Christmas wouldn't be Christmas in Denmark without tiny, hazelnut-sized Pepper Nuts, often presented in festive woven paper baskets.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. hartshorn / baker's ammonia (or 1 tsp. baking powder plus 1/2 tsp. baking soda)
- 1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375º. Cream together the butter and brown sugar, stir in egg until well-blended. Sift together remaining ingredients, then mix into batter to form a stiff dough.
Pinch off handfuls of the dough and roll into 1/2"-thick snakes on a floured counter. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut each snake into 1/2"-long pieces (about the size of a hazelnut). Place pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet, separating them slightly, and bake for 8 minutes.
Yield: Lots (around 600 Danish Pepper Nuts)
Gift Idea: Make woven Danish heart baskets from shiny paper and fill with pepper nuts. Patterns and construction techniques can be found at this great web site.
