Thank you for this recipe. My dad made these every year during Cheistmas time. He grew up during WW2 . Born in 1937. He passed in 2019 and havent found any that compare to the ones he made. Gonna try these.
I'm sorry your dad passed away and I can imagine that having the cookies he made, can bring some good memories back. I hope my recipe can hold up to your dad's though I think the love he must have put in while baking must have been his secret ingredient. 💚
My 86yo German-American father remembers his family receiving these at Christmastime in a wooden box from Germany. I have tried for many years to duplicate the taste in his memory. The difference I'm finding is that American recipes are much softer. He said the German cookies were very hard, and everyone traditionally dunked them in coffee or milk. Some American recipes have butter, which I definitely think is not right. Do you think the older versions were intended to be hard and meant for coffee? It seems as though it's possible, over time, it was changed to a wider audience. The other consideration is it may be made differently in regions of Germany (Prussia). Thank you for any information you may have on the great little "pepper nuts."
Hi Tammie, he is right, these cookies tend to become hard as stones after a while ... unless you store them correctly. They need to be kept airtight with a slice of bread or a quarter apple added to the cookies. This will keep them moist and soft(er). This concept applies to all the "Lebkuchen" varieties in Germany. I also try to cover the Pfeffernüsse completely with glaze and chocolate without any gaps in hopes it keeps the moisture in them a little longer. Nevertheless, eating them soon after baking might be the best tip I can give 😉
I am so happy to have found your channel! My family are from a Texas German community near Fredericksburg and I grew up having traditional German recipes from my grandma. Her cookies at Christmas were very similar to some of the ones on your channel. Your recipes are so comforting to me. I can't wait to try them. Thank you.
I love those cookies. And the ones we get here in NZ are .... not the best shall I say. I also learnt something interesting - how to make that icing. Thanks for a sehe gut video. Sorry, my German is schlecht. 😂
I absolutely love the idea of pepper in a biscuit. Not sure I would like the rum, though. I guess I could just not use it? Gosh, I love your recipes, Barbara. Especially now that we have German members of our family. 😊🇩🇪
You can always switch the rum with some milk or so. I don't taste the rum in the cookies though. Congrats to having a German family member, if they are first generation immigrants, you will get to know a lot of our traditions :-)
These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies! I’ve never made them, now I am excited to have the recipe and will see if I manage to share any of these with others, lol
Hello to Sydney! I've always been wondering what it's like to celebrate Christmas in summer, but I guess we'll get a taste of it because the weather forecast for Texas is 28°C this year! I wonder if I should put the duck on the grill 😂
@@MyGermanRecipes Hi , here now is 34 degrees C, at Christmas we go to the beach to celebrate! About the duck? Of course on the grill , outside also! Cheers!!!
So happy to have found your channel, without even trying the recipes I can tell they are authentic. A few QUESTIONS: How far ahead before Christmas can I make these cookies? Do they freeze well? What really is the best way to store them?
I always make them in December so I’m not sure how early one could start. I like my cookies fresh 😁 but no matter how early you bake, it’s important to store them in an airtight cintainer. If they still get hard, add a slice of bread or slice of apple to the container over night. I do not recommended freezing the cookies.
Lovely recipe!! People of German decent in the US use bakers ammonia to make springerle. It is called Hartshorn because it literally came from the antlers of a hart (deer) years ago. So I hear!
New sub! I was researching holiday cookies for my own channel and came across yours. I wanted to send you a little holiday love and support from Japan. :) Big thumbs us! Your recipe looks fantastic.
Good question! So, most Germans have a goose or a duck with red cabbage and with potato dumplings and gravy. We eat that on the 24th in the evening, which is when we have our presents. I wrote an article about German Christmas, you can find it here: mygerman.recipes/german-christmas-celebration/
I hope you’ll see this, do you remember the name brand of the packaged spice you brought back from Germany? I like to have multiple choices to purchase online (if they offer). Also, I haven’t noticed trouble using baking powder in German baked goods. But I do wait 15 minutes for the baking powder to fully become activated. I know you’d know a lot more of what the end result should be than me. If you try that trick, let me know if you remember, how it turned out. Then I’ll know to keep the bakers ammonia on hand. I’ve used the black pepper before & it’s okay but on a heavier side than the white pepper. I think the white pepper does not compete with the other spices. I’ve never had these with rum but I can definitely appreciate that it’ll help probably to allow the cookies to be more shelf stable longer. But I think it will really be a great addition. ❤
I'm curious. I have an old German cookbook and it says to leave the cookies out in a warm room overnight. Same with Lebkuchen. Does that really make a difference?
The spices develop more flavor over time but sometimes the cookies get stone hard, so there seems to be a balance. I learned it to put lebkuchen into a tin with a slice of fresh bread or apple to keep it soft and let the cookies become even better after some days/weeks. ... but I don't have that much restrain 🤣we eat them pretty soon!
Hi! Delicious recipes.”But” : “Could you make sure to give us the exactly amounts of the ingredients since the beginning of the recipe please? I’ve seen that only in some recipes you do but can be better and great you give us the amounts of the ingredients since the beginning . Thank you in advance for your response. God bless.
40% of my viewers are from the US, 60% are from all over the world and use metric units. That means I would have to say everything in both units, that's a bit much. I think having a printable recipe where you can switch to your preferred unit is a good solution and the link is always at the end of the video, often times also in the video and always in the video description.
