This is the recipe for the very traditional Danish Pebernodder which is a walnut-sized Christmas cookie in a circular/spherical shape.
In Denmark we call these small cookies pebernodder which directly translated means pepper nuts. These cookies are very popular in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands and are internationally sometimes referred to as pfeffernuesse or simply just peppernuts. In Denmark it's properly one of the most popular and traditional Christmas cookies, even though it is competing with the very delicious Danish Jewish cookie and the Danish brown cookie.
The Pebernodder cookies are served as snacks in the whole month of December and we find that they are highly addictive - once we are started eating these, we can't stop. The origin of this cookie is not entirely known, however it's expected that it's somewhere in Germany or the Netherlands.
See also: Traditional Danish recipe for Christmas Butter Cookies
Even though this recipe is called pebernodder (peppernuts) it doesn't contain any black pepper which is the kind most people would associate with when referred to pepper - instead one of the spices in these cookies is white pepper.
White and black pepper are both fruits picked from the pepper plant however it's the drying process of the pepper fruits that differs the two spices from each other.
As the ingredient list, seen further down in this page, indicates these cookies does contain five different ground spices which are cinnamon, cloves, white pepper, cardamom and ginger - some places it's possible to buy small bag where all these spices is already mixed specifically for pebernodder - however you can also just buy them separately and mix them yourself.
The recipe is relatively easy - you simply just mix all the ingredients into a dough using your hands or a stand mixer, then the dough is rolled into bars, cut into small pieces and rolled into pebernodder balls.
When baking the cookies make sure to keep the temperature in the oven like I have indicated in the recipe. If the temperature is too low then there is a risk that the cookies with not keep their round shape.
Find some more traditional Christmas recipes on this page.
Ingredients
- 220 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 125 g sugar
- 125 g butter, soft
- 1 egg
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Sift the flour and mix it with the spices and sugar.
- Add the egg and the soft butter. Use your hands or a stand mixer to mix/knead the dough until it has a uniform consistency.
- Divide the dough into four pieces and roll them to four long bars.
- Use a knife to cut the bars into small walnut sized pieces. Roll each piece into a small Peppernut cookie.
- Put the Peppernuts on an oven tray lined with parchment paper and bake them at 200 C (400 F) for about 8-10 minutes or until they are nice and golden. The baking total time depends on the size of your Peppernuts. Make sure your oven is fully heated up before starting to bake the cookies. It is better to wait 5-10 minutes extra for the oven to fully heat up.
- Let the Peppernuts cool off and store them in an airtight box or jar.
Notes
The Occupant
I'm not Daniush, but these sound delicious. I was reading a book about a Danish farming family in Alberta, and these were mentioned, so I just had to find a recipe. Thank you, I hope to make them some time. I hope it would be not too much of a crime against tradition to make them at some other time besides the Holidays?
Kim Nielsen
Hi. Thanks for your comment. These are traditionally served around the holidays but you can absolutely eat them all year around :-) I hope you enjoy them.
Ruthie
What was the name of the book?
Laurie Perkins
Hi, my sons are Danish, and their grandmother used to make these cookies for everyone for Christmas season each year. She recently passed, and I would like to continue making them for my sons. They are very proud of their Danish
heritage.
I have a question- she called them something like Pfeffeneur, or it sounded more like Piffin-ear, to me. How is it truly pronounced in Danish?
Thank you so much for posting this- The Jensens in Utah thank you!
-Laurie Anderson Jensen Perkins
Louise Dam
Hi Laurie
In Danish they are callede pebernødder. You can hear how it is pronounced in this page: http://da.forvo.com/word/pebern%C3%B8dder/.
Thanks for giving your time to write to us :-)
-Louise
Pam Martin
I was reading the comment from Laurie Perkins. The cookie name that she's probably thinking of is Pfeffernüsse.
March
Louise,
Surely you are thinking of pfefferneusse. It is the German version of this cookie. These cookies are a very old traditional European Christmas cookie. They both have cardemom, pepper and some ginger. Traditionally, the German version is rolled in powdered sugar.
Sincerely,
march, in Livingston, MT
Isha
Dear Laurie,
The Grandmother of your sons may have been German. I recognized the Pfeff thing.
