Pfeffernüsse and the Deutschamerikaner

Pfeffernüsse is German for pepper nuts. They are small spice cookies that are popular holiday treats in Germany. I remember the pfeffernüsse my grandmother made being little, hard rock-like cookies that were sweet and spicy but as inedible as an unshelled walnut unless they were dipped in milk or, better yet, hot tea. 

My grandmother was a true Deutschamerikaner. She was born in Nebraska, but her parents had come from Saxony. Her birth certificate was in German, and she didn't learn to speak English until she went to school. I, on the other hand, am of French, Norwegian, Swedish, German, English and Irish ancestry. I can ask for a pitcher of beer or water and thank the person who brings it. That's the extent of my German. When I married into another thoroughly American family with deep German roots, I was told that my pfeffernüsse was not real pfeffernüsse. I still don't know if the differences were because of different family traditions, or if they were regional, but my husband's grandmother, whose roots were in what became Eastern Germany during the Cold War, made a very different cookie than my Saxon grandmother. Apparently they don't eat rocks east of Berlin like they do in the south. Or, maybe my grandmother was just not much of a cook. She died when I was six, and at an age when I adored her. Even her cooking.

This recipe is the one I married into, not the one I was born into. I hope you enjoy it. 
Pfeffernüsse ​ Mix well:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar

Add and beat until smooth:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 tsp oil of anise (see note below)

Sift together, then stir into liquid ingredients. Dough will be stiff
4 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fine grind black pepper

Roll dough into small balls. Use a bit of flour on your hands if it gets sticky.
Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Cool cookies on a rack, then put in a bag with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and shake until they are well coated.


note: My mother-in-law gave me a small vial of oil of anise for my first Christmas as a Bohnhoff. When it was gone (years later!) I found it hard to replace. Some years I've found Anise extract, which is almost as good. Other years, I've put a tsp. of Anise seeds in a blender with the sugar and pulverized them.
Some Famous German Americans German Americans, or Deutschamerikaner are citizens of the United States who are of German ancestry. They are the largest ethnic group in the United States, accounting for 17% of the U.S. population.

The Deutschamerikaner have been here a long time, first arriving in New York and Pennsylvania in significant numbers in the 1680s. In the sixty years between 1840 and 1900, Germans were the largest immigrant group,  outnumbering even the Irish and English. Here are a few Deutschamerikaners who have made their name in America: Thomas Nast was born in Bavaria, but moved to the United States as a young boy. A political cartoonist, he is credited with making the elephant the political symbol of the Republican party. Although often given credit for it, he did not create Uncle Sam, Columbia (the female personification of America) or the Democratic donkey. The modern version of Santa Claus came from his drawings, which were based on the traditional German Sankt Nikolaus. Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as Hedy Lamarr, was born in Austria. In 1933, she fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer. In  London, she met Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who persuaded her to move to the United States. In addition to becoming a major film star, Lamarr was also an inventor. She developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers during World War II. The principles of this work is still used in Bluetooth and GPS technology, and led to her induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, may be best known for writing and illustrating more than 60 books for children, but he was also a political cartoonist, poet, animator, and filmmaker. His children's books have sold over 600 million copies and have been translated into more than 20 languages An author who lives in New Mexico, Jennifer Bohnhoff writes about cookies, history, and her book on Thin Air, her blog.