Saturday, December 1, 2012

Homemade Peppernuts Recipe

My family has the tradition of baking an assortment of delicious German Christmas cookies with my Oma (grandma). I remember as a young child looking forward to her coming over to our house for a full day of baking - I cherish those memories! This recipe has been slightly altered over the years to cut down on the sugar/fat content, without compromising on the taste. Enjoy!

Pfeffernusse (Peppernuts)

Ingredients:
- 3 1/3 cup flour 
- ¼ tsp salt                              
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground Anis seed
½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup chopped brazil nuts
½ cup strong coffee (1 rounded scoop ground coffee for 1/2 cup water), cooled off 

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, allspice, ground cloves, cinnamon and ground Anis seed. Add sugar, vanilla, maple syrup, brazil nuts and coffee. Mix ingredients to form a stiff dough. Shape the dough into a ball. (If time permits, wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours to develop the flavor.) Cut off a little portion of the dough and roll between your hands and a lightly floured work surface to make slim, ropes about 1/2 inch thick. Cut ropes into 1/2 inch pieces using a sharp knife and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. 



Bake at 350 degrees F for about 8 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking sheet. Cookies will seem a bit hard but will soften once stored in Tupperware for a few hours.  


Does your family have any Christmas baking traditions? 


4 comments:

  1. what a wonderful recipe to share : ) i remember when i was a little girl -- there was a sweet older lady that we called Oma down the street. she would call me into her home after she would finish baking fresh hot pumpernickel bread -- she would serve it warm with butter and a sprinkle of sugar -- it was the most delightful and yummy morsel ever and i have sweet and fond memories of that wonderful lady and when i think of her -- i can taste the bread and her sweetness! sending you holiday hugs and thank you for bringing back a very fond memory!

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  2. What a nice recipe! I'd love to learn more of your healthy/natural recipes. I'm new follower from MBC. Happy Holidays! Carolina
    http://carolbalocka.blogspot.com/

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  3. wonderful I plan to try making some for my sons and hubby

    I love and they also love spice cookies of all kinds and these are so unique with the anise flavor I think

    KAT

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