Recipe - Pfeffernuesse (German Peppernuts)

3 One half cup Flour
2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking powder
One half teaspoon Nutmeg
One half teaspoon Allspice
One half teaspoon Cloves
One fourth teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Pepper
One fourth teaspoon Mace
4 Eggs
2 cup Sugar
Grated peel of 1 lemon
One half cup Candied citron,fine chopped
One half cup Unblanched almonds, ground
3 tablespoon Brandy

Stir together flour, cinnamon, basking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cloves,
salt, pepper and mace; set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs at medium speed
of mixer until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating 15 minutes
longer or until thick and fluffy. Add flour mixture in thirds, adding lemon
peel, citron, and almonds to last third and blending thoroughly after each
addition. Turn half the dough out onto lightly floured surface. Roll out
One half inch thick. Cut with 1inch round cutter (inside of doughnut cutter
works well) and place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets.
Reroll scraps. Let stand uncovered at room temperature overnight. When
ready to bake, turn cookies over so moist side is up; put drop of brandy in
center of each. Bake in preheated 300 degree F. oven 20 minutes or until
cookies "pop" and are baked through. (Break one in half; if not sticky,
it's done.) Remove to racks to cool. Makes 90 cookies. NOTE cookies improve
with age. Store in tightly covered container. Add a piece of apple to
container a few days before serving to soften them. Per cookie: 48 cal, 1 g
pro, 9 g car, 1 g fat, 11 mg chol.
A drop of brandy on the top before baking causes them to "pop," giving
them a characteristic topknot.
Recipe from: Womans Day/December 18, 1979 copyright 1979 by Rawson, Wade
Publishers, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Rawson, Wade Publishers, Inc.
From Christmas Cookies and Candies by Barbaara Myers.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini