In a previous post I wrote about making Spritz cookies and Dark Peppernuts for Christmas treats. My aunt actually gave me not one but two recipes for Peppernuts; the second one is for Light Peppernuts. As I embarked into this recipe last week, I concluded this was the first time I had made these cookies, even though I've had the recipe for many years. My aunt wrote it out this way, in her tiny, careful printing:
Light Peppernuts
Beat 2 C. Brown sugar and 3 eggs
Add 1 tsp. soda dissolved in 1 T. hot water
Sift 3 2/3 C. flour with
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cardamom (or allspice)
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
A sprinkle of pepper for fun
Mix a dough stiff enough to roll into thin ropes. Snip into 3/4" pieces. Bake in 400 degree oven until light brown, or touch with a fingertip to test. (Indentation should raise up a bit.) Store in tightly covered cans. Will keep indefinitely if well hidden.
From "The Festival of Christmas." 1932
When I had mixed all the ingredients together, the dough was very crumbly and impossible to shape into a rope. I compared the recipe to the Dark Peppernuts recipe, and to a recipe in my old Betty Crocker cookbook. What I noticed was the lack of butter in my recipe. So, even though it should have been beaten with the eggs and brown sugar at the beginning, I softened an unmeasured (maybe 2/3 Cup) amount of Earth Balance spread and mixed it into the crumbly dough with my Kitchenaid stand mixer. Then, even though the recipe didn't say to do so, I refrigerated it for a few hours. When I returned to the project, the dough was perfect for rolling out into ropes! So if you decide to try this recipe, be sure to add some butter or butter substitute for best results. I don't know whether my aunt overlooked writing that ingredient on the recipe card, or if the original author of the recipe was really talented with using crumbly cookie dough.
I did remember to take a few photos along the way this time.
The dough after I had already made a couple of ropes. Alas, I didn't photograph it in the crumbly condition.
The purpose of the ruler is to give you an idea of the size of the ropes I rolled.
The final pan of snipped cooky dough ropes, ready to go into the oven.
And the finished product! These little bite-size cookies are perfect to accompany a cup of tea or coffee. I plan to make more soon.