One of Germany’s most popular and beloved Christmas treats, these spiced and iced cookies are simply delightful! A thoroughly authentic and incredibly delicious Pfeffernusse recipe that will bring back fond memories or help create new Christmas traditions!
What Are Pfeffernüsse?
The Netherlands and Germany enjoy a similar cookie in the month of December. Known as Pepernoten in the Netherlands, they are eaten in celebration of the arrival of Sinterklaas on December 5. In Germany they are known as Pfeffernüsse and although St. Nicholas comes on December 6, Pfeffernüsse are enjoyed throughout the entire Christmas season.
The coming of the jolly bearded man so early on in the month will sound confusing to those who await Santa on December 25. But in Germany, and many other European countries, the tradition is that St. Nicholas visits the kids earlier in December. Traditionally shoes are left in front of the door and if you’re good they’ll be filled with oranges and nuts – if you’re bad, you’ll get shoes full of coal. Then, on Christmas Eve, it’s not Santa who comes to the home to deliver gifts, it’s the Christkind – the Christ child, the ultimate Giver – who gives the gifts.
Pepernoten and Pfeffernüsse are both spice/gingerbread-like cookies and have some similarities, but the ingredients vary as does the method of preparation. Also, Pfeffernuesse are commonly coated with a sugar icing.
The name Pfeffernuesse means “pepper nuts.” The pepper part refers to the white pepper that is added to the dough which gives these cookies a very unique and flavorful touch. The nuts part refers to their walnut-like shape.
In Germany you can find Pfeffernüsse in any grocery store throughout the holidays.
I have to admit, as popular as they are I’ve never cared for store-bought Pfeffernusse. And so if you were to tell me you don’t like them either I would understand.
BUT…homemade is a totally different story.
Everything about homemade Pfeffernusse is better – the flavor, the texture. In short, if like me you don’t like the store-bought stuff, give these a try – I think these German spice cookies will win you over!
Pfeffernusse Recipe
Let’s get started!
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, Lebkuchengewürz, white pepper and almond meal. Set aside.
Combine the brown sugar, honey, butter, and cream in a medium saucepan and heat, stirring frequently, until melted and the sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.
Stir in the flour mixture.
Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined.
The dough will have a nice glossy sheen. The dough will be very sticky and that’s how it should be.
Turn the mixture out onto some plastic wrap and wrap the dough tightly. Refrigerate at a minimum overnight to allow the flavors time to develop, or for up to two days.
Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and immediately roll it into two strands, each 3/4 inch thick.
Slice the rolls into 3/4 inch thick rounds.
Roll each round into a ball (each ball should be about 3/4 inch large). Work quickly while the dough is still chilled.
Place the cookie balls on a line cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove and let the cookies cool completely.
To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and water until smooth.
Dip each cookie in the glaze, letting the excess drip off, and place them on a wire rack positioned over a cookie sheet (to catch the drips) and let them sit until the glaze is fully hardened.
Store the cookies in airtight container in a cool place. Will keep for at least 2 weeks and the flavor only gets better over time.
Enjoy!
For more delicious and authentic German Christmas goodies be sure to try our:
- Stollen
- Lebkuchen
- Marzipan
- Springerle
- Gugelhupf
- German Rum Balls
- Printen
- Speculoos
- Vanillekipferl
- Zimtsterne
- Bethmännchen
- Heidesand
BEST Authentic Pfeffernüsse
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 teaspoons Lebkuchengewürz
- Homemade Lebkuchengewürz (STRONGLY recommended for best flavor), click link for recipe
- 1/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup pure honey
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- For the Glaze:
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons hot water (less water will result in a thicker & whiter glaze)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, Lebkuchengewuerz, white pepper and almond meal. Set aside.
- Combine the brown sugar, honey, butter, and cream in a medium saucepan and heat, stirring frequently, until melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture. Once incorporated stir in the egg until thoroughly combined. The dough will have a nice glossy sheen. It will be very sticky and that's how it should be.
