Pfeffernuesse preferences?

I'm thankful that we're invited to friends for suppertime Thanksgiving meal, and my contribution of sugar spiced nuts is ready. So I have time to make this recipe today, allow the dough to chill overnight, and will bake tomorrow to take these family favorite cookies to Mom this weekend. Mom likes them with anise, without chopped nuts. I prefer them with chopped nuts, without anise. So I'll split the mixture in half at some point before add-ins. Most will be sliced and cooked flat, since that's faster and also easier to bite. A few will be rolled into balls for jaw-breaker style cookies. What's your preference?

Pfeffernuesse

¾ cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark Karo corn syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon soda, dissolved in a little milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon anise (optional)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
8 cups flour (approximately), until stiff enough to roll dough into a log

Mix all ingredients. Roll into several small 10 – 12 inch long logs – about the diameter of a nickel or your thumb knuckle. Wrap logs in waxed paper and refrigerate 8 hours. Slice and bake on ungreased cookie sheets, approximately 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. May also slice thickly, roll slices into balls about 3/4 inch diameter and bake.

I make a version with anise( which I like) and without nuts. I roll the dough into thin "snakes", cut in tiny pieces and bake. They are about the size of a large dried green pea (before baking) and I only do this at Christmas. But we, and others, love them. It's fun to eat cookies by the handful!

I like the idea of pea-sized cookies and will try that with one roll of the dough. I should be able to reroll dough to the pea -diameter snakes after chilling, I hope.

By the way, we had cool temperatures and quite low humidity today, and only 6.5 Cups of flour was needed. I more often make these when the kitchen is warm and has high humidity from other baking so this was new to me. It created a damp-sand textured mixture rather than fully-formed dough. I scooped it out 1 C. at a time on the waxed paper and was able to squeeze it to form the nickle-diameter rolls.

Are they really called Pfeffernuesse?

I only know Pfefferkuchen, but that would be a typically German Christmas snack (I think).

Pfeffernuesse, Pfeffernusse, or Pfeffernüsse. Even anglicized to Feffernous. Occasionally Peppernuts.

They are a German Christmas cookie. A 1709 recipe calls for sugar, eggs, (ein gutes paar eyer), muscat nuts (which I discovered means nutmeg), ginger, and other stuff which I gave up on, because it's not only written in archaic German, but it's a hard-to-read scan of Gothic script.

I've never cared for them, mainly because all the ones I've tasted had anise, which I don't like.

Yes, #3, that's the name of recipe passed along from my German great-grandmother and made at Christmas time. I see from a search that the spelling varies, with/without the third 'e', some translated to English as Peppernuts, and the Scandinavians make a version that includes pepper and cardamom called Pepperkaker. One noted the recipe as pfeffenusse kuchen - so I'm thinking it could also have been shortened along the way to pfefferkuchen - pepper cookies. Some recipes include ground cloves, some use molasses, some brown sugars, some crushed anise rather than anise seed. One recipe even coated these in powdered sugar while warm (similar to the much more tender-textured snowball cookies), which I'd not recommend.

I like them with pecans in them (no anise). My mom makes a kind of version of them called angel cookies (no nuts). They're both my favorite. I love the way they melt in your mouth.

No anise please.

The Dutch equivalent is called Peparnoten. Don't rely on my spelling. I get the impression they when they are homemade they are almost always made with a mix of spices sold specifically for the purpose.

Some have chocolate in them.

As much as I like chocolate, I wouldn't want it in these. In fact, although I do like pecans in them my favorite way to eat them is plain. They're just fine the way they are.

I don't like the chocolate ones very much.

I've never seen them much less tried them but I'm sure I wouldn't like them either.

My preferences are no anise (I didn't know that version even existed), rolled in to balls before being baked, and shaken in a bag with powdered sugar when they're warm from the oven.

I'm rather pfond of pfeffernuesse and like them nutless but with anise. I also like a thin, crisp sugar glaze, pfurther dusted with powdered sugar.

They are difficult to make "just right". Archway Cookies used to make a very good version, if you could pfind them in your pfavorite store. But then Archway went ka-pflooie.

Oh, yes: they must be marble sized rounds or they are not pfeffernuesse.

Actually, the cookies I've had that were called pfeffernuesse were crescent shaped. The marble sized rounds are what my mother calls angel anns. I do like the round ones better.

It's hardly a scientific survey, but when I looked at Pfefferrnusse on google images, I got an interesting split. When it was just "Pfeffernusse," a lot of the pictures showed cookies covered with powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar, icing sugar). Some round, some flat-bottomed.

If I restricted the hits to German web sites, most of the cookies were flat-bottomed & glazed or iced.

Perhaps thay are Leckerli?

I have to have mine covered in confectioners sugar. I've seen them iced and just back away.

You can have it both ways Anonimo. I'll stick to round powdery cookies. I'm hungry.

Mine are both round and flat bottomed as well as iced and powdered. So, you CAN have it both ways.

Pfantastic post Anonimo. You are pforever the pfeffernuesse pfaroah.

Early this a.m. I mixed a new batch of PFNs, using a Joy of Cooking recipe. It's chilling now, and it looks promising.

Let me know how that goes Anonimo. I've been trying to think of something I could make for my friend's Christmas party. I would love to have pfns. (nice job on the abbreviation, btw)

Good luck Anonimo. More flour. Go for Silly-Putty stiffness as you form the ropes before chilling, not PlayDoh.

In the JoC recipe, the dough is chilled in bulk, not in ropes.

They are out of the oven. Although they flattened somewhat, they are better as well as tastier than those of the previous recipe.

Pfactors apffecting the outcome are, IMO, too much hygroscopic sweeteners, such as honey; adding brandy to the dough; and could be altitde (we are at almost 7000 ft a.s.l.

We can eat these, though, without shame.

Cool! Thanks Anonimo! Maybe I will try making them for my friends' Christmas party.

Ipf I were to try again (but will NOT!) a third time, I'd make the JoC recipe* and apfter 1 chilling then shaping, let the balls dry four 8 to 12 hours before baking. Maybe that would make them perfect.

Still, Archway's were the best.

*There's molasses but no honey in the JoC recipe.

Maybe I'll just see if my mom can give me her recipe. I'd hate to not have them come out perfect if I'm making them for others.