Go Back
+ servings
VEGAN PFEFFERNÜSSE COOKIES

Vegan Pfeffernüsse Cookies

These tender, spiced Pfeffernüsse cookies are easily made vegan with a few traditional recipe tweaks. Snowy powdered sugar on top.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings: 14

Equipment

  • baking sheet
  • mixer
  • small bowl

Ingredients

Wet Mixture:

  • cup brown sugar organic
  • 3 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
  • ¼ cup vegan butter softened
  • 3 tablespoon pumpkin puree unsweetened – or another egg replacer
  • 1 teaspoon citrus zest I did a combo of lemon and tangerine
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Mixture:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 Tbsp
  • ½ teaspoon ground AllSpice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger powder or a few pinches of cayenne powder
  • cup almond meal or ⅓ cup whole almonds -> processed into flour
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Sugar Coating:

  • teaspoon cinnamon
  • teaspoon AllSpice
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar organic
  • pinch of cayenne or finely ground black pepper optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add the wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl, blend until combined, using a hand or stand mixer.
  • Add in the dry ingredients and combine using your mixer on low. Blend until smooth, but to not overbeat, you want the dough to be fluffy and easy to handle.
  • Roll the dough into small balls, about 1 ½ tablespoon of dough each. Place on parchment, continue placing until all the dough has been used up.
  • Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until the tops begin to plump up and crack a bit along the sides and middle.
  • In a small bowl or a sandwich-sized plastic bag, combine the powdered sugar with the sugar spices.
  • Pull the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes on the sheet. When they are cool enough to handle, dip them into the sugar mixture and coat well. Place the cookies on a cooling rack – tip: place a baking sheet under the cooling rack to catch the sugar that falls. Repeat until all the cookies are coated. then repeat the coating to get a double dipped effect. Allow the cookies to fully cool, then dip them again for an extra white coating. I let my cookies chill in the fridge overnight, then dipped them a second time and that worked perfectly for a bright white color.
  • These cookies are delicious served warm or cool. They also make perfect gifting cookies because they do well in the fridge and/or wrapped in a plastic gifting bag – and can be made a few days ahead of time.

Video

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 654IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg