In a small saucepan over low heat, mix first 4 ingredients until blended. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then stir in spices. Stir in egg. Pour into very large non-metallic bowl.

Sift together dry ingredients and add, in fourths, to liquid mixture, mixing well after each addition. (Dough will be Very stiff.) Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to stand over night at room temperature to blend flavours.

Preheat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool momentarily on sheets, then remove to cooling rack. (Cookies will stick to baking sheet, so use a firm hand on the spatula when removing.) While still hot, shake in powdered sugar to coat. (I used about 1/2 C. of sugar for the whole batch.) Store in covered containers with piece of orange or apple peel for several weeks to mellow. (Change peel every third day or so.) Makes 84-106 cookies, depending on size. (I got 106 this year. Last year, it was only 98. If you end up with less than 84, the balls of dough are too large and the centers won't bake through.)

This was my grandmother's recipe. Theoretically, this is the way these cookies are made in the Baden region of Germany, which is a bit different from other variants of these cookies. Oh, and I generally let them mellow 3-4 weeks before eating. Don't store them in tins or glass - they end up with an odd taste. Stoneware or ceramic storage containers seem to work best.

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