Skip to main content

Christmas baking: Pfeffernuesse

After looking all over the web, I haven't found this particular recipe, so I decided to share it after a nice evening of baking. It is my grandmother's recipe, and one of my dad's favorite Christmas cookies. They are very best after they've aged a few weeks (up to a month) in an airtight container... the icing gets really nice and hard, and the cookies are awesome dunked in tea or coffee. They're so good, though, it's hard to make them last that long!

Pfeffernuesse-- Makes about 4 1/2 dozen

1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 eggs

Zest of one lemon
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped candied lemon peel
1/2 cup finely chopped candied citron
1/4 cup finely chopped candied orange peel
1/2 tsp almond extract

4 cups sifted flour
1 Tbsp cardamom
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground aniseed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Lemon Icing
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 to 4 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions
  • Cream butter in a large bowl, and beat in powdered sugar in small batches. Add eggs and beat until well blended.
  • Mix together lemon juice, zest, chopped candied fruits, and almond extract. Add butter and egg mixture and stir until well blended.
  • Sift together flour, spices, salt and soda to evenly distribute spices. Add butter and fruit mixture, and stir until well blended.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Grease and flour cookie sheets. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Lightly flour hands and roll into 1-inch balls. You can place them fairly close together on the sheet because they don't really spread. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until barely browned but dry.
The icing is the tricky part. It is not icing so much as a thick, opaque white paste. The best way to do it is to put a dab on top of each of the cookies while they're still pretty hot, and then go back and squish it around with your finger. It's indelicate, but it makes a very nice, tangy sugar crust on top.

Comments

rachel said…
I've never made pfeffernuesse before. I think 2008 is the year for them. Thanks for sharing this.
9:12 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Constructivist Crap

Reading this post was like deja vu for me! I took a class just like this as an undergrad... (surprise, surprise) in the education department. I made it through that semester by taking solace in two facts: (a) I was also taking The Sociology of Education in the soc department, with a professor who actually taught the material and (b) most of us in my little liberal arts bubble wouldn't end up teachers, thus wouldn't have an opportunity to inflict such pedagogical torture on kids who needed to actually learn stuff. It would appear that Newoldschoolteacher has neither of those to help her out. God save her. The professor in my class repeatedly insisted that we were a "democratic classroom" and that she wasn't any more of an expert on the material than us. WHAT? I paid good money for that course, money that employed her to teach me. I hope that she was more expert on the material than I was! Also, when I "took responsibility for myself" and said that ...
5 comments
Read more

Day 534: New Recipes in Rotation

It's been quite some time!  This week, we got to visit with our dear friend Peri, whose college graduation we impromptu celebrated way back on Day 2 .  Among other catch-ups, we talked food, and the blog came up. So, here I am again for a quick pop-in update on what's been cooking.   When I started up Socially Distant Cuisine, I thought it would be a fun little art project of sorts, a snapshot in a strange, but short time. "Two weeks to bend the curve," and all.  When it became clear that scary, lonely early days were going to drag on for far longer than we'd guessed, we found meaning and pleasure in reminiscing over food memories and variety by branching out in the kitchen.   But, even intrepid kitchen adventurers settle down eventually.  The blog slowed, and then nearly stopped, as we slipped back into a rhythm.  To be honest, that was just fine with me.   However!  We've still been cooking, and eating.  I thought it wou...
2 comments
Read more

Day 282: Chicken with Yams

 We have been watching a lot of cooking shows here in the Distance, and my now-professional opinion is that Jacques Pepin remains a true treasure.  His most recent work, Cooking at Home,  is super cozy and accessible, even more so than when he was in the studio.  Vanilla pudding for the soul, we say! Before you read further, go take five minutes and watch Jacques prepare Chicken with Yams .  That is what we made tonight, with a few small tweaks. Boneless/skinless thighs instead of bone-in; I tossed in some light herbs/spices to the onions before deglazing:  1 tsp of chopped fresh thyme (1/2 tsp if dry)  A small shake of nutmeg  A small shake of dry mustard (a dab of Dijon would also work); Deglazed with chicken broth instead of white wine (about 1 cup altogether); and At the end, I removed the chicken and veggie chunks and thickened the juice into a sauce: Mixed some juice into 2 tsp cornstarch and then put it back in the pan Added a dash of acid ...
Post a Comment
Read more