Pfeffernusse German Spice Cookies

These traditional German Christmas cookies are made with such a tasty blend of spices including ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and white pepper and topped with a sweet glaze. They are sure to be a holiday favorite.

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Servings 40 cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies

1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup honey
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons whole milk cold
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg cold
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

For the Cookies

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the molasses, honey, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, white pepper, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Let cool for about 15 minutes until warm to the touch.
In a large bowl, combine the milk, baking soda, and egg and add the warm molasses mixture.Add the flour and stir until mostly absorbed then use your hands to knead until all flour is incorporated.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart from each other.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are just starting to brown.

For the Glaze

In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water.
Once the cookies are done, pull the pan out of the oven and brush the hot cookies with the glaze, covering as much of the tops and sides as possible.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet until the glaze is dry to the touch. Then, move them to a rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks or freeze if you are not planning on serving them soon.

~Amanda~

I love making the same cookies year after year, we all have our favorites, right?! BUT I always make sure I try out at least a few new recipes each year too because I am always looking to add a new favorite and these Pfeffernusse are definitely one of my new favorites! I love a cookie that’s sweet, but also loaded with tons of spice and flavor. These have all the warm holiday spices that give them such a great kick – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and white pepper to name a few. I also used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour as a substitute to the regular all-purpose flour called for in the recipe to make them Gluten Free so I could actually eat them and they turned out PERFECT! And to top it all off, theses tasty cookies are topped with a sweet lemony glaze to balance out all the flavors. Try them out this season and I’m sure you’ll love them! Happy Baking