Updated on December 12th, 2024
Pebernødder (translation of pepper nut) are traditional Danish Christmas cookies. Around wintertime, you can buy bags of pebernødder at the grocery stores here. However, it is fairly easy to make homemade pebernødder that tastes as good, if not better, than storebought.
Danish Pebernødder Cookies Recipe
100
cookies7
minutesIngredients
125 grams (half a cup) of butter
125 grams (half a cup) of sugar
half a deciliter (1/4 cup) of whipping cream
375 grams (1 and a half cups) of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
half a teaspoon of cardamom
half a teaspoon of cinnamon
half a teaspoon of clove
half a teaspoon of ginger
half a teaspoon of nutmeg
half a teaspoon of white pepper
a pinch of salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F
- Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer
- Add the whipping cream to the butter and sugar and combine
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and spices (cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, white pepper, and salt)
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine. The dough should form into one ball. If the dough is wet and sticky, add more flour. If the dough is dry and flaky, add more whipping cream
- Divide the dough into 5-6 pieces to make it easier to roll out
- Roll out each piece of dough into the thickness of a finger and cut the dough into approximately 1 centimeter (half an inch) pieces
- Place the cut pieces of dough on a baking sheet or roll the pieces into balls before placing them on the baking sheet
- Bake the cookie dough pieces for 7 minutes. The edges should be golden brown and the cookies will be soft
- Let the pebernødder cookies cool and harden for at least 5 minutes
Frequently Asked Questions
What does pebernødder taste like?
Pebernødder taste like small spiced sugar cookies. They are made with similar base ingredients as sugar cookies, but they include spices that are often included in gingerbread cookies, which make them perfect for the festive season.
Can you omit any of the spices?
Yes, you can. If you do not like any of the spices such as cinnamon or you cannot find them at your grocery store, you can omit it. The cookies will have a slightly different flavor, but they will still be delicious. Furthermore, other pebernødder recipes have made the cookies without cardamom, clove, and nutmeg, therefore, it is certainly possible to make these cookies without using all the listed spices.
Can you substitute the white pepper for black pepper?
You can substitute the white pepper for black pepper, but black pepper is more intense, therefore, the pebenødder can have a slightly stronger flavor.
Can you make the cookies vegan?
The pebernødder can be made vegan by substituting the butter and whipping cream for plant-based alternatives.
Can you make gluten-free pebernødder?
To make the recipe gluten-free, you can substitute the flour for a gluten-free alternative such as rice flour, quinoa flour, buckwheat flour, almond flour, or your flour of choice.
Can you substitute the sugar?
You can substitute the sugar with coconut sugar or another sugar substitute.
Can the dough be made in advance?
The pebernødder dough can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month before baking the cookies.
How long do the baked cookies last?
If the baked cookies are stored in an air-tight container, they can last for 2-3 weeks.
For more Danish recipes, you can check out my post on The Best Vegetarian Danish Recipes.
12 Days of Christmas Cookies
Myself and 11 other bloggers are sharing 12 Days of Christmas Cookies this December 1st-12th. Be sure to check out everyone’s delicious cookie recipes each day!
- December 1st: Birdz of a Feather’s Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe
- December 2nd: My Danish Pebernødder Cookies. Thank you for reading!
- December 3rd: Jenron Designs’ Movie Night Toffee Pretzel & Popcorn Cookies
- December 4th: Sum of their Stories’ Chocolate Orange Porridge Oat Cookies
- December 5th: Esme Salon’s Easy and Fun French Macarons Recipe!
- December 6th: Our Hopeful Home’s Belgian Butter Waffle Caramel Sandwich Cookies
- December 7th: Purple Hues and Me’s Christmas Light Bulb Cookies
- December 8th: Rose Bakes’ M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies
- December 9th: Sbartist’s Sugar Balls
- December 10th: Get Inspired by Faith’s No-Bake Candycane Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- December 11th: Jupiter Hadley’s Chewy Lemon Cookies
- December 12: Save Money Fever’s Piped Butter Cookies
We love trying all kinds of cookies, and this will be my first time trying a cookie with pepper in it! Thanks so much for sharing.
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy them if you do try them!
My husband would love these! You’re right, the spices add such a festive holiday flavor.
Yes!
Thanks for sharing at #12daysofcookies, so good to see all the awesome treats for Christmas. I will pin this for reference to use in the future.
Thank you so much! I enjoyed seeing your cookie recipe too!
I’m not familiar with these – looking forward to making them!
They’re delicious cookies, and I hope you like them if you do try them!
These cookies look delicious, I love the blend of spices you’ve added to them x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you so much! The spices definitely make them perfect for the holidays!
I had never heard of these Danish cookies before, but they sound really easy to make! Thank you for your recipe.
They are pretty easy to make, and the only time consuming part is cutting the dough into small pieces and forming them into a ball
Love this traditional Danish Cookie recipe, they were always one of my mother’s favorites, so it reminds me of her. These are a perfect addition to any cookie plate and go great with coffee at breakfast which was her favorite. Great share for the holidays.
Thank you so much! That’s wonderful to hear, and they are perfect for the holidays!
These look so delicious! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
https://melissakacar.com
Thank you so much! They are delicious!
Oh these sound so good I have had cookies like these I love the blend of spices with the sugar. Thanks for posting I so hope to make some cookies this holiday season.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Thank you! The holidays are the perfect time to bake cookies!
Homemade is always better than store bought; these look delicious
Karalee!
I agree and thank you!
Very good cookies, nice flavor. If we change the recipe and add other seasonings or replace the butter, we get a completely different cookie. I like this recipe
Yes changing the spices will affect the flavor, but I have seen other pebernødder recipes that do not use cardamom, clove, or nutmeg and others that use black pepper instead of white pepper, so it is possible to have the same type of cookie with different spices.
As far as the butter, if someone has a dairy allergy or they’re vegan, substituting the butter is definitely possible. I have seen vegan pebernødder recipes that have used plant-based butter and whipping cream, and they look quite similar to mine.
I love the idea of cardamom being used in cookies like this, it’s a delicious flavour to add (especially at this time of year). I will have to try these out as they sound amazing!
Cardamom is a good spice to use around the holidays! The cookies are delicious, and I hope you enjoy them if you try them!