Description
Pfeffernusse Cookies are traditional German spiced cookies known for their warm blend of aromatic spices and a sweet molasses-honey base. These bite-sized treats are chewy with a slightly cracked exterior and dusted generously with confectioners’ sugar, making them a perfect festive holiday cookie or a flavorful snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup molasses
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup shortening
- ¼ cup margarine
- 2 large eggs
Dry Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons anise extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Dusting
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Prepare Molasses Mixture: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine molasses, honey, shortening, and margarine. Cook and stir until the mixture becomes creamy. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, beat in the eggs thoroughly to incorporate them.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, brown sugar, anise extract, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Mix Dough: Add the cooled molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until all components are thoroughly combined forming a uniform dough. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 2 hours to chill and firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Shape Cookies: Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C). After chilling, roll the dough into acorn-sized balls and place them on baking sheets spaced 1 inch apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the dough balls in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are firm and start showing slight cracks on the top surface. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust and Serve: Once the cookies are cooled, dust them generously with confectioners’ sugar before serving for a sweet finishing touch.
Notes
- Be sure the molasses mixture is fully cooled before adding eggs to prevent cooking the eggs prematurely.
- Chilling the dough is essential to make it easier to handle and helps with the texture of the cookies.
- Rolling dough into uniform balls ensures even baking and consistent size.
- Cookies are best stored in an airtight container to keep them fresh and chewy.
- These cookies have a spicy kick from black pepper, but this can be adjusted to taste.
