In this installment
Springerle Cookies
Pfeffernusse Cookies
Buenos Aires Brownie
Cinnamon Star Cookie
Springerle Cookies
Springerle cookies originated in the Swabia region of southwestern Germany at the start of the Renaissance. Images and icons are pressed into the dough before baking, and then the dough is allowed to dry. Making a batch of springerles takes a long time. Sister Jean-Marie, the bakery manager at The St. Benedict Monastery of Ferdinand, explains, “we start by mixing the dough and rolling it out. Then we use two sets of molds to make the impressions and then we cut out each cookie by hand and let them dry for twelve to eighteen hours on trays covered with flour.”
The extra time gives the cookie a hearty texture. They have a slight anise flavor without being overly sweet. Traditionally served for Christmas, they’re great for dipping in coffee or to please the lovers of old world flavors. Well sealed, they’ll keep for months. The longer they sit, the softer they get.
Pfeffernusse Cookies
Pfeffernüsse cookies are traditional Christmas treats in Germany. The name translates roughly as “pepper nut.” The pepper part is because the organic flour-based dough is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and yes, even a bit of black pepper. The nut part is not because they contain any nuts—they don’t—but because they’re round and smallish and shaped somewhat like a walnut in the shell. Like all of Zingerman’s Bakehouse pastries, these cookies are made with plenty of real butter and eggs, and no preservatives or other unpronounceable ingredients.
Buenos Aires Brownie
From Zingerman’s Bakehouse. Two layers of Black Magic brownie sandwich a decadent layer of luscious dulce de leche milk caramel. Topped with burnt sugar. The sweetest, softest, richest of all brownies, gooey like a fudgy brownie.
Cinnamon Star Cookie
From Zingerman’s Bakehouse. Made with almond flour, lightly spiced with cinnamon, crunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle.