Peppernotter (Scandinavian Christmas Cookies)

3 eggs

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

⅔ cup finely chopped almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease several baking sheets.

Beat the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved, then beat in lemon juice, almonds, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, allspice, and cloves until thoroughly combined. Mix in flour to make a sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead the dough 1 to 2 minutes, adding more flour if needed, to make a smooth, workable dough. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and place the balls on the prepared baking sheets at least 1 inch apart.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove from sheets immediately to cooling racks to prevent cookies from getting too hard.

Stir together confectioners sugar and water to make a glaze, and drizzle each cookie while slightly warm with about 1/2 teaspoon, spreading it around the top of the cookie.