Pfeffernuesse (Peppery Gingerbread)
- Dough
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3 1/2 ounces dark molasses
- 3 1/2 ounces sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground aniseed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly grounded
- 2 cups flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- Glaze
- 2 3/4 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (or maybe a bit less (or more)
- Mix flour and baking soda and set aside.
- Bring butter, dark molasses, sugar, and spices in a pot to a boil and remove from heat.
- Add flour at once and stir in quickly.
- Let dough cool down. Then wrap into cling film and put into the fridge. Leave it there overnight.
- On the next day: The dough should be very firm. Halve it with a knife. Set one half aside for the moment. Divide the halved dough into 8 pieces. Each of the 8 pieces divide into 3 little pieces (they should have almost the size of nuts).
- First knead the little pieces of dough, so that they get a little waxier. Then roll them between your hands to form a little ball. Place them on a plate and put in the fridge. Do the same with the second half of the dough.
- Let the dough balls rest in the fridge for one hour.
- Meanwhile preheat oven (360 F, 180 C). Line out two baking trays with baking paper. Take the dough balls out of the fridge and put them on the baking tray.
- Put baking tray into the lower third of the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cookies will flatten a bit and should be golden. They are still soft.
- Put them on a cooling rack and let the them cool completely.
- While the first batch is baking do the same as described above with the second half of dough.
- Mix powdered sugar with as little lime juice as possible to form a glaze. The glaze should be pasty, so use as much lime juice you need to get this consistency. Decorate the Pfeffernusse with the glaze. I use an icing bag with a very small opening to decorate the Pfeffernusse with the pasty glaze.
- Store the Pfeffernusse between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container. You can store them in a dry and not too warm place for about 4 weeks.
- NOTE: I use anise seeds and ground them freshly. The anise flavour will be more intense.
- Cooking time does not include time for cooling (overnight and additional 1 hour). Passive work (baking) time is for 1 baking tray.
dough, butter, molasses, sugar, ground ginger, ground aniseed, black pepper, flour, baking soda, powdered sugar, lime juice
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/pfeffernuesse-peppery-gingerbread-191705 (may not work)