Pfeffer-what?

I honestly had every intention of phoning in today's celebratory food.  I had no idea what pfeffernusse even was!  I figured I'd find out what it was, pick some up at the store and call it a day.

But when I looked into it I was intrigued.  Pfeffernusse (which is German for pepper nut) is a traditional holiday cookie kind of like super hopped up gingerbread, bite size, rolled in powdered sugar.  It actually is supposed to get better with age - to the point that some of the recipes I read said to make them WEEKS ahead.  And talk about a myriad of spices - I can honestly say these are the first cookies I've ever made that have actual black pepper in them.

So I had to try them out.  It took a ton of ingredients (all which I fortunately happened to have on hand) but I'm glad I did.  Grant loves them!  And honestly, they weren't hard.  I'm setting some aside for a couple of weeks to see if they really do get better with age.  So there you have it - Happy National Pfeffernusse Day!

Grant and I are still enjoying our downtime, though bad news from the 'Mont - Noah has bronchitis. (Insert: Kristi is a really crummy Mom for sending her kid to her parents sick here)  He saw the doc this morning and seems to be doing better.  We're hoping he's back to his normal self by the time we arrive tomorrow afternoon.  One of my favorites - egg nog! - tomorrow.  And of course CHRISTMAS EVE!  Until then...

All the ingredients to make pfeffernusse cookies

Aren't they cute?