German Christmas Cookies

German Christmas culture used to come to our house in a little red package from an Italian grocer near my parents’ house.  The little man sold random food products from all over the world.  It wasn’t very good.  The cookies were dried out and filled with preservatives.  But it brought a little bit of Germany to my husband.  Sometimes, a little bit is better than nothing.

Do you have experiences like that, too?  No matter how hard you try, you just can’t find the things that match your childhood memories.  Nothing ever revives that feeling.  And when those memories are associated with the holidays, they’re especially tough.

So this year, I decided to go for the brownie points.  And even if you’re not married to a German man, TRUST ME.  You’ll be sure to score some major points with your family if you whip up a batch of these Pfeffernusse.  They’re amazing little spice cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar that no one can get enough of around here.  The direct translation of Pfeffernussen is pepper nuts, which I’ll admit is a little weird to want to put any amount of pepper in a batch of cookies.  But you don’t want to skip that ingredient.  In fact, you don’t want to skip this recipe.

I’m not sure what the copywrite laws are at this point, so I’ll just send you over to Martha Stewart right here.  You know the recipe can’t be all that bad if it’s from Martha Stewart, right?  The bigger concern is likely to be:  is the recipe hard?  No.  It’s not.  It’s just AMAZING.

Pfeffernusse: the easiest way to bring Europe to your home.

Now won’t you please share?  Any meaningful recipes like this floating around in your family?  We’d love to see – and try! – the things that mean oh-so-much for you and your family. 

(Image by bfeedme)