Pepernoten (Dutch Honey-Anise Sinterklaas Cookies) Recipe
Aniseed and honey-flavored cookies can be found in every Dutch supermarket and bakery in the months preceding St. Nicholas Eve on December 5.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 15 persons
Ingredients
- ½cup honey
- ¼cup water
- ½cup bruine basterdsuiker (see note below)
- 3 ⅓cup rye flour
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- Sunflower oil
- 1 ½tablespoons ground aniseed
- 1tablespoon baking powder, sifted
Instructions
Step 1
Gather the ingredients.Step 2
In a saucepan, heat honey with 2 3/4 tablespoons of the water and the sugar until mixture reaches 194 F on a candy thermometer.Step 3
Remove saucepan from heat and mix in rye flour and salt using a hand mixer with a dough hook attachment (or pour mixture into bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and knead dough that way).Step 4
Knead dough thoroughly. Grease some plastic wrap with sunflower oil and cover dough with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest for one day at room temperature.Step 5
The next day, preheat oven to 340 F. Add ground anise, remaining 1 1/3 tablespoons water, and baking powder to dough. Knead well.Step 6
Rub a little sunflower oil into your hands and roll little balls, roughly the size of a marble.Step 7
Place the balls into a round spring form cake tin. The cake tin may be densely packed, it doesn't matter if the pepernoten touch each other.Step 8
Bake pepernoten for 20 minutes, until golden brown. When you lightly press down on the cookies, they should bounce back a little.Step 9
Take tin from oven, invert over a dish, and separate pepernoten . Allow to cool and keep in an airtight container.