I had never heard of pfeffernussen until I met my husband, but apparently they're a traditional German/Swedish Christmas cookie. His grandma makes literally buckets of pfeffernussen every year, and they're really good. Her cookies are tiny, sweet, lightly spiced and really hard/crunchy. Excellent with a cup of coffee or tea. I decided to try Martha's to see how they match up. It's a pfeffernuss vs. pfeffernuss cage match, if you will.
One of the big differences between the two recipes, is the addition of molasses in Martha's recipe, which, I think is excellent. Molasses is one of those things that I never think I like until I have it again... It's odd. If you ask me if I like molasses, I'd probably say no, but if you gave me molasses cookies, I'd think they were swell. I guess I'm just fickle.
Also, Martha calls for fresh ground spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, alspice, cloves, black pepper), which is a great idea. I will probably use fresh spices next time I make the regular pfeffernussen.
Also, Martha wants you to roll the still-warm cookies in powdered sugar. While this makes the cookies look pretty, it's a pain and doesn't do much to make the cookies better. I'd probably skip it in the future.
In all, I like these, but they're not what I think of when I think pfeffernussen. They're too soft and too molasses-y. If I made them again, I'd call them something else. But, they are very tasty, either way.
Next week: Peanut Butter Cookies, p. 184
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