Period Orange Nuts

Anna Elizabeth Henry

1st Lieutenant
Silver Patron
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Location
New York, New York
Oddly enough there are no actual nuts in the recipe, but I do believe this refers to the type of cookie it is as it was next to the ginger nuts recipe in Peterson's Magazine from 1865. These rich citrus cookies would go great with lovely cup of tea and even with some hot chocolate (orange & chocolate are oddly good together!).

orange nuts.JPG
 
"and bake them like the others" - Do you know what is meant with that? How long do the balls need in the oven at what heat?

Thanks for the recipe! I might actually try that. :smile:

Probably beating them for 15 minutes might drive you nuts
That is one of the first things i've heard today that makes sense.
:rofl: Beating for 15 minutes is quite long though...
 
Probably beating them for 15 minutes might drive you nuts

Ha! Having beaten a fair number of things by hand and having kneaded dough you may very well go nuts while getting the mixture in the right consistency. I will note though kneading dough especially is an excellent way to burn off any anger you may have! :whistling:

"and bake them like the others" - Do you know what is meant with that? How long do the balls need in the oven at what heat?

Thanks for the recipe! I might actually try that. :smile:

:rofl: Beating for 15 minutes is quite long though...

In that section of the magazine there were other recipes for other 'nuts' like ginger nuts, so I think that's what is meant by bake like the others. As to temperature I think @Northern Light's timing is good. I always check my cookies after about 8 minutes. Also the darker the cookie the more careful you have to be as it's tougher to tell when it gets browned at the edges. These though should be a sugar cookie in color.

If you don't want a ball shaped cookie as these won't flatten out much, you can take the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar press on down gently on the cookie sheet to make them more like the shape of a ginger snap.
 
There must be some sort of reason to call them nuts.
They are probably related somewhere in the woodwork, to Pfeffernusse, or pepper nuts.
From Wikipedia:
Pfeffernüsse are tiny spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat in Germany, Denmark, and The Netherlands, as well as among ethnic Mennonites in North America.[1][2][3][4] They are called pepernoten in Dutch (plural), päpanät in Plautdietsch, pfeffernuesse or peppernuts in English, and pebernødder in Danish.

History
While the exact origin of the cookie is uncertain, the traditional Dutch belief links the pepernoten to the feast of Sinterklaas, celebrated on 5 December or 6 December in The Netherlands and 6 December in Germany and Belgium. This is when children receive gifts from St. Nicholas, who is partially the inspiration for the Santa Claus tradition. In Germany, the pfeffernuss is more closely associated with Christmas. The cookie has been part of European yuletide celebrations since the 1850s.
The name peppernut (Pfeffernüsse, pebernød etc.) does not mean it contains nuts, though some varieties do. The cookies are roughly the size of nuts and can be eaten by the handful, which may account for the name.[5]
 
They are rolled into balls and most likely not meant to be flat. I have a feeling that the idea behind these "nuts" was to have a variety of cookies that looked like nut meats in a dish.
 
They are probably related somewhere in the woodwork, to Pfeffernusse, or pepper nuts.
From Wikipedia:
Pfeffernüsse are tiny spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat in Germany, Denmark, and The Netherlands, as well as among ethnic Mennonites in North America.[1][2][3][4] They are called pepernoten in Dutch (plural), päpanät in Plautdietsch, pfeffernuesse or peppernuts in English, and pebernødder in Danish.

History
While the exact origin of the cookie is uncertain, the traditional Dutch belief links the pepernoten to the feast of Sinterklaas, celebrated on 5 December or 6 December in The Netherlands and 6 December in Germany and Belgium. This is when children receive gifts from St. Nicholas, who is partially the inspiration for the Santa Claus tradition. In Germany, the pfeffernuss is more closely associated with Christmas. The cookie has been part of European yuletide celebrations since the 1850s.
The name peppernut (Pfeffernüsse, pebernød etc.) does not mean it contains nuts, though some varieties do. The cookies are roughly the size of nuts and can be eaten by the handful, which may account for the name.[5]
Pfeffernuse is totally different.the ones we get from germany are about 1 1/2" in diameter.
 
Back
Top