Pfefferneusse (Peppernuts)

Each year, in memory of my mother, I'm obliged to make peppernuts, or pfefferneusse, as my German ancestors would call them. They aren't nuts, and they don't have pepper in them, so go figure. Anyway, most of you know what they are--tiny little cookies made from flour, lots of butter, Karo syrup, sugar, a tiny amount of milk and baking soda, and two spices (allspice and cardamom; some use anise, but I don't care for that).

Many years ago, thoughtful, sensitive son Rob made a gift for me based on Mom's peppernut recipe. I have had it framed and hanging in the kitchen for over 16 years.


I didn't take a picture of the dough or the dough "in process", but you would be correct to imagine modeling clay. The dough is very, very stiff and thick. In the last stages, it is a real bear to stir. Then it is cooled further before being rolled out--like the snakes you used to roll out with modeling clay in grade school.


These rolls are cooled further overnight, and then the baking process commences. Each roll is cut into many, many, many, many, many, many small 1/4" or smaller slices. These are then, of course, arranged in rows and columns (the obssessive-compulsive in me requires this) on a cookie sheet and baked.



The results are wonderful, little, golden brown goodies that combine to fill up an appropriate container. The one you see here was filled to overflowing by the time I was done, with the extras filling another mixing bowl.


Now, there are many ways to eat these delights. Personally, I dislike just chewing them up like cookies, although to each his or her own. My prefence is to just let each one melt in your mouth (resulting in slower consumption) or to drop a handful in a glass of milk and fish them out with a spoon after an appropriate amount of time. Yum!

When I worked at NSF back in 1998-2000, I made some of these for friends there. They didn't recognize them, though they claimed to know what peppernuts were. Later, they brought me some they had purchased. They were enormous and were frosted! Naturally, I didn't think these qualified as peppernuts, but I guess there are lots of ways to make them. Just "google" for peppernuts or pfefferneuse on the web, and you will see what I mean.