Pfeffernusse Cookies with Anise Glaze
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp anise extract
- 7 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 Tbsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp white or black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup honey
Glaze
- 5-7 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup water enough to form a thick & creamy glaze. Not too thin that it'll run off the cookies, but not too thick that it won't coat well when dipped
- 1 1/4 tsp anise extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 4 large eggs, sugars, and anise extract until thick and frothy.
- Switch to paddle attachment and add dry ingredients. Mix. Whisk together melted butter and honey. With mixer running on low, add butter & honey and mix until a dough forms. Empty unto counter and finish kneading by hand. Dough comes together well and is a dry, smooth dough that's quite fragile.
- Flour your work surface. Working with 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll it out to 1/4'' thick or slightly thicker. Cut out shapes and use a thin-edged spatula to place cookies on your lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 min until lightly golden. I do prefer these cookies on the thicker side and not totally crispy. But if you prefer a crispy pfeffernusse just bake a little longer.*
- For the glaze, simply whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Let the cookies cool for 3-5 min after removing from the oven and then dip them. Glazing the cookies while warm creates a shimmery glass look. Allow glaze to harden and enjoy.
Notes
*You can turn these into peppernuts by dividing the dough into pieces, rolling the pieces into ropes, slicing the ropes into 1/2 in'' pieces and baking.