cookie cookie cookie starts with "p"

hi folks! happy new year. i know the holidays are technically "over" (does anyone else think unnecessary scare quotes are hilarious, by the way?), but my craving for holiday goodies is not, so i thought i'd share my favorite cookie recipe. they're called pfeffernusse, they're swedish, they're hard and peppery, and i always have the ingredients for them. win.

important note: this recipe has been (barely) adapted from this cookbook, which i love. 

ingredients
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (i'm making these today, and i'm going to use whole wheat flour, since i ran out of all-purpose. i'll let you know how it goes)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8 tbs butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (the recipe calls for light, but i always use medium)
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp finely chopped orange zest (sometime i skip this when i don't have any oranges, but it's definitely better with it)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

directions
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a sil-pat.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and pepper.
3. in a large bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. beat on medium speed until well blended.
4. add the honey, egg yolk, and zest. mix until well blended. add the flour mixture. mix on low speed until blended.
5. At this point, i would chill the dough in the fridge for half an hour or so. i've found that this recipe works better when the dough is cold.
6. once chilled, place small balls of dough on the cookie sheet (the cookbook calls for a mini ice cream scoop, which would probably work great. i usually use a tablespoon). leave about 2 inches between each one. press gently on each ball to flatten it slightly.
7. bake until the edges are light brown, about 14 minutes. put the cookies on a cooling rack, and sift powdered sugar over the cookies.

these are suuuuuper good dunked in hot chocolate or tea. happy (extended) holidays!