, päpanät, pebernødder - Photo by Durova under Creative Commons license.
