Note: This Peppernuts recipe was originally part of my Biscuit Advent Calendar, a one-recipe-a-day email series in December. You can find the other recipes and sign up for the next round if you want here.
I really think it is time for another gingerbread. So far we’ve had Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen (Day 10) and Aachener Printen (Day 3). Here is another one that I really like and that is probably the easiest to make out of all three: Pfeffernüsse (pepper nuts). Traditionally, they are glazed but you can leave them without it like the photo below. They are totally a Christmas classic as well and you will find some version in any German supermarket.
The Pfeffernuss probably hails from northern Germany, which means we’ve now covered most points of the gingerbread compass: west with Aachen, south-east with Nürnberg, and now the north as well (yes there are more, of course).
The original pepper nut was quite likely a lot less sweet than it is today and baked fairly dry so it would last a long time. It contained not only black pepper but also other historical ‘peppers’: cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and sometimes ginger. The usual suspects in other words.
Sugar increased as baking time decreased in the 18th-19th century (thanks in part to the industrial revolution giving us easy access to sweetness).
However, I think modern recipes go a bit too far in the sweet direction and so this recipe is quite a bit less sugary than most you will find online. I do agree however with shorter baking times. You don’t need to bake these into rocks, they last well as they are.
Sugars
This recipe has a mix of sugar and honey. Did you know that honey generally tastes sweeter than table sugar (sucrose) by weight? That’s largely because even though honey overall contains less sugar than sucrose (it also contains quite a bit of water), honey is rich in free fructose, which tastes sweeter than sucrose (which consists of molecules of one glucose and one fructose bound together). When sucrose is split into glucose and fructose this is called invert sugar. Honey being naturally high in both free glucose and fructose thus behaves similarly to invert sugar when you bake with it.
Practically speaking, if you want to replace sugar with honey, you can try using about 20% less for roughly the same sweetness (depending on the honey, of course). Invert sugars make it harder for sucrose to crystallise and help retain moisture, which means gingerbread made with honey tends to dry out less quickly.
Sugar, on the other hand, adds sweetness without additional flavor. It also helps with the texture, keeping the biscuits from becoming too chewy or dense. So I like using both together. You get a nice balance of flavour, texture, and keeping quality.
Spices
I do indeed like to add a lot of black pepper here. If you don’t like it and find it too spicy: leave it out and replace it with more of the other spices. You can absolutely use your own gingerbread spice, this is just a suggestion.
I also like to add pink peppercorns to the top because they are pretty. That’s totally optional. Sprinkles are also great as decoration. Or just plain egg white or water glaze.
Pfeffernüsse Recipe
Makes about 50-60
Ingredients
- 50 g chopped almonds
- 50 g butter
- 350 g flour
- 150 g honey
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp strong brewed black tea
- Spices
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground star anise
- OR
- 3.5 tsp gingerbread spice
- Decoration
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp pink peppercorns (optional)
Instructions
Roast the chopped almonds in a pan and let cool.
Gently heat the honey and brown sugar in a saucepan until dissolved. Add the butter and melt. Remove from heat and let cool until just warm.
Stir in the egg yolk, toasted almonds, and spices.
Mix the baking powder into the flour. Add to the honey mixture along with the black tea and knead briefly until a smooth dough forms.
Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls (12-15 g) and place on two lined baking sheets, leaving space (they spread slightly).
Bake at 180°C conventional for 15 minutes. Let cool on a tray.
Decoration: sieve the icing sugar and combine it with the egg white into a glaze. If it’s too thick you can add a touch of water. Dip the cool pepper nuts into the glaze and scatter over some pink peppercorns (if using). If you don’t like using egg white, you can also replace it with a sugar/water glaze (when you make it add a teaspoon of water at a time as it gets too runny very quickly).
Pack them gently into tins or boxes. I separate the layers with baking parchment. They will last 1-2 months easily. And they get better over time.
Enjoy!!