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| Delightful German Pfeffernusse, spicy seasonal sensations |
One of the great culinary treats of Christmas is pfeffernuse: the tiny spicy German biscuits, which are either bathed in a citrussy glaze or rolled in icing sugar.
They're readily available in the shops but home-made ones are fabulous. And the dough can be made in advance, frozen and baked to order.
A personal favourite is the chocolately ones with hidden nuggets of finely chopped nuts; they manage to be both cake-like and dense.
Pfeffernusse are quite easy to make but there is a fair amount of measuring and beating. In fact, if you wanted to teach your kids to bake, this is a good one to start on. Line up lots of small individual bowls/containers and have your child/ren measure out a single item in each bowl. Cook can check the measures are accurate before proceeding to the mixing stage.
Most of the spices are standard for bakers but don't worry if you haven't any cardomom, for example.
The mixing can be done by hand but electric beaters are recommended as it's not easy incorporating molasses. And the dough ends up very thick and sticky.
A small ice cream scoop is perfect for forming the biscuits but kids will love scooping out a bit of dough and rolling it into a ball. And no one will worry if the pfeffernusse are assorted sizes!
Clear plastic gloves* will be a godsend as the kids will get grotty hands very quickly.
Cost: £2'ish?
Makes: 100 small
Ingred:
195 gm/6.9 oz wholemeal flour
70gm/2.5oz cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)
50gm/1.7oz finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts
1/2 tsp each dried:
cloves
nutmeg
cinnamon
ginger
cardomon
black pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp orange zest
114gm/4 oz room temp butter
130gm/5 oz sugar (white & brown)
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Topping: icing sugar or...
Glaze:
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1-2 tbsp rum or brandy or orange juice
5 tbsp hot water
Method:
- Measure flour, cocoa, nuts, spices and baking soda into a bowl; stir with a large whisk
- Beat butter and sugars (zap butter in microwave 20secs if not soft enough) until light & fluffy; it will take a few mins
- Add egg, molasses & vanilla and orange zest to butter mix; beat until thoroughly incorporated
- Add dry ingred in 4 stages, beating well between additions; the final lot will be thick and sticky
- Refrigerate a few hours
- Roll into balls about an inch big; place close together on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper; freeze a couple of hours or overnight
- Remove pfeffernuse and bag up
- When ready to bake, take out however many pfeffernusse are needed; orange on a tray with a little space in between
- Preheat oven to 355f/180c/160-70f
- Bake 8-10 mins
- Leave to cool on tray 5 mins; then move to cooling rack
- When completely cool, store in an air-tight tin; will last up to a week
- When ready to serve, either (a) glaze with icing mix or (b) roll in icing sugar
*Nisbets mail order
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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises. It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission. 
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