December 23rd is National Pfeffernüsse Day, celebrating a traditional German Christmas cookie: rounded, spicy, and coated in powdered sugar.

Pronounced FEH-fehr-NEE-suh, the word means “pepper nuts.” The “nuts” refer to the nut-like hardness of the cookie; there are no nuts in the recipe.

Rather, these cookies are laden with gingerbread spices (anise, cloves, nutmeg), and pepper, plus citron*, candied lemon peel, and/or candied orange peel. The black pepper adds to the spiciness without adding heat. The result is sweet pepperiness.

 
The recipe below doesn’t use the candied citrus peel, but here’s one that does. Another variation: Pfeffernusse topped with royal icing and cubes of candied citrus peel.
 
 
PFEFFERNÜSSE VS. LEBKUCHEN: THE DIFFERENCE 

Pfeffernüsse are similar to Lebkuchen, but the latter are flat spice cookies topped with a thin white icing or chocolate glaze, while as previously mentioned, Pfeffernüsse are almost always small, rounded cookies with a powdered sugar glaze.

Instead of powdered sugar, Lebkuchen can be iced or dipped in chocolate. In photo #4, the baker did both! Lebkuchen can be shaped like regular cookies or cut into bars.

Pfeffernüsse and lebkuchen are both similarly flavored with honey and lots of warm baking spices

Some people think Lebkuchen are gingerbread, but they’re different†.

To soften the hard cookie, Lebkuchen (and Pfeffernüsse without powdered sugar) are often dunked in sweet wine, similar to the Italian practice of dunking biscotti in vin santo.
 
 
RECIPE: PFEFFERNÜSSE SPICE COOKIES

This recipe is from Pillsbury. Grinding whole spices provides a more exciting flavor than using pre-ground spices. Here’s more about it.

You’ll love the aroma that wafts through the house as the cookies bake.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE in a large bowl the butter and brown sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the molasses and water. Lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level off. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, anise seed, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and pepper; blend well. Stir in the nuts. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate for 2 hours for easier handling.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls; place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. BAKE for 9 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Immediately remove from the cookie sheets and roll in powdered sugar.
 
 
PFEFFERNÜSSE HISTORY

The exact origin of Pfeffernüsse is uncertain: The cookies have long been a holiday treat in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and The Netherlands.

[2] If you don’t want a lot of powdered sugar, sift it over the cookies instead of rolling them in the sugar. Here’s the recipe from McCormick.

[3] Instead of powdered sugar, use royal icing. This version tops it with candied citrus peel. Here’s the recipe from Chatelaine.

[4] Why choose: Use both royal icing and chocolate! Here’s the recipe from Alnatura.

A Dutch belief links pepernoten (Pfeffernüsse) to the feast of Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas), celebrated on December or 5th or 6th in The Netherlands and December 6th in Germany and Belgium. On this holiday, children receive gifts from St. Nicholas, who is partially the inspiration for the Santa Claus tradition.

In Germany, Pfeffernüsse has become a traditional Christmas cookie [source].

In the 19th century, bakers incorporated potash or potassium carbonate (the primary component of potash), into the dough, along with ammonium carbonate. These acted as leavening agents to achieve the right consistency.

The recipes became more sophisticated over time. The conventional ingredients—flour, sugar, brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon—have been expanded over the years to include some of the following: anise, black pepper, candied fruit, cardamom, honey, molasses, nutmeg, nuts, rum, and powdered sugar for dusting [source].

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*Citron is a large, fragrant citrus fruit with a very thick rind. There is little fruit inside, and its main contribution is the candied peel. It is one of the four original citrus fruits—along with mandarin, papeda, and pomelo—from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. Here’s a photo.

†Both Lebkuchen and gingerbread are spice cookies, but Lebkuchen has more layers of flavor and is softer/chewier.
Lebkuchen spices include aniseed, cardamom, cloves, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper or paprika. Candied citrus peel—lemon and orange—are added. These spices are also used in Pfeffernüsse.

Vis-a-vis gingerbread, lebkuchen cookies use almond and hazelnut flours instead of wheat flour, and brown sugar instead of molasses. A classic lebkuchen cookie is gluten-free. Here’s a recipe and more about lebkuchen spices, Lebkuchengewürz in German.

The name of the cookie is uncertain. Kuchen is the German word for cake, but the “leb” portion might be any (or none) of the following: the Germanic words Laib (loaf), Lebbe (very sweet), or an old term for crystallized honey, Leb-Honig, that cannot be used for much beside baking. There’s also Leibspeise, which means “a favorite food.”