Can’t ask for a better provenance than that.
Compare with the black pfeffernüsse from Lutz, Florida.
This recipe is from the 12th page of the notebook; here’s the page in full (click to enlarge).
Click to expand a longer explanation...| In the words of the seller: I acquired this book from the great granddaughter of the woman who wrote this book back in a small Nebraska town in the 30’s. She belonged to that generation of rural housewives who worked tirelessly to make ends meet and “keep body and soul together” for their families working the farms. Later addendum: [A]fter a conversation I had with a friend’s sister who used to live in North Eastern Colorado, given the type of recipes listed we decided it might be from a small town there, i.e., Sterling or Fort Morgan. Also North Platte or Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Even Cheyenne, Wyoming. If you Google a map of Sterling, Colorado and pull back, you will see all these little towns in that tri-state area. |
Pfeffernusse From Mamma
2 c. syrup, dark (rather sorghum)
2 c. sugar
2 c. lard
1 c. black coffee
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp. ginger
1/2 Tbsp. cloves
Mix together and add flour to make a real stiff dough. Roll out and slice down about 1/2 inch diameter.
Love your photo, the handwriting looks just like my grandmother’s. Her recipe gives the same generic amount of flour which actually comes out to about 6 to 6 1/2 cups. I have learned to start with about 6 cups and bake just one cookie to see how it turns out and then add more flour accordingly to get the final result of texture that we like before baking a whole sheet of cookies. bake @ 300* for 8 mins. My recipe yields 10 dozen. I’m surprised your recipe doesn’t call for any eggs. We roll ours in powdered sugar while still hot then let cool. 🙂