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Yields32 ServingsPrep Time20 minsCook Time30 minsTotal Time4 hrs 50 mins

These are my all-time favourite Christmas cookies. Traditional dutch recipe, intensely spicy with a hint of black pepper.

Closeup image of a pile of cookies in front of christmas decorations. One cookie is broken in half to demonstrate the interior biscuit texture.

Mixing Bowl
 340 g All Purpose Flour
 ½ tsp Bi-Carb Soda
 1 tsp Cinnamon
 ½ tsp Ginger
 ¼ tsp Cloves
 ¼ tsp Allspice
 ¼ tsp Nutmeg
 ¼ tsp Star Anise
 ¼ tsp Cardamom
 ¼ tsp Black Pepper
 30 g Almond Meal
Saucepan
 100 g Brown Sugar
 100 g Honey
 70 g Salted Butter
 45 g Thickened Cream
 1 Egg
Glaze
 4 cups Powdered / Icing Sugar
 23 tbsp Water
Prepare Dough
1

Measure out all the bowl ingredients. Then, mix to combine and set aside.

2

Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Combine the sugar, honey, butter & cream. Stir gently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Don’t let the mixture boil or you’ll end up with caramel toffee.

3

Move the saucepan off the heat and add the dry ingredients you measured out in step one. Mix with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula.

4

Stir in the egg and mix well. At this point, the mixture will be quite sticky.

5

Tear off a roughly square piece of glad-wrap (plastic wrap / cling film). Turn out the dough onto the glad-wrap and shape into a vaguely rectangular shape.

6

Wrap and put in the fridge to cool for 4hrs. Can be left overnight but no longer than 2 days before baking.

When Ready to Bake
7

Preheat the oven to 180oc (350of) and line a large baking tray with baking / parchment paper

8

Remove dough from fridge and unwrap. Divide dough in quarters and roll each quarter into logs. Keep rolling until the logs are long skinny snakes about an inch thick.

9

Slice off cubes of the dough and roll into balls as you go, placing onto the lined tray.

10

Bake for roughly 15 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and cool completely. These cookies can be eaten as is, dusted with powdered sugar or glazed per the following directions.

To Glaze
11

In a medium sized bowl, measure out 3 cups powdered sugar. Icing mixture can be used interchangeably for this recipe and is better for those in humid climates as it is less likely to clump.

12

Add 3tbsp hot water and whisk well until the glaze is smooth and shiny. If the glaze is too runny, add some more sugar. If it’s too dry add a few drops more water. Be careful, as a little here goes a very long way.

13

Set out a baking tray and top with a cooling rack. This setup will allow the tray to catch icing drips as you go and make for easier cleanup than scraping goop off your bench later.

14

Dip the fully cooled cookies in the glaze and set on the rack to dry. If they are still warm, the glaze will slide right off.

Nutrition Facts

0 servings

Serving size

1 Cookie


Amount per serving
Calories104
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g4%

Saturated Fat 2g10%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 12mg4%
Sodium 37mg2%
Total Carbohydrate 17g7%

Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 2g

Vitamin A 2mcg1%
Calcium 1mg1%
Potassium 9mg1%

* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.