Pfeffernuesse

I mentioned in my last blog post that my niece Monica and I were making Pfeffernuesse or Peppernuts. There's a bit of history to these tiny spiced cookies. I remember being told that Mennonite grandmothers used to keep a few peppernuts in their purses during church services. When the children would become a bit noisy or restless, they would pop one of these hard nuggets into their mouths and the necessity of sucking the hard cookie and the surprising spiciness would distract the child and silence was achieved.

They are always number one on the list of Christmas favourites at our house and they can become a bit addictive.

There are many recipes for Peffernuesse but this is my favourite. My friend Delores made them and I adjusted the spices to my liking.

It's a big recipe and I usually only make half of it. This year because Monica is staying with us and she was eager to help I decided to mix up the whole amount. When a bowl of Pfeffernuesse are on the table they disappear by the handful and a pretty Christmas tin filled with Pfeffernuesse is always a welcome gift.

Here is the recipe I use - it is easily halved if the whole amount is intimidating:

• 4 cups Roger's Golden syrup (this is different than corn syrup)
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups margarine
• 2 cups milk

1. Combine the above ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Let mixture cool completely before continuing.

• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tsp. peppermint extract (use the clear extract not the green tinted one)

1. Beat eggs in a small bowl and add extracts. Set aside.

• 8 - 9 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground star anise (not anise seed)
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Place 7 cups flour in a large mixer bowl.
2. Add spices and baking powder and stir until completely blended with flour.
3. Add syrup mixture to the flour, stirring well until blended.
4. Add beaten egg mixture and continue to stir until blended.
5. Continue to add flour until dough thickens but remains sticky. You will still be able to stir it with a wooden spoon however it will take a bit of strength. I use around 8 1/2 cups flour but this may vary depending on your flour. Please note that the dough will harden considerably once it has been refrigerated so be careful not to add too much flour.
6. Refrigerate dough overnight or for several days.


7. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. These cookies will stick to the pan whereas if you use parchment paper, they will just slide right off and you can reuse the paper.
8. Take a tablespoon and spoon out a good handful of the dough.
9. Sprinkle a little flour on your counter and roll the dough into a long rope about the thickness of your ring finger.
10. Using a bench scraper or pizza cutter, cut the rope into 1/2 inch pieces and place on your prepared pans. (I get 99 cookies on each large cookie sheet)
11. Bake at 350º for about 15 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown. This is where having a convection oven comes in handy as you can bake 2 or 3 cookie sheets at a time.
12. Remove from pan and cool. Store in ice cream pails in a cool place.
13. The Pfeffernuesse will keep for a long time - at least 3 or 4 months.

Monica rolled the dough into long ropes and cut the pieces while placed them on the pans. I had to get out my pizza pans to accomodate the volume of cookies.
This whole recipe makes about 1600 Pfeffernuesse but my prediction is that they will be gone before January is over.

Here's what's cooking...

Most of you already know that I've been immensely blessed to be a part of a recipe blog called Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Lovella Shellenberg started it back in June 2008 and I was invited to be a part of it in July that same year.


The 10 gals who contribute to the blog are as follows:
back row, L to R: Judy, Marg, Lovella
centre row, L to R: Julie, Betty Anneliese, Bev (that's me)
front row, centre to L: Ellen, Kathy Charlotte

These gals have become my very good friends through the blog and through our daily chat via the internet. We not only share our recipes with our readers but we share our everyday lives, our joys and our prayer concerns with each other. I can't describe the love and support I receive from these dear friends.

The MGCC blog has taken off and as of this month we are getting around 3600 hits per day totalling more than a million since we started. It's been alot of fun sharing recipes and we appreciate each person who follows our blog.

We've had some of our readers ask if we were going to do a cookbook.

Well the news is out (check today's post on the MGCC blog) that the cookbook is in editing right now.

We'd dreamed of doing a cookbook based on the blog but agreed that it would only happen if a publisher came to us. This happened earlier this year and since then we have been busy - cooking, tasting and tweaking; then cooking again. Then we had to take pictures of what we cooked and often our families and friends had to wait until the perfect photo had been taken. And then there was the recording and writing and rewriting. Now the manuscript is in the hands of the editors.

