Pfeffernusse {Authentic German Recipe!} - Plated Cravings (2024)

FAQs

What does pfeffernüsse mean in German? ›

The name literally means 'peppernuts', and does not mean it contains nuts. The cookies are roughly the size of nuts and can be eaten by the handful, which may account for the name. They are named for the pinch of pepper added to the dough before baking.

The difference, as you may have guessed from the name, is the primary flavour. Whilst pure gingerbread uses only ground ginger, pfeffernüsse use a full quintet of spices. This selection of warming spices gives the pfeffernüsse a most incredible depth of flavour that is hard to find anywhere else in baking.

Pfeffernusse and lebkuchen are both similarly flavored with honey and lots of warm baking spices but pfeffernusse are almost always small, rounded cookies coated with a powdered sugar glaze, while lebkuchen may be shaped like regular cookies or cut in bars and are generally glazed with chocolate.

Adding a bit more anise seed and cinnamon can work well. Pfeffernüsse will keep up to 8 weeks when stored in airtight containers — although you'll undoubtedly eat them long before then!

Nope. Russian tea cakes are a buttery shortbread cookie with chopped nuts. Pfeffernusse are spice cookies with black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and anise. Russian tea cakes are always rolled in powdered sugar, while Pfeffernusse can be either dusted with powdered sugar or iced.

Pfeffernüsse are a traditional German treat. The name literally translates to "pepper nuts," but they're really a kind of gingerbread-ish cookie.

Nutrition Facts in Aldi Pfeffernüsse Gingerbread Cookies

Each serving has 110 calories, 15 grams of sugar, and only a half gram of fat.

WHAT IS ON THE BOTTOM OF LEBKUCHEN? Oblaten Lebkuchen are distinguished by a signature edible wafer (collectively called Oblaten in German) on the bottom.

Our Chocolate Covered Lebkuchen are popular with a certain crowd, but some folks don't like the nuts and spices in these traditional German gingerbread cookies.

That is called an Oblaten - German for a paper thin wafer. They may look familiar to anyone who has taken Communion in a Lutheran or Catholic Church. It is absolutely edible. I personally prefer to peel the wafer off the bottom of the cookie and set it aside.

What is the wafer on the bottom of Lebkuchen? ›

Lebkuchen dough is usually placed on a thin wafer base called an Oblate. This was an idea of the monks, who used unleavened communion wafer ingredients to prevent the dough from sticking. Typically, they are glazed or covered with very dark chocolate or a thin sugar coating, but some are left uncoated.

German for “pepper nut“, Pfeffernüsse are named for the pinch of pepper added to the dough before baking.

Do not skip chilling the Pfeffernusse cookie dough as you don't want them to spread into a flat cookie upon baking. Always keep the unrolled dough covered in the fridge. As you'll have to bake these German spice cookies in batches, you don't want the dough to come to room temperature or dry out between batches.

There are 53 calories in 1 medium Pfeffernusse Cookie. * The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet.

Historically, and due to differences in the ingredients, Lebkuchen is also known as "honey cake" (Honigkuchen) or "pepper cake" (Pfefferkuchen). Traditionally, the cookies are usually quite large and may be 11.5 cm (4.5 in) in diameter if round, and larger if rectangular.

Lebkuchen (pronounced leyb-koo-kuh n) is a centuries-old German spiced treat traditionally baked during the winter holiday season. While lebkuchen is often translated to English as gingerbread, it's not exactly what most Americans envision when they think of gingerbread.

Go to any German supermarket and from September onwards and you will be met with many different kinds of Christmas cookies — or 'Plätzchen', as they are called here.

Lebkuchen are the most famous German Christmas Cookies! German Gingerbread is soft and moist, unlike the hard gingerbread that is known in North America. It is made with nuts and a special spice mixture called Lebkuchen spice that is similar to Pumpkin Pie Spice and gives them their unique flavor.