Pfeffernusse cookies are one of Germany's most popular Christmas treats. Quick to make and simply delicious! You will find many different recipes all over the country, but when I was living in England I adapted my Oma's authentic recipe, so it also works with ingredients you can get abroad. So there is nothing stopping you this holiday season to try them out.
Jump to:
What are Peffernusse?
Pfeffernusse are Lebkuchen cookies that are known throughout many European countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany. They are popular during Advent and Christmas time. Lebkuchen is the generic term that describes German gingerbread cookies
Other German gingerbread cookies that are categorized as Lebkuchen are Aachener Printen, German Gingerbread Hearts, Gewürzkuchen and Lebkuchen Kekse.
Pfeffernüsse literally translates as "pepper nut" in English. However, in the original recipe, pepper was not an ingredient. The name came about in the Middle Ages when exotic spices were generally grouped together under the term "Pfeffer". Also nuts are not an ingredient that you will find in all recipes. One believes that the term "nuts" comes from the fact that they used to be hard, just like nuts. Also, they are similar in size to walnuts. However, the recipes have changed and now you can get hard as well as soft Pfeffernüsse, and the sizes vary. (My Pfeffernüsse are soft and chewy!)
You will find many regional variations in this recipe. In the south, they are often made with lemon and orange zest. You find them as soft or hard cookies, as iced gingerbread cookies, or with a powdered sugar coating.
Where did Pfeffernusse originate?
According to Legend, a pastry chef called Johann Fleischmann invented the recipe in 1753 in a town called Offenbach am Main, which is close to Frankfurt am Main and lies in the German state of Hessia. Until the 1980s the Hessian regional government served them as a delicacy on state reception. The German composer Felix Mendelssohn traveled especially to Offenbach to buy these cookies and the famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was also a fan. [Source Wikipedia]
How to make Homemade German Peppernuts cookies
This is an easy Pfeffernüsse recipe - as you can bake them straight away without leaving the dough to rest. However, I recommend leaving it to rest for a couple of hours for the best flavor.
Ingredients:
- butter - use unsalted butter at room temperature
- sugar - white or brown sugar can be used for this recipe.
- egg - to bind it all together
- honey - the key ingredient for any lebkuchen
- flour - in Germany use type 405, UK plain flour, and USA cake or all-purpose flour.
- ground almonds (affiliate link) - you can use almond meal or almond flour
- ground hazelnuts (affiliate link)
- lebkuchen spice - I strongly recommend using my homemade lebkuchen spice mix. You can make lots of other recipes from it. Lebkuchen spice is made of seasonal spices such as ground cinnamon (affiliate link), cloves, cardamom, nutmeg ginger, anise seeds, and coriander
- black pepper - this is optional, but it gives a little sharpness to these tiny cookies
- baking powder (affiliate link) - In Germany, other raising agents are used such as potash (affiliate link)/potassium carbonate or baker's ammonia. This recipe works with just baking powder (affiliate link).
To decorate
- icing sugar/confectioners sugar
- sugar - white or brown sugar can be used for this recipe.
- dark chocolate glaze
Pfeffernusse cookies recipe steps:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar until creamy. Then add the egg.
- Carefully add in the honey. It should be liquid. If your honey has hardened a bit, place it in the microwave for a few seconds. Add the dry ingredients: lebkuchen spice, pepper, ground almonds (affiliate link), and ground hazelnuts (affiliate link) to the bowl and knead to a smooth dough.
- You can continue straight into making your cookies. However, I recommend leaving the dough to rest at room temperature for at least an hour, or overnight. Store them in a plastic wrap or an airtight container. This will allow the spices to fully unfold their flavor.
- Now peheat your oven to 160°C/320°F: Line your baking tray with parchment paper.
- Take a little bits of your cookie dough and roll them into little dough balls - roughly the size of a walnut. If you want to make sure that all balls are equal in size, you can weigh them. Mine were around 20 gr/ 0.8 oz each. Another idea is the roll the dough into a long "sausage" and then slice off equal portions.
- Place them onto the baking sheet. Beware that they are going to expand a little when baking, so leave enough distance between them. Bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes. They should be firm to touch. Leave them to cool on a wire rack while preparing the glaze.
- To make the simple icing, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and whisk until you achieve a smooth texture. If you find the glaze to be too liquid, add more powdered sugar. If it is too dry add a couple of drops of more lemon juice.