Here: https://www.daringgourmet.com/pfeffernuesse-german-iced-gingerbread-cookies/#recipe
This happened to my family, too, a suspected “at least 3 times”. 2 World Wars with Germany in the first half of one century took their social toll, even in the USA.
I’m ALSO of Danish descent, but I was formerly SO proud of my Welsh heritage, and my father SO proud of his French. And my maternal grandfather SO proud of his Dutch; he Knew they were Dutch: the baby of the family by decades, he remembered his grandparents speaking Dutch/Deutsch! =)
Ashley
Laurie asked how these are pronounced. I'm curious where her mother was from? My husband is from Denmark and he pronounced it similar to how Laurie described which is different than the link you've provided. He's from the far south where the dialect is very different than proper Danish. (Makes learning the language as a spouse impossible haha).
Thank you for the recipe, it's so special to my husband to make these. We out them in the traditional paper cones on the tree and walk around singing, and then "eat the tree" and enjoy the cookies!
Tracey
Good Morning, I'm so happy I found your blog. As I was reading the ingredients to t his recipe I see it calls for vanilla powder.. What is this and can I just use a half teaspoon liquid vanilla?
Louise Dam
Hi Tracey, yes you should be able to use liquid vanilla instead.
Deby Sørensen
Vanilla powder or Vaniljesukker can easily be made at home. I have a Mason jar with powdered (confectioners) sugar. Each time a recipe calls for vanilla beans (crème brûlé, for example) I add the scraped out pod to the jar of powdered sugar. Just bury the pods in the sugar.
It delicately adds natural vanilla flavor without any liquid, alcohol, etc.
Jeanette
Ahhh skønt med den her hjemmeside, går straks igang med at bage lidt ;)
Louise Dam
Dejligt at høre. Hvis du hellere vil have opskrifterne på dansk kan de findes på http://www.madrejsen.dk
Sharon
Thanks for helping me reclaim a little of my father's Danish heritage for Christmas.
Louise Dam
Hi Sharon, you are welcome - we love to help! :-)
Louise
I’m danish but i didn’t know how to make these (i am making them for a christmas party at school) So Tanks! a lot… bye.oh yeah and actually my first language is english so thats why i’m writing so well just in case you were wondering but it’s not like i expect you guys to be rude and say “How can you write so well in english , your danish right? or did you lie"
Louise
but i did see that you are danish ;) I just don’t have danish the three danish letters on my key board but again tak
Louise Dam
I'm glad you could use the recipe :-)
mary
These are very lovely, so tasty!
Louise Dam
Great to hear! :-)
Courtney
Hello Kim
I recently got a big bag of cardamom seed pods and was looking for new Christmas cookie recipes to try out with cardamom and decided to make your recipe. I like spicy things so just went for it. Unfortunately the 1/2 tsp of white pepper was too strong and burns the back of our throats. Oh no! The 1/2 tsp is correct? The clove was also a bit strong; though I didn't mind it. I think the texture and technique of how you make the cookies is perfect.
Kim Nielsen
Hi
These cookies should not be spicy. They only have a small spicy taste. I've checked and 1/2 tsp is correct. Maybe you have a stronger version? However, next time try with 1/4 tsp.
Christine
I would like to try these, but I'm in Canada and I do not know what to use for vanilla powder. I have never heard of that, but I do have vanilla pods and vanilla extract. Thanks!
Kim Nielsen
Hi Christine. Yes I have hear that vanilla powder is a Danish or a least a European thing. You can substitute the powder with an vanilla pod - I think half a pod would be fine for this recipe. Regards Kim
Vicki
Vanilla powder can be found in any Italian or European deli. In Calgary, try the Dutch deli by north hill
Sarah
Hi there. How long would these last in an airtight container & is it possible to freeze the cookies or the dough
Kim Nielsen
Hi Sarah. My best guess would be around 1-2 weeks in an air tight container. I have never tried to freeze the dough. However, I believe it should be no problem freezing the dough for 1-2 months.
J
Most recipes call for refrigerating the dough. Just curious what’s different about yours? Thanks!
