Honey Pfeffernüsse (spiced gingerbread drops) with rye flour and aniseed

Honey Pfeffernüsse (spiced gingerbread drops) made with rye flour, almonds, honey and gingerbread spice with aniseed and pepper, rested overnight and baked in the oven. Family-friendly Christmas cookies, makes 40.

At a glance

• Serves 12
• Prep time: 30 min
• Cooking time: 24 min
• Total time: 54 min
• Calories: 157 kcal per serving
• Protein: 4 g
• Fat: 5 g
• Carbs: 23 g

Ingredients

• 250g rye flour
• 150g honey
• 50g ground almonds
• 30g butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp ground aniseed
• 2 tsp gingerbread spice
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 pinch of salt

Method

You’ll need: oven · saucepan

1. Warm the honey and butter in a pan until the butter has melted, then leave the mixture to cool until lukewarm.
2. Mix the rye flour, almonds, gingerbread spice, aniseed, pepper, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the honey butter and egg and knead everything into a sticky dough.
3. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). With wet hands, shape 40 balls, place them on two trays lined with baking paper and brush them with milk.
5. Bake the Pfeffernüsse one tray after the other for 12 min each at 180 °C and leave them to cool on a wire rack.

Good to know

Pfeffernüsse are among the oldest honey cakes. The dough is only mixed and kneaded; the night in the fridge does the work. Freshly baked they're hard, but after a few days in the tin they turn soft.

Swaps

Rye flour → wholemeal spelt flour. Bicarbonate of soda → 1 tsp baker's ammonia or potash. Honey → maple syrup. Aniseed → cardamom.

Cooking tips

The dough is very sticky; with wet hands the balls are easy to shape. For a glaze, brush the warm Pfeffernüsse with a little honey thinned with water.

Storage

Keep for 6 weeks in a tin with a slice of apple; change the apple slice every few days.

Allergens

Contains gluten (rye), almonds, milk and egg. Because of the honey, not for babies under one year old. Suitable in pregnancy.