- Lightly prick the bottom of the cookies with the bottom of a fork, and then dip it into the lemon glaze. Leave to drain on a wire wrack. Let the thick glaze dry completely before moving on to the next step.
- Using a water bath, melt the chocolate in a bowl. Once the lemon glaze is dry, hold a cookie between two fingers and dip the bottom in the chocolate. Leave to set upside down. I sometimes also drizzle some chocolate over the iced peppernuts for a nice pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions
No there is no rule. In Germany, you will find many different Pfeffernüsse recipes. Some hard, some soft, it depends on the region and the recipe.
Pfeffernusse are German gingerbread cookies that fall under the category Lebkuchen. Lebkuchen is not a specific cookie but are baked goods that have a long shelf life, are sweet, and are spiced with warm spices. There are many varieties of Lebkuchen in Germany and pepper nuts are just one of many of these German spice cookies.
As an English Speaker, you would pronounce Pfeffernüsse as PF-VER-NEW-SSE. The PF is pronounced as one sound. Starting with the P quickly followed by the F sound. The Ü sound in Pfeffernüsse is pronounced like "EW" as in "Grew".
Make ahead
Traditional pfeffernüsse cookies are perfect to make ahead, as they get better the longer they rest. The dough can rest up to three days before you can bake them. However, I normally leave them overnight and bake them the next day. As they are long-life cookies you can make them a month ahead and they will still be delicious on Christmas Eve.
How to store
German cookies are stored in a cookie tin (affiliate link). In case the Pfeffernüsse cookies get hard, you can just place them with a piece of freshly cut apple or a slice of bread in the tin for a couple of days. This gives you nice and chewy cookies again.
Recipe
Traditional Pfeffernüsse (Authentic German Peppernut Cookies)
Ingredients
- 80 g butter 3 oz, at room temperature, unsalted
- 100 g sugar 3.5 oz, white sugar
- 1 egg medium-sized at room temperature
- 100 g honey 3.5 oz
- 250 g flour 9 oz, Germany type 405, UK plain flour, USA all purpose or cake flour.
- 50 g ground almonds 2 oz use almond meal or almond flour
- 50 g ground hazelnuts (affiliate link) 2 oz
- 2 teaspoon lebkuchen spice for best flavour use my homemade spice mix.
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper optional- it adds a little sharpness to the flavour
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the glaze
- 75 g powdered sugar 2.5 oz icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 100 gr dark chocolate 3.5 oz
Instructions
- Using a hand or stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar until creamy. Then add the egg.80 g butter, 100 g sugar, 1 egg
- If your honey is dry, heat it again to make it more liquid. Add it to the butter mix with the gingerbread spice, pepper, ground almonds (affiliate link), hazelnuts, flour, and baking powder (affiliate link). Knead the ingredients until combined. Add the flour and baking powder (affiliate link) to the bowl and knead the ingredients to a smooth dough.100 g honey, 250 g flour, 50 g ground almonds (affiliate link), 50 g ground hazelnuts (affiliate link), 2 teaspoon lebkuchen spice, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon baking powder (affiliate link)
- You can continue to make your cookies. However, I recommend leaving the dough to rest at room temperature for at least an hour or overnight. Store them in a plastic wrap or an airtight container. This will allow the spices to fully unfold their flavor.
- Preheat your oven to 160°C/320°F. Line your baking tray with parchment paper.
- Take a little portion of your cookie dough and roll it into little dough balls - roughly the size of a walnut. If you want to make sure that all balls are equal in size, you can weigh them.
- Place them onto the baking sheet. Keep in mind that they will expand a little when baking, so leave enough distance between them. Bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes. They should be firm to touch. Leave them to cool on a wire rack while preparing the glaze.
To make the glaze
- To make the simple icing, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and whisk until you achieve a smooth texture. If you find the glaze too runny add more powdered sugar. If it is too dry, add a few drops of lemon juice.75 g powdered sugar, 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Lightly prick the bottom of the cookies with a fork, then dip it into the lemon glaze. Leave to drain on a wire wrack. Let the thick glaze dry completely before moving on to the next step.
- . Using a water bath, melt the chocolate in a bowl. Once the lemon glaze is dry, hold a cookie between two fingers and dip the bottom in the chocolate. Leave to set upside down.100 gr dark chocolate
- Drizzle some melted chocolate on top of the cookies.
Leave a Reply