Seniors pop out pounds of peppernuts
The aroma sneaking out the front door of the Peabody Senior Citizen's Center every Monday and Thursday afternoon is certainly reminiscent of the scent of Grandma's kitchen during the holidays.
That is because local grandmas (and many grandpas) are baking peppernuts at the center. A dozen or two volunteer twice a week and work in assembly-line fashion "shooting" the dough onto cookie sheets, arranging the raw cookies into neat rows, and baking them to perfection.
"We have been doing this since the first week in October," said Arlene Unruh. "By the end of this week we will have made about 600 pounds of peppernuts. We plan to quit Thanksgiving week, but we will see how it goes in December. If we sell out and have requests for more, we may get the group going again."
The peppernut dough is forced through a custom-made plastic cylinder much like a caulking gun except that the cylinder has tiny holes at the end instead of a single point. The dough is randomly dropped onto cookie sheets.
Before being popped into the oven, the cookies are arranged in rows to facilitate more cookies per sheet and even baking. The arranging of the raw dough takes time and volunteers do this job by hand, one peppernut at a time.
A small group in the kitchen then keeps watch over the baking process to make sure the peppernuts are baked to perfection.
After they cool, the peppernuts are weighed and put in plastic bags which are tied and labeled in holiday colors.
"It's a nice gift for anyone," said Unruh. "We had a call from a woman who visits in Peabody at Thanksgiving. She bought from us several years ago and gave the peppernuts as gifts. They were so popular, she made it a point to buy them every year. This year she placed an advance order for 30 pounds!"
The peppernuts are available at the senior center and the Peabody Sausage House. "The Bergers have been great about selling the peppernuts for us. Mike even designed and printed the holiday labels that go on the bags," said Unruh.
Funds from the sale of the traditional holiday cookies cover a good portion of the center's operating expenses.
Unruh said that many people have the mistaken notion that the center is subsidized by state or federal money.
"That is simply not so," she said. "The food program is subsidized and repairs to the kitchen equipment (or replacement) is taken care of, but we are responsible for everything else.
"Building expenses, roof repairs, utilities, and such all have to be paid out of money we take in. Sometimes it's hard to keep up," she added.
Funds from the sale of 600 pounds of peppernuts will not cover all the operating costs of the center, but it will help. "We appreciate the support the community has given us in the past and hope they will buy peppernuts from us again this year," said Unruh.
Anyone needing an incentive should walk past the center on baking days for a whiff of Christmas nostalgia. The aroma of grandma's kitchen can be had in the bags of peppernuts — a great holiday memory for everyone.