- Turn the mixture out onto some plastic wrap and wrap the dough tightly. Refrigerate overnight or for up to two days.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and immediately roll it into two strands, each 3/4 inch thick. Slice the rolls into 3/4 inch thick rounds and roll each round into a ball (each ball should be about 3/4 inch large). Work quickly while the dough is still chilled. Note: The size is just personal preference, you can make them larger if you prefer.Place the cookie balls on a line cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let the cookies cool completely.
- To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and water until smooth.Dip each cookie in the glaze, letting the excess drip off, and place them on a wire rack positioned over a cookie sheet (to catch the drips) and let them sit until the glaze is fully hardened.Store the cookies in airtight container in a cool place. Will keep for at least 2 weeks (they're usually stored longer) and the flavor only gets better over time.Makes 50+ cookies depending on their size.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 20, 2015
Meagan Artlett says
I’m having trouble figuring out if this recipe is in Metric or Imperial. It’s something I need to know before I can even think about starting, otherwise the proportions won’t be correct
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Meagan, this recipe is in American customary measurements. However, I just recently subscribed to a software program that provides automatic conversions to metric and I’ve slowly been updating my database of recipes. I’ve just converted this one over and it should be (fingers crossed) correct. Under the list of ingredients you’ll now see written in blue the option of clicking on “metric” to convert it.
Matt says
I’m from Australia and used the metric measurements – 100% spot on, amazing recipe! Thanks so much!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So awesome, Matt, thank you!
Anonymous says
not having any equipment to grind spice i ended up substituting half the spices with Chinese five spice (contains cloves,star anise,coriander, fennel, peppercorn it was really cheap and worked really well :)
Sarah says
When I mixed together the brown sugar, honey and butter, and got it dissolved, it started turning into caramel and hardening. I had left out the cream. Does the cream prevent it from turning into caramel?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sarah, yes, that’s correct – the cream is a vital addition.
Michele says
I am indebted to you for this recipe, Kimberly. My husband Wolfgang is from Germany and for years I have been making Christmas cookies. I had found satisfactory recipes for all but the Pfeffernüße and Lebkkuchen. I made your Lebkuchengewürz as well. My search has ended with your recipes. The only change I had to make was to use less water than specified with the powdered sugar for the glaze. We live in the south San Francisco Bay Area, and local humidity varies. I regularly bake German style breads and have relied on Jeffrey Hamelman’s wonderful book with great success. I am going to try your Danish ryggbrudd, which I have enjoyed in Denmark and Sweden, and your version of Vollkornbrot as well. I’m working on Vollkornbrötchen, which I miss most of all.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Michele, I am so pleased to hear that, thank you! I haven’t tried anything from Jeffrey Hamelman yet. With so many highly rated bread baking books on the market, it’s hard to know which ones to go with! I’ve also been dabbling more into sourdough breads, which I really enjoy. Best of luck mastering those Vollkornbrötchen!
Sue says
May I have the recipe for homemade lebkuchengewurtz? What equipment do you use for grinding? A coffee bean grinder?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sue, yes here is the link to the recipe: http://www.daringgourmet.com/homemade-lebkuchengewuerz-german-gingerbread-spice-blend/. Scroll down in the post and you’ll see where I recommend the Krupps coffee/spice grinder.
Trudy Dsouza says
Fabulous recipe..the home made spice grind amped the cookie.. loved the fragrance!
I baked these twice before the holidays.. couldn’t get enough..hence will do another batch to celebrate the new year.Thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Trudy, I’m so thrilled to hear that – thank you!
Emily says
This recipe was absolutely fantastic! I made 7 different kinds of Christmas cookies this season and these by far stole the show. Every single person that tasted them asked for the recipe…will definitely be making again. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yahoo!! I’m so thrilled to hear that, Emily, thank you!
Christine West says
Wow! These are so delicious! Tha is for the recipe. I’m having the same issue with cracking. My oven runs high and is fan forced so am trying a lower temp on this batch and seems to be working…
Christine West says
That meant to say thanks for the recipe… Hah.
Unfortunately a few cracks again… But not as severe as the last few batchs…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Christine, thank you! :) It’s interesting you mention the fan – I was just having a discussion with someone about that and read through some threads on a baking site where people were commenting that fans often cause problems with baked goods and recommend that you turn the fan off. I don’t know if you have that option but it may make a difference in the cracking issue.
