Peppernuts

 
Ingredients

• 6 cups corn syrup
• 3 cups brown sugar
• 20+ cups flour
• 1-1/2 cups margarine or butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamon
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon mace (or nutmeg)
• 1/2 teaspoon oil of anise   [Anise extract is not the same thing; try a confectionary or pharmacy for the "oil" of anise.]

Preparation

1. Warm syrup, sugar, and butter; mix then cool.
2. Add flour and spices  (Add flour a little at a time.  It will get very stiff).   If too rich, add a little water.   The more the dough is kneaded and worked the better it will be.
3. Let stand overnight.
4. Roll out 1/4" or thicker.   Cut with cookie cutter. [Or, as EPH used to do it, cut "logs" of dough with a pizza cutter in squares or a variety of parallelograms.]  
5. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Number of servings: 1,000 cookies +/- 20% (depending on size) 
Preparation Time: An hour or so to make the dough + overnight + roll out + cut out + bake = 2 full days! 
Dough lasts months if kept cold.

Tips:

• When adding flour, be sure to use a strong stirring spoon, (e.g. solid spoon/spatula, stiff plastic) rather than a 2-piece scraper. The dough gets VERY stiff and lightweight spoons don't cut it.  At some point take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on the table while adding the last few cups of flour.
• To minimize (virtually eliminate) sticking, baking on silicone baking mats (e.g. Wilton) saves a lot of headaches and extra work.