Although several of us knew each other prior to the blog, we did not all meet together in person until last month and that was because we had a cookbook contract to sign. We spent 3 wonderful days together doing what women friends do - eat. laugh, cry and talk.

The picture above shows us all toasting the signing of the cookbook contract.

So that's what's been cooking around here and we think it's reason to celebrate!!
The cookbook is due out in May and you can read the news release and pre-order a cookbook by going to the Mennonite Herald Press website at: http://store.mpn.net/productdetails.cfm?PC=1624 Any proceeds realized from the cookbook will go to an MCC project dedicated to feeding hungry children.

Making Jam

Start with these beautiful berries.

Is there anything more alluring than

sweet local strawberries fresh from the field?

Wash and hull, slice and squish with your hands.

Pour into a big pot with some rhubarb and lots of sugar.

Stir and heat til it bubbles furiously, squeeze the pectin from the package and stir some more. Skim the pink froth off the top.

Pour into jars and screw the hot lids on.

Hear them snap as they cool.
Line them up on the windowsill and admire.

Open the jar and spread on fresh bread.

How satisfying is that!

This Strawberry Rhubarb Jam was made following the recipe on the Certo brand package of liquid pectin.

Raclette

I've referred to a meal called Raclette in my last few posts and some of you have wondered what exactly this is. We were introduced to it by our neighbours who had recently moved here from Switzerland. they served it to us one Christmas and it has been

a part of the season ever since for us.

At its most basic, raclette involves melting cheese and pouring it over

boiled potatoes or french bread.

My neighbour told us that it was a meal served by the poor people who lived up in the mountains, far away from any stores. In winter, with no produce from their gardens, they used what was available to them. Namely, home grown potatoes and their home made cheese. Of course since then much more has been added to the meal

and it really is only limited by your taste and imagination.

You will need a Raclette oven. This is a square or rectangular appliance with a heating element located between a metal base and a cook surface. They are available with either a granite top or a teflon top. We prefer the heavy granite stone. It grills the meats and holds the heat better. There are usually 8 individual trays to slide on to the metal base below the element. A variable temperature control is a good feature.

Raclette ovens are sold- expecially at Christmas time, in department stores and specialty kitchen stores. My DIL found a Canadian online store. Go to http://www.kitchenniche.ca/ and look under cookware. Apparently this company offers free shipping for orders over $100.00. The raclettes on this site run around $149.00.

The Must Have ingredients are as follows:

- Raclette or Montery Jack cheese sliced 1/4- 1/2 inch thick (my Swiss neighbour likes the

Montery Jack better than the real raclette cheese)

- red potatoes, boiled in their skins

- garlic butter ( the more garlic the better)

- A crusty loaf of French bread or baguette

- pickles and pickled onions

Some like to offer cheddar cheese as well.

We like to add:

- sliced fresh mushrooms

- diced red peppers

- diced green onions

These can go in the tray with a dab of garlic butter before placing a slice of cheese on it and sliding it under the broiler element.

Then there are the meats to grill in garlic butter on the granite cooktop. Our favourites are:

- prawns

- slices of farmer sausage

- chunks of marinated beef (tenderlion or sirloin)

- cubes of smoked ham

I wouldn't advise using raw chicken due to the danger of samonella contamination.

However our son's care group used halibut and red snapper and found it delicious.

They also tried it with feta and goat cheese and sundried tomatoes.

When the cheese has melted and is beginning to bubble and brown at the edges, pour the melted cheese over the potatoes and french bread. Delicious!

All you need to add for the perfect meal is a nice green salad - one with a little fruit is nice.

This meal has become a favourite for Christmas Eve or Valentine's Day with a group of friends. We've also served it in summer on the patio.

We used to be the only ones among our friends with a Raclette oven.

Now many of our friends own them. In fact, we have been invited for Raclette on

New Year's Eve.

I can't think of a more delicious way to bring in 2009.