Mama D's Cookbook

This is another great traditional German recipe from my grandmother. This recipe is a variant of the Pepper Nut cookie except that it uses ground Star Anise instead of pepper. Hopefully you will be able to locate all the required spices.

Be prepared -- they take a while to make. We make the dough, roll and cut them onto cookie sheets and then bake them the next morning. Cook until just starting to brown.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups (or a whole box if, you're not on a diet) of Brown Sugar
• 2 Cups White Sugar
• 1 Cup Shortening or Oleo Margarine
• 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 3-5 cups Flour
• >¼ - ½ teaspoon of each:
  • Allspice
  • Cloves
  • Nutmeg
  • Mace
  • Ginger
  • Cinnamon
  Adjust to taste.
• 1 full teaspoon fine ground brown star anise.

Use the real Anise if you can find it. The star seeds are hard as rocks so you'll have to find some way to grind them. I use a hammer on a steel plate and then finish them off by hand. It is worth the effort! Hopefully you can find it already ground.

Directions

• Mix the brown sugar, white sugar, shortening and condensed milk thoroughly. Use a heavy wooden spoon or your hands as the dough is always very thick and stiff. Do not use a mixer (Kitchen Aid) as it over-mixes the dough and they will flatten when cooked.
• Beat the 2 eggs slightly and then add. Next, add all of the spices, vanilla and baking powder.
• Add 3 Cups Flour and mix thoroughly. Add more flour until dough is stiff. Usually one more cup will do but, practice makes perfect. Its best to start with three and add at least one more as the dough is worked.
• Make long rolls on a cookie sheet about 1/2 in thick.
• Slice into disks about 1/4 inch thick. Be careful that the disks remain standing on edge and do not fall over and that there is adequate space between them so they will cook evenly. They will expand sideways but if they touch, they will break apart later. If they fall over, you'll have a bunch of tiny pancakes so try and not let that happen.
• Cover with wax paper or damp towel and put into refrigerator for a half day or over night.
• Bake for approximately 5 - 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Cook until just starting to brown -- don't let them burn. A convection oven also works the same.

The only liquids are the eggs, condensed milk, vanilla and the moisture in the brown sugar so this is a very dry recipe.

Dough should not be sticky and yet not break when rolled. You want to add flour just to the point it doesn't stick to your hands. It is best to add flour in small increments (Tbsp at a time) to achieve proper consistencey. Practice makes perfect. You can always add flour but, since this recipe doesn't use any liquids, there is nothing to add if its too dry. You can try adding whole milk -- again, a small amount at a time.

You can also put the rolls on cookie sheets and then cut the discs prior to cooking.

The dough dries quickly since it really has no liquid so it is best to have somebody help cut the hundreds of little discs.

We usually end up ith 5-8 cookie sheets of peppernuts to cook. Borrow cookie sheets if you don't have enough.

Eat em till you pop!