Pfefferkuchen recipe

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Ingredients

1 ½ cups molasses
1 ½ cups honey
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground anise seed
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ cup butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon water
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour

Nutrition Info

86 calories
carbohydrate: 18.2 g
cholesterol: 5.7 mg
fat: 1.1 g
fiber: 0.4 g
protein: 1.3 g
saturatedFat: 0.6 g
servingSize: -
sodium: 88.3 mg
sugar: 9.2 g
transFat: : -
unsaturatedFat: : -

Directions

  1. Bring molasses, honey, and sugar to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat, then remove from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

  3. Stir in anise, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, lemon zest, and butter. Dissolve baking soda in water, then stir into the molasses mixture. Sift together 6 cups of flour with the baking powder and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Stir in molasses mixture and eggs until smooth. Stir in remaining 3 cups flour until a stiff dough has formed.

  4. Divide dough into 4 pieces to make it more manageable. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick on a well floured surface and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.

  5. Bake cookies on ungreased baking sheets 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe Yield

9 dozen cookies

Recipe Note

This is a German spice cookie recipe, similar to gingerbread, which I received from my mother, Sabine Muller. I have been making these for over 20 years. I looked online at other Pfefferkuchen recipes and none were like this one. I thought that I would share it with you. The literal translation is 'pepper cakes', I always ice them with a lemon glaze.

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