Spiced white-pepper Pfeffernüsse

Wash the lemon and finely grate its zest, avoiding the white pith. Mix flour, baking powder, pepper, cloves, ginger, cardamom, salt and sugar. Crack the egg, then add it with the zest, almonds and milk and knead just to a slightly sticky dough. Shape logs in food wrap without extra flour. Seal and refrigerate for at least 480 minutes.

Use for the recipe: half an unwaxed lemon (prepare 1 unwaxed lemon).

Heat the fan oven to 160 °C. Line a large baking tray. Take out one dough log at a time and cut slices about 1 cm thick. Round them into about 30 cookies and space them on the tray. Keep the remaining dough chilled.

Bake for 15 minutes at 160 °C in the fan oven until set and lightly coloured. Transfer to a rack and cool for 30 minutes until completely cold. Bake all the dough in batches, keeping the cookies spaced apart.

Heat the measured water for about 2 minutes until hot. Sift the icing sugar and stir with the water until smooth. Thinly brush the cold tops and let excess drip off on a rack. Dry for at least 60 minutes, longer if sticky.