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10
December
Pfeffernüsse
With a frost on the ground, and bitter winds outside, we are well into the middle of winter. I am getting over the annual cold, and glad to be indoors. However, Christmas baking stops for no woman – cold, or no cold. So today, in between sneezing fits, I have been baking Pfeffernüsse as another component of my edible gifts hamper.
Pfeffernüsse (pepper nuts in German and Dutch) are small spicy biscuits that do usually contain a little pepper, and in some cases, nuts. The recipe below, instead of ground almonds (which I have seen in other versions) they contain a small amount of marzipan. Don’t worry if you are not a fan of black pepper. I don’t like it, but these biscuits are certainly pleasant to eat and the pepper leaves just a slight warmth on the tongue.
Once baked, you can either dust them liberally with icing sugar, or in the case below, glaze them in a slightly runny royal icing. They start off quite hard, but will soften and the flavours will develop and improve.
Pfeffernüsse
Print recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 230g Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Marzipan
- 250g Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1½ teaspoon Ground Mixed Spice
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Glaze
- 3 Egg Whites
- 480g Icing Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kirsch (optional)
Directions
| 1. | Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy | |
| 2. | Fork in the softened marzipan, then beat until combined | |
| 3. | Sieve the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then add to the egg mixture | |
| 4. | Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead into a soft dough. | |
| 5. | Cover in cling film, and chill in the fridge for an hour | |
| 6. | Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3 / 325°F / 160°C | |
| 7. | With lightly floured hands, roll the mixture into small balls (approx 3cm across) | |
| 8. | Bake for about 16-18 minutes until starting to turn golden. | |
| 9. | For the glaze, you will need 1 part egg white to 4 parts icing sugar, so weigh your egg whites. | |
| 10. | In a scrupulously clean bowl, beat the egg whites until white and stiff. | |
| 11. | Gradually fold in the icing sugar until smooth and add the Kirsh if you are using it | |
| 12. |
Dip each biscuit and shake off any excess. There really is no getting around it - its much easier to just get your fingers right in there. |  |
| 13. | Place on a cooling rack that has kitchen roll underneath to catch the drips, and allow a few hours for it to dry |
Note
Once completely dry top and bottom, you can store them for upto 8 weeks in an airtight container.
You can make the dough in advance, and freeze it for months. Freeze them on a baking tray, then when fully frozen you can 'decant' into a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible.
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