Brown pepper nuts

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 2 kg flour
• 1 kg butter (alternatively 750 g butter plus 250 g sweet cream)
• 1 kg sugar (alternatively fructose)
• 750 g syrup or beetroot juice
• 250 g almonds, very finely ground
• 30 g potash (alternatively ammonium bicarbonate)
• e.g. raisins, almonds, chocolate drops or sprinkles for topping
• Grease for the tray

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 2 days; Total time approx. 2 days 30 minutes

Family recipe from Waren, for about 20 trays full

Heat the butter, sugar, and syrup in a saucepan. Just before it boils, add the potash and stir in (be careful, the mixture can easily boil over!). Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it into a prepared bed of flour and ground almonds. Stir everything together and knead vigorously. The dough must now rest, covered, in a cool place for 2 days (this is when the ingredients combine perfectly). After that, use a knife to break off pieces of the dough and knead the very hard mixture until it is soft enough to roll out easily. Roll out to a thickness of about 2 mm. Cut out cookies. Top with raisins, almonds, chocolate chips, or any type of sprinkles and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (top/bottom heat: 180°C) for about 8–10 minutes, depending on the oven. Make sure they do not brown too much. Once removed from the oven, the gingerbread cookies need to stand for a few minutes to take on their final shape and become crispy. Tip: The quantities above are for at least 20 baking sheets. It’s advisable to start with half or a third of the amount, as baking (with due care) does take some time.