Alicia says
I tried your recipe and it tasted great! I was just wondering if you had any tips on how to get the cookies crunchier and crisper because mine came out rather chewy, with a bread-like texture. Thanks for the recipe, I ground my own spices and it tasted fantastic.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Alicia, I’m glad you enjoyed them, thank you! Pfeffernüsse aren’t supposed to be crunchy or crispy, they’re actually supposed to be the very way you described them :)
Tori says
Hands down the best Pfeffernuesse I’ve had, ever! Just finished my second batch. The first batch went out to family and friends in gift packets but this batch is MINE :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Terrific, Tori, I’m so thrilled to hear that – thank you!
Calypso says
My 6 1/2 years old daughter are just making the Pfeffernüsse. She voukd nth stop eating the dough (before we put the egg in). The dough is so delicious! We put it in the fridge now. Will let you know how the cookies turn out tomorrow. Thank you for the recipe. Very easy. We made our our Lebkuchengewürz, which I always have for my general cooking. Such a wonderful warm and happy smells.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Calypso, I look forward to hearing how they turn out!
Heidi says
Hi Kimberly, I made these today and they turned out puffy and with cracks on the top. Do you know why?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Heidi, mine have gotten small cracks on occasion which are then hidden by the glaze. Can you elaborate more on what you mean by puffy?
Heidi says
Thanks for the quick answer. They were fine the first minutes in the oven but then they got swollen and started cracking. Big cracks. Big enough so that glazing was not a good option. I used powdered sugar instead. Otherwise they were delicious. BTW, could you give me some input about how they should be texture-wise?. Mine were on the soft side but still with some bite. I would also appreciate it if you could tell me the exact amounts of each ingredient (specially the flour) by weight.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Heidi, it sounds like somewhere in the measuring process something went wrong – either too much flour (so the dough was too dry and cracked) or too much leavening (so it puffed up too much and caused cracking). The texture overall should be dry, firm on the outside and somewhat chewy in the center. I don’t have the metric measurements I’m afraid, you would need to Google the ingredient conversions.
Tatiana says
Hi Kimberley,
Thank you for a fantastic recipe. I just mixed my mixture. 350 degrees you mean Celsius or Farenheit?
Thank you kindly
Tatiana
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Tatiana, everything on my blog is in Farenheit, so this will be about 175-180 Celsius. Happy baking!
Stefan says
These Pfeffernüsse look quite enticing but how long does the entire process take to make them? Seems a considerable time commitment.
This year I bought authentic bayerische Pfeffernüsse (made in Neu-Ulm) from a local Toronto store. If I get to compare against home-made ones at some gathering I’ll decide whether it’s worth the time to bake some at home next year.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Stefan, they’re really not very time-consuming. The main time commitment involved is simply the wait time while the dough chills in the fridge overnight. I can’t vouch for how anyone else’s homemade Pfeffernüsse taste, but I can almost guarantee that you’ll enjoy the ones made from this traditional recipe far more than the store-bought ones, especially if you make your own Lebkuchengewürz from whole spices (that makes a huge difference).
Lynda says
I love the texture of these cookies! I don’t know of it’s me being used to the store bought stuff, but I don’t think there is enough spice in them. I added an extra tsp to a double batch, but hey still taste a bit light on the spices. I think I’ll add a pinch of pepper and spice mix to the glaze to see if it kicks it up a bit.
Thanks for the great recipe :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Lynda, did you make and use my homemade Lebkuchen spice blend recipe? If not, I can’t vouch for the store-bought stuff as quality and intensity of flavor varies from brand to brand.
Lynda says
Hi Kimberly. I bought all new spices to make the blend. I did grind the star anise and nutmeg, fresh, but the rest was preground. Perhaps it was the brands of the spices. Next time I go to the store that I know will have the rest of the ingredients in whole form that I can grind myself, I’ll give it another go. They still taste great though :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yes, there’s a great deal of variation in the freshness of both whole and pre-ground spices. And yes, grinding the spices whole makes ALL the difference in flavor. Still, instead of wasting what you already have, you can simply add a little more of it until it’s as strong as you prefer. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies, thank you!