Kim Nielsen
That is a good question. When you refrigerate the dough then it can be easier to handle and make the small peppernuts balls. However, if the dough is good enough and not too soft then you can skip the refrigerate part. It will not change anything on the taste. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Ben
I tried making these today as my grandmother was Danish and I wanted to celebrate her heritage for Christmas. While I think I got the taste almost spot on (and I love all the spice), I thought I would roll balls of dough instead of rolling into a string and cutting. The batter was very sticky and difficult to roll into balls. I’m not sure if I got my measurements slightly off as I was trying to convert from grams or if I should have chilled the dough first. I also ended up with much larger cookies than I was expecting. At any rate, they taste good. I will have to give it another shot to perfect my technique.
Pam Martin
Something's not right with this recipe. 8 oz equals a cup, right? 4-1/2 oz of butter is 3/4 of a cup, right? My cookies looked like yours before they were baked, but when they came out of the oven, they were run together in one big cookie mash. I'm looking at another recipe that uses 1 cup of butter and 2-3/4 cups of flour. That's a big difference.
Kim Nielsen
Hi. I'm sorry to hear that the Peppernuts didn't turn out good. I normally always try to use weight as a way of measuring the ingredients. That is way I have indicated all ingredients in ounces. Volumen has cause me problems several times because the ingredients can be compressed (like flour). You can "cheat" ounces. However, back to the issue. When the cookies are turning flat after they are baked. Then it can be because of too low temperature in the oven when baked. Try turning up the temperature like 20-30 degrees or something. I hope that you will success. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Margaret Louise Radtke
4 1/2 ounces of flour = 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon. 3/4 cup = 6 oz.
Hope this helps!
March in Livingston
Mary
I had the same problem as Pam: the cookies became one large cookie as they melted together in the oven. This has marginal impact by temperature, but much more with the combination and measurements of ingredients. Something is definitely off in the US conversion recipe. Still delicious, though!
Kim Nielsen
Hi. I have double checked the US conversion for the recipe. However, I can't find any mistakes. I'm sorry that you have had a bad experience with the recipe. If you find the mistake please let me know. I only thing that I can come up with is the oven temperature is too low. It is important that it is 200 C (400F).
Kristine
Have you tried this with dairy free butter or vegan butter?
Kim Nielsen
No I have never tried that. However, I think that it is no problem using dairy free butter.
Lou
This recipe looks great. However, I don’t see a Print Recipe button on this page (or the Danish brown cookies page, either). Can you add it? Thanks.
Kim Nielsen
I have started converting the recipes into this new format where there is a Print-button. However, it takes a lot of time. I'll do this recipe asap.
Lou
Thank you, Kim!
Sissel Glans
Delicious recipe. Having grown up in Denmark eating pebbernøder every advent, this brought back find memories of Christmas in Denmark.
Jerry Behymer
Oh my, found this cookie recipe to be very good. Will make them for our Historical Society open house. Thank you for sharing.
Kim Nielsen
You are welcome :-)
A Travis
Not my family's recipe. Ours do not spread. They are flavored with cardamom and rosewater. Lard and butter for the fats. Barley and Potato flours. No pepper. Ours are not German pepper nuts.
JennaK
Hi! I made these today for our exchange student who is from Denmark. They turned out well, though I think using parchment paper instead of greasing the baking sheet would have been better (substitution as I had no time to go to the store for the parchment paper). But I do have one question. I didn't have vanilla powder, and in fact, have never even heard of it. Is it the same as vanilla sugar? When we hosted a student from Norway, she had her mom send us vanilla sugar and we still have some. Could I have used that for the vanilla powder? (Instead, I substituted vanilla extract and used the amount suggested in a recipe ingredient substitution website I found). Our Danish student said they tasted spot on, but I was just wondering after talking to my Swedish friend who had also not heard of vanilla powder if it is really vanilla sugar that is meant for that ingredient. Thanks!
Kim Nielsen
Hi. The main idea is just to add a little vanilla flavor to the cookies. You can use vanilla powder, vanilla sugar or vanilla extract. :-)
JennaK
Thanks! So I made them again, this time on parchment paper, and they still don't look right. They sort of spread and get flat in the middle. Any suggestions on how to make them look more like yours?
