These vegan pfeffernüsse cookies are soft and chewy with warm spices, deep molasses flavor, and a delicate snowy coating of powdered sugar. They’re irresistibly festive and perfect for holiday baking!
These are the holiday cookies I didn't realize I needed in my life. In fact, I'd never heard of them until I had a reader request a recipe for vegan pfeffernüsse, but now they're an absolute favorite. They really have it all! First, that irresistible combo of warm spices and molasses. If you're a fan of my vegan gingerbread cookies or vegan ginger molasses cookies, pfeffernüsse will be right up your alley! They have all the delicious spices you love, plus a few extra for good measure. They’re also moist, perfectly chewy, and covered in powdered sugar like my vegan crinkle cookies and vegan snowball cookies.
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Pfeffernüsse are a traditional German cookie, but there’s also a Dutch version (more on that in the variations section below). They're easy to make and even kind of fun — rolling them in powdered sugar is a great holiday activity for the kiddos! And yet they taste like something that could only be made with the love and dedication of Santa’s elves.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Brown sugar. Look for organic brown sugar, as conventional sugar is often processed with bone char. I prefer dark brown sugar for this recipe, but light works just fine, too!
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores will carry this in the refrigerated section, near the regular butter. Earth Balance, Melt, and Miyoko's are a few brands to look for.
- Maple syrup.
- Molasses. We're using unsulfured molasses, which is the most common variety used for baking. Look for brands like Brer Rabbit and Grandma's. I don't recommend using blackstrap or robust molasses.
- Non-dairy milk. Soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or whatever variety you normally use for drinking is fine. Need help choosing? My guide to non-dairy milk can help!
- Ground flaxseed. You'll be mixing this with the milk to create a flax egg, one of my favorite vegan egg substitutes for baking.
- Flour. I've only made this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour, so I can't guarantee results with any other varieties.
- Spices. We're using a lot here! You'll need ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and black pepper.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Anise extract. You only need a tiny bit of this, but it'll add so much flavor!
- Powdered sugar. Just like the brown sugar, this should be organic.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Combine the wet ingredients. Heat up the brown sugar, vegan butter, maple syrup, and molasses in a small saucepan, stirring constantly, just until the sugar and butter melt. Let it cool.
Step 2: Make the flax egg. Stir your non-dairy milk and ground flaxseed together in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes. The flax will start to soak up the milk and gel.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients. While the flax mixture sits, whisk the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
Step 4: Add flax egg to wet ingredients. Once the wet mixture has cooled, whisk the flax egg in and anise extract.
Steps 5 & 6: Mix and chill the dough. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ingredient mixture, then stir everything together. The dough will be very sticky! Stick it into the fridge to chill for two hours.
Steps 7-9: Shape and bake. Roll the dough into balls and arrange them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies until they're puffy and feel set. Don't let them start to brown — pfeffernüsse are really easy to overbake.
Steps 10 & 11. Cool and roll. Let the cookies cool completely, then coat them lightly in powdered sugar. They're now ready to enjoy!
Tip: The tops of your cookies may sink slightly as they cool — totally normal! Just use powdered sugar to fill in any dips.
Variations
- Iced pfeffernüsse. Dutch versions are made with icing. Instead of coating your cookies in powdered sugar, make a simple icing by mixing 2 cups of powdered sugar with 3 to 4 tablespoons of non-dairy milk. Coat the entire outer surface of each cookie with the icing.
- Chocolate coating. Skip the powdered sugar and dip your cookies in melted chocolate.
- Almond pfeffernüsse. Replace the anise extract with a half teaspoon of almond extract.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tried making a gluten-free version, but I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would probably work. Please let me know how it works out in the comments if you try it!
They'll keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. You can also freeze them, but I recommend doing so before coating them with powdered sugar, if possible. If they are already coated, no biggie, but some of the coating could dissolve during thawing (easy fix — just add more powdered sugar). Freeze them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months.
It sure is! Pfeffernüsse dough is very sticky and will be challenging to handle before chilling. You'll also risk your cookies spreading too much if you skip chilling.
More Vegan Holiday Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Pfeffernüsse
Ingredients
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsulfured molasses
- 3 tablespoons unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon anise extract
For Coating
- ½ cup organic powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the brown sugar, vegan butter, maple syrup, and molasses into a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Heat the mixture while stirring just until the butter and brown sugar have melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
- Stir the milk and ground flaxseed together in a small bowl. Set it aside for at least 5 minutes, until the flaxseeds gel.
- While the flax mixture sits, whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Once the flax mixture has gelled, whisk it into the melted brown sugar mixture in the saucepan, then whisk in the anise extract.
- Pour the melted brown sugar mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and stir until a sticky dough forms.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 2 hours (Note 1).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into balls, using a heaping tablespoon of dough per cookie. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 ½ inches between them.
- Bake the cookies until they've puffed up and the tops feel set but don't yet look browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Place the baking sheets on cooling racks when they come out of the oven. Let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them directly to the racks to finish cooling.
- Once the cookies are cool, place the powdered sugar into a bowl. Roll each cookie in powdered sugar until coated.
Notes
- You can chill the dough for up to 24 hours if you'd like, but you'll need to let it sit at room temperature until it's soft enough to scoop.
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