Pfeffernusse cookies are a spiced, gingerbread-like cookie that is extremely popular around the Christmas holidays. They are chewy, dense cookies that keep well, ship well, and taste wonderful!
sifterfor sifting powered sugar over the baked cookies
Ingredients
½cupmolasses
¼cuphoney
½cupbutter
2eggsslightly beaten
2teaspoonsanise extract
4cupsall-purpose flour
¾cupswhite sugar
½cupbrown sugar
1 ½teaspoonground cardamomgrind it fresh if possible
1teaspoonfreshly ground nutmeg
1teaspoonground clovesfreshly ground if possible
1teaspoonground ginger
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1 ½teaspoonsbaking soda
1teaspoonfreshly ground black peppercan use 2 tsp white pepper for color
½teaspoonsalt
1cuppowdered sugarfor dusting
Instructions
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine molasses, honey, and butter and cook, stirring frequently. Cook until creamy and thoroughly mixed together. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When mixture is cool, stir in the eggs and the anise extract.
1/2 cup molasses, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons anise extract
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, sugars, and spices (but not the powdered sugar). Add the molasses mixture and stir together thoroughly. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
4 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cups white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325° F. Let the dough thaw slightly so it is pliable enough to roll into balls. Roll into small balls, about 1 1/4" in size. Place on baking sheet, about 1" apart (they don't spread much but they do get a little bigger when baked).
Bake for 10-12 minutes, they should be slightly brown on the bottom. Cool a minute on the sheet and then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Use a sifter to dust cookies with powdered sugar.
1 cup powdered sugar
Video
Notes
**STORING NOTES:While store bought pfeffernusse cookies can be quite stale, the flavor of the homemade version seems to deepen and sharpen with age. Although delicious when first baked, they are better after “resting” for a week or so. Store them in an airtight container and they will stay fresh for a full week or two, making them a perfect cookie for a care package! And, they freeze beautifully if you want to get your Christmas cookies made.**Want more like this? Subscribe to ourSunday newsletterto get recipes, gardening guides and diet help. Let’s go from Inspiration to Done!