Güler
Hi, i'm Turkish and like to try different cultural stuff, i'll try this cute little cookies. I hope it goes right. Tak for the recipe ♡
Kim Nielsen
You're welcome. I hope that you will enjoy my site :-)
Terri
Oh! Oh! Oh! My grandmother (on my Dad's side) was Danish and I am anxious to try these! I notice in the comments that some cannot find the "vanilla powder". I have found it at our local Kroger grocery stores for some years now in our little town! It is found the spice section and is produced by Cooks Flavoring Co. out of California. The label says it is "vanilla bean extractives (sic) in a dextrose base". No alcohol. Go to Cooksvanilla.com for more info. And "danke" for the recipe (my other grandmother was German). :)
Kim Nielsen
That's a great tip :-) The idea is just to add some kind of vanilla flavor to the cookies. You can also use some concentrated vanilla extract. Changing the recipe is totally okay :-)
Ann Waters
My daughter, who lives in Denmark, is visiting me in AZ for the holidays. She wanted to make traditional Danish cookies for Christmas. We just made these. So EXCELLENT! We are now making a 2nd Double batch! Thank you for sharing this!
Hayley
Whats the measurements in cups please????
Kim Nielsen
Flour is 1 cup. Sugar 1/2 cup.
Gail
Are these cookies supposed to be crisp or soft?
Kim Nielsen
They are supposed to be crisp
Siv
These are the best peppernøtter I ever tried!👌 easy to make too!
Kim Nielsen
I'm happy that you like the recipe :-) Regards Kim from NordciFoodLiving.
Babs
Don’t anyone get mad at me, but you CAN make these with black instead of white pepper if that’s all you have. I do it all the time.
And yes you can eat them any time of the year. They last virtually forever in a tight container, so if you happen to have any left over after the holiday season (good luck there) you can finish them off whenever you get a chance afterward.
Helen
Delicious and easy to follow
Erik
I have a problem with the pebernodder not staying round when I bake them, any solutions?
Kim Nielsen
If the Pebernodder are flat after you have baked them it could be a sign of too low temperature in the oven. Try turning the temperature up 10-20 degrees. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Anna
Thanks for the recipe. Having a small Danish child with severe tree nut allergy means you have to bake everything yourself, as all packaging of baked stuffs says ‘can contain traces of nuts’ which makes it a dangerous good for him. Now my little one can also participate in the Christmas cheer. We are going to bake them together this weekend! Thanks again.
Kim Nielsen
You are welcome I hope that you are going to like the recipe. A good tip - make sure to keep that the temperature in the oven like I have described in the recipe. If you have too low temperature the cookies might not keep their round shape. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Polly
Hej! These are lovely. I’ve just one question. Once golden should they be soft and harden on a rack or should the biscuits remain a little soft in the centre or be hard throughout?
Tak! Danish Mormor
Kim Nielsen
When they are baked and cooled the Peppernuts should be hard throughout. But, right after they are baked they are probably still a little soft on the inside but once they are cooled they will become hard. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Linda Aagaard Gerow
I tried another recipe and they came out ok. The recipe called for 2 TBSP of milk/cream though. The dough came out really wet/gooey. I also had problems with cookies baking flat and running into each other. Thanks for the blog, I will try this recipe and try increasing the oven temp. and using parchment paper. My Grandmother was from Denmark and the 1st 20 years of my life I enjoyed Danish Christmas cookies. I haven't had these for 50 years. I also purchased a Krumkake iron and made some cookies. Cardamom is a wonderful spice.
John Nielsen
Excellent recipe; perfect taste - similar to what I remember from my oldefarmor; but I don't think she used cardamom (a great addition). 3rd year baking and modifying to my needs. I bake and bring to co-workers - I start getting asked if I am making them right after the Thanksgiving holiday! The recipe scales up well. I make about 1,500 cookies.
I have had to adjust the recipe a bit for where I live though. I live at higher altitude (6,500 ft/2,167 m) so have had to adjust temperature (increase by 25 degrees F to 425 F/218 C) and reduce cooking time (5-6 minutes) in order to obtain the right shape and not burn them.