I explored Pfeffernusse 4 years ago— experimenting with a 100% Light Rye version and a 50/50 Light Rye/75P. As I explained in that post, I did not grow up with Christmas cookies (I did grow up with hamantaschen, rugelach, honey cake, and latkes this time of year), so my fascination with the range of cookies that show up in December is invariably conflated with my constant consideration of best flour application. Im revisiting this recipe because it’s that time of year and also, 4 years ago we didn’t make our Trinity Blend, so this seemed like a no brainer... and then of course, I had to try it with our Medium Rye because I couldn’t help myself…. Take your pick, both flours deliver lovely flavor and crumb to this special cookie— the rye version is a bit more tender; the Trinity, a bit more tooth.

THE RECIPE

360 grams Trinity Blend or Medium Rye

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
75 grams sliced almonds, roasted
112 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons packed finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 medium organic lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoons packed finely grated orange zest (from 1 medium organic orange)
190 grams packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
255 grams honey

For the spiced sugar:

120 grams powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 t salt

To make the spiced sugar:

Sift all ingredients together into a large bowl; set aside.

To make the cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread almonds onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and place baking sheet on a cooling rack.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, salt, allspice, and pepper into a large bowl; set aside.
Place cooled almonds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and process until finely ground, about 25 to 30 seconds. Add the almonds to the flour mixture and stir to combine; set aside.
Place the butter, lemon zest, and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until fluffy and combined, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until incorporated and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds more. Add the honey and beat until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing until just combined. (Do not overmix.) Use a dough scraper to scoop dough out of mixing bowl onto a sheet of parchment. Wrap in parchment (I fold parchment around so cookie dough looks like a parcel package about 6"x7"x3"). Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Working quickly with this dough, as it is rye (or a good percentage) so it may have the tendency to stick if one manipulated it too much, using a tablespoon cookie scoop (#60)—I prefer to scale the dough to 20 gram /cookie— roll cookie dough quickly between your hands and place 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then rotate the sheets from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the cookies are very lightly browned around the edges, about 5 to 6 minutes more. (The tops will be soft, but they will firm up as the cookies stand.) Transfer the baking sheets to 2 wire racks and let the cookies sit until cool enough to handle but still warm, about 3 minutes.
Drop the warm cookies into the spiced sugar, making sure to coat them all over, then shake off any excess sugar and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat baking and sugarcoating with the remaining dough. Store the cookies in an airtight container, layered between pieces of waxed paper, for up to 3 weeks

Pfeffernusse again