Mountain Witch Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Jevne was asking for "culturally-diverse" holiday cookies in chat last night & I promised to share my grandmother's recipe. Thought I'd share with everyone. In English, it's usually written Pfeffernuesse or Pfeffernusse. However you write it, it translates to "Pepper Nuts". They're quite popular in the Low Countries of Europe around this time of year and I believe this particular recipe is Danish, although there's no Danish in my background... 1/2 cup shortening3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)1 egg1/2 cup molasses3 drops anise oil (anise extract is OK but double the amount)1 tablespoon hot water3-1/3 cups flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon white pepper (do not substitute black pepper - doesn't taste as good) Mix shortening, sugar, egg, molasses, anise oil & water. (Works best if you dilute the oil/extract in the water before adding into the mix.) Blend in remaining ingredients. Knead the dough until it's the right consistency for molding. Shape by level teaspoons into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet & bake at 350F for about 12 minutes. Roll in powdered (confectioner's) sugar before storing in an airtight container. They will be hard to bite into for the first week or so (require dunking in a nice cup of hot coffee), but they'll soften with age. It's been years since I made this recipe so I can't remember how many it makes. 3 dozen or thereabouts, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinney Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Thank you so much . My children missed their "Pepernoten" this year (they are Dutch) so i will make these next week as a surprise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiterose Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Thanks for sharing. I don't think I will make these though because I can't do anise or cloves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jevne Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. :) You are awesome. Jevne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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