Pfeffernüsse or peppernuts

Pfeffernüsse or peppernuts get there name because of all the spices that are in them, and I would imagine are not to every ones taste. But you could use half the spices to make it easier to eat. They are shaped in sort of small ball shaped and full of spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg and even pepper then topped with a tart lemon glaze.

You will need

226g/8oz butter

112g/4oz sugar

2tbsp. treacle  

1tbsp pure vanilla extract

275g/11oz flour

150g/5oz Ground  walnuts or almonds

37g/1½oz candied zest

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

2tsp cinnamon

⅛tsp. cloves

1tsp ginger

1tsp nutmeg

225g/8oz icing sugar

2tbsp lemon juice

½tsp pure vanilla extract

Cream the sugar, butter, vanilla and treacle together and then add the Flour, nuts, spices, zest and lemon. Mix everything until you have good solid firm dough. If the dough seem on the sticky side dust it with some more flour. Now rap it and chill the dough for an hour or more best if you can overnight.

Preheat your oven to 160c or 325f. Then make balls of dough about 2cm or ¾ of an inch thick and roll them so they are nice and round . I think they are supposed to look a bit like nutmegs.  Place the balls of dough on a lined baking try then bake them for about  15 minutes. They do not go brown but the base should be darker then the top, also they crumble when they are fist out of the oven just bake them some more.

To make the icing just add the icing sugar, lemon juice and a ½tsp of vanilla extract together and just work this until you have a nice thick icing. If it is a little stiff add a little water or some more lemon juice. Dip the little cookies while they are still warm in the icing when they are cool and place on a rack to let it set.  If the cookies get to cool just pop them back in the oven for a moment.

When you have let them cool and the icing has set store them in a tin or a tight plastic container. Then let them just sit for a day or two, they get better with age, up to two months I am told.