Pfefferkuchen Recipes

PFEFFERNUSSE COOKIES

Steps:

• Stir together the molasses, honey, shortening, and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the eggs.
• Combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, anise, cinnamon, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Add the molasses mixture and stir until thoroughly combines. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Roll the dough into acorn-sized balls. Arrange on baking sheets, spacing at least 1 inch apart.
• Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes. Move to a rack to cool. Dust cooled cookies with confectioners' sugar.

LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• Tip the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Heat the honey and butter in a pan over a low heat until the butter melts, then pour into the flour mixture along with the lemon zest. Mix well until the dough is combined and fairly solid. Cover and leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Using your hands, roll dough into about 30 balls, each 3cm wide, then flatten each one slightly into a disk. Divide the biscuits between two baking trays lined with baking parchment, leaving room for them to expand. Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.
• To ice the biscuits, mix together the icing sugar, egg white and 1-2 tbsp water to form a smooth, runny icing. Dip the top of each biscuit in the icing and spread with the back of a knife. Leave to dry out in a warm room.

PFEFFERNUSSE (GERMAN PEPPER NUT COOKIES )

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, pepper, aniseeds, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg and cloves.
• In a large bowl, using an electic mixer set on medium speed, beat together the butter, brown sugar and molasses until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
• Beat in the egg.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate for several hours.
• Position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Butter 2 baking sheets, scoop up pieces of dough and roll between your palms into balls 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
• Place the balls on the cookie sheets spacing them about 2 inches apart.
• Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom and firm to the touch, about 14 minutes.
• Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies cool slightly on the sheets.
• Place the confectioners' sugar in a sturdy paper bag, drop a few cookies into the bag, close the top securely, and shake gently to coat the warm cookies with the sugar.
• Transfer to racks and let cool completely.
• Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two baking sheets (cookie sheet) or line them with parchment paper.
• 2. Sift together the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Set aside.
• 3. Beat the egg and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
• 4. Beat in the honey and molasses until thoroughly combined. On low speed, stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
• 5. Turn the dough out from the bowl onto a well-floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour as kneaded, until a stiff dough is formed. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
• 6. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a 9×12-inch rectangle. Cut the dough into 18 3×2-inch rectangles, place a rice wafer under each (OPT) . Bake for 10-12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.
• 7. Whisk together the confectioner's sugar, water and lemon juice and brush or spread on top of the cookies. Allow the glaze to firm, and then store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

PFEFFERNUSSE

Steps:

• In a measuring jug, combine flour and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine butter, honey, brown sugar, cloves, all-spice, cinnamon, and finely ground white pepper. Bring to a boil, then take off the heat and quickly stir flour into the mixture.
• Let the dough cool to room temperature, then form into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit in a cool space for at least overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide dough into four parts and roll each into a 1/2-inch thick log. Cut each log into 8 pieces and roll them into a small ball. Place balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Bake in the lover half of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Let cookies cool to room temperature.
• To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, beat egg white with 1 tablespoon of honey. Gradually sift in 1 cup powdered sugar, mixing until smooth. Dip cookies in the glaze then place on a rack set up over a baking sheet until coating hardens.

AUTHENTIC GERMAN LEBKUCHEN (NüRNBERGER ELISENLEBKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Toss the candied lemon and orange peel with about 1/4 cup all-purpose flour to keep it from sticking together and then pulse in a food processor until finely minced. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the sugar, honey and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
• Add the ground almonds and hazelnuts, salt, baking powder, Lebkuchengewürz, and candied lemon and orange peels and stir vigorously until thoroughly combined. (You can use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for about 2 minutes). The mixture will be wet but if it is too thin to scoop onto the oblaten add some more almond or hazelnut meal.
• Scoop the mixture onto the Backoblaten, smoothing down the top and leaving just a slight space around the edges. Set them on a lined cookie sheet.
• Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
• Once cooled, place a wire rack over a cookie sheet (to catch the drippings). Dip half the Lebkuchen in the chocolate glaze and half in the sugar glaze, letting the excess drip back into the bowl and then place the Lebkuchen on the wire rack. Arrange 3 almonds on each Lebkuchen while the glaze is still wet. Let the Lebkuchen dry completely until the glaze is hardened.
• Keep stored in an airtight container. Will keep for several weeks and the flavor improves with time.
• Makes about 35 if using 70mm Backoblaten and about 25 if using 90mm Backoblaten.

PFEFFERKUCHEN

Steps:

• Melt together;honey, sugar, cold coffe and butter in small bowl, by warming it slowly, best in microwave. Let it cool off. Mix the flour and baking powder together in bowl, make a well in the middle and put in the egg and the spices and stir all together slowly adding the cold honey mixture too. The dough has to be thick but has to drop of a spoon slowly, if to thick add a little bit more cold coffee. Grease a cookie sheet very well and with a wet spatula spread the dough out on it, about 1 cm thick. Heat oven to 350℉ (180℃) F and put the cookiesheet on the highest rack in the oven. Bake about 20 minutes. Make the glaze and immedietly glaze the dough when it it comes out of the oven, cool a little and cut into rectangles. Store in a tightly closed tin container so they stay soft.

PFEFFERKUCHEN

Steps:

• Bring molasses, honey, and sugar to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat, then remove from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Stir in anise, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, lemon zest, and butter. Dissolve baking soda in water, then stir into the molasses mixture. Sift together 6 cups of flour with the baking powder and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Stir in molasses mixture and eggs until smooth. Stir in remaining 3 cups flour until a stiff dough has formed.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces to make it more manageable. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick on a well floured surface and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.
• Bake cookies on ungreased baking sheets 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.