Peppernuts (Pfeffernusse) are tiny teaspoon-sized Christmas cookies from my Mennonite tradition. I don’t think I’ve had a single Christmas without peppernuts, even while living abroad for many years. There are countless recipes with a myriad of flavors. My family has a famous cinnamon-scented recipe that’s delicate and addictive, which I’m sharing here for you.
According to Mennonite lore, Peppernuts were great winter cookies because they were so tiny that you could fill your pockets with them as a snack while trudging through the snow in northern Europe. We also heard stores of peppernuts being used to pacify noisy little kids during church. Regardless of their uses, peppernuts are fun, distinctive Christmas cookies that can be eaten by the handful.
To make these tiny cookies, the dough is chilled, then rolled out into snakes which are cut into teaspoon sized nuggets. The process is a little similar to rolling and cutting gnocchi, except that gnocchi are then rolled along a fork or cavatelli board to create those distinctive gnocchi grooves. It’s a fun activity for a family with Christmas music and conversation. If you’re making peppernuts alone, it can also be a meditative, relaxing activity.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup milk (or oatmilk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 5 1/2 cups flour
- 6 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
