Pfeffernusse Cookies

This produced a great tasting cookie that got better with age. I did fit hat the cookies spread more than I expected.

In step 1, it doesn’t become “creamy”; expect “liquid”. Beat in eggs with beater. In step 2, expect a crumby mixture. In step 4, you will be packing into balls, not rolling, approximately 7/8″ diameter sphere, for those who have never seen an acorn. Ungreased cookie sheet. I had to go 20 minutes at 325. This is an excellent array of spices. It will reward you for using fresh stock. I agree with double the pepper, and use mostly white pepper. I recommend a double batch, and prepare yourself with a mug of milk handy when sampling.

Loved the unique flavor, easy to make. I made them too big , they do rise quit a bit, so next time I will go for much smaller. I followed someone’s idea to roll them into logs and cut into one inch slices. Just make sure the log is only an inch round, mine were bigger. I thought they were so good even without the powder sugar, so we are eating them plain. My daughter told me they have become her favorite for Christmas cookies.

Excellent. As good as what my mother used to make. Unfortunately her recipe is long gone. I will be making these again. I added the spices to the warm molasses mixture to allow them to “bloom” thus enhancing their flavors.

Great recipe. I changed a couple things like heating the spices in a small pan with honey,molasses, tablespoon of water or coffee. After mixing the dough together , wrap up in bowl with plastic wrap a few days before baking. Letting spices mature

I am 67 years old been making these cookies since I was 14 I lost the original recipe 20 years ago this recipe is perfect just like the one from the 30s thank you so much!

They turned out perfectly! The inside texture was Soft and moist while , the outside texture Had just the right amount of delicate crispiness to it. The spices were well balanced, and I really loved the slight kick of the pepper. Actually, I think I might even put in a little extra pepper next time. This will be my new go to recipe for Christmas.

My husband despises powdered sugar and anise, so I substituted turbinado sugar and vanilla extract- they still came out fantastic! It’s a go-to for our gingerbread alternative for the holidays.

My Mom used to make these every Christmas and I lost the recipe. So happy to see this one. One thing my family did with these is to split the dough into about four sections and then rolled them out into a long “rope” about a half inch in diameter. They were then chilled overnight or longer. We’d then slice them into little cookies and bake what we needed. They were so nice to have on hand when unexpected company dropped by over the holidays. They also go well in little bags. In our family, we liked dropping a few in our coffee.

Never had them before, pretty good!

These were so good, I had to make a second batch right away!!! I did add the anise extract to the liquid side of the recipe as suggested, came out amazing!!!

I think it’s pretty close to the old Stella Doro and Archway cookies. Can’t easily find the Archways, especially in the NW. I had to use anise seed, it’s what I had on hand, next time I would grind them and I used coconut sugar as I realized I didn’t have honey. No time to run to the store. They taste even better the next day! Good recipe and my first ever attempt at these cookies!

Wonderful recipe! Very good tasting!

Yum! These cookies were great. My husband kept sneaking them:) I used butter instead of margarine and put the anise extract in the liquid ingredients when I added the egg. Since it was the only liquid for that part, it seemed to belong with the other liquids.

Recipe is ambiguous in it’s first instruction where the ingredients are combined in a suacepan. The direction “stir until creamy” is very confusing since there is no help offered by way of a definition “creamy! Overcooking of the mixture is assured with the resulting mixture turning into a tar consistancy at room temperature.

they are just like great gramma made

Full disclosure: sometimes I don’t read the instructions and use recipes as a list of ingredients. This was apparently one of those times, as I didn’t see the first instruction til now, months after making these. I didn’t cook down the sugars and butter (I didn’t have shortening on hand), but creamed them like any other cookie. I didn’t measure the spices precisely, but mixed and matched until I liked the smell. They turned out looking like the ones in the picture and tasting great. They weren’t as hard as the ones my grandma used to make, but then I never know if she meant to do that or not, so it was all good. The dough balls baked up well both fresh and frozen and didn’t need too much extra time in the oven to bake straight from the freezer.

Made this exactly as the recipe calls for and these cookies were amazing! Everyone who had them loved them and no wonder – the blend of spices blooms in your mouth very nicely. These are very good keepers too if stored in an air-tight container; I made them during the week before Christmas and we just finished the last 2 cookies!

Very good read the comments made the minor changes

These are a hit with my brother-in-law, who remembers his older German relatives making these year-round, not just for holidays. Like other reviewers shared, my dough was crumbly, and took a long time to form each cookie. The flavor was terrific – though I would personally like more ginger, clove, and cardamom for more zing.

I followed the recipe exactly (except for adding the anise extract to the wet ingredients) and loved these cookies! I don’t understand reviewers who said the dough was too crumbly; mine was sticky. It held together fine and was easy to scoop with a greased 1-inch melon baller, especially when chilled. That gave a perfect bite-sized cookie. A heaping teaspoon of fresh-ground Tellicherry pepper gave a nice little kick.