Plätzchen (christmas cookies)

The recipes on this page are some of my personal favorite Plätzchen. They make the dark winter time much more pleasant!

They also make for great christmas gifts for friends and colleagues.

Marzipanstangen

Ingredients

• 250g marzipan
• 200g sweet unsalted butter
• 250g all-purpose flour
• 100g starch flour
• 100g white sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 drops lemon oil (optional)


• about 500g marmelade (preferably homemade apricot or strawberry)


• about 250g dark chocolate

Preparation

Sift flour and starch together. In a separate bowl beat marzipan, butter, sugar, spices and egg until the mixture is fluffy. Add the flour-starch mixture one spoon at a time.
Using an icing bag place approximately 5cm long strips ("Marzipanstangen") of the dough onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake those at 175-200°C for about 8-10 minutes until they are golden (not brown!). Let the Marzipanstangen cool down before removing them from the sheet.
Cover the flat side of one of the Marzipanstangen with marmelade and put another one on top of that. Press together carfeully. Do this with all of the cookies.
Melt the chocolate in a water bath and cover the tip of each Marzipanstange with chocolate. Let the chocolate harden and then enjoy your christmas cookies!

Bibole

Ingredients

• 180g sweet unsalted butter
• 300g all-purpose flour
• 125g white sugar
• 125g oatmeal (traditional, not preboiled)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon of honey (optional)
• 75g raisins (optionally rum-soaked)


• some of your favourite marmelade (I like black currant or apricot)

Preparation

Mix all ingedients into one soft dough. Make little cookies on your cookie sheet using a tea spoon. Bake those at 175-195°C for about 15-20 minutes until golden.
Once they are done you can go ahead and put some marmelade on top of them.

Liegnitzer

Ingredients

• 150g dark chocolate
• 150g unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 150g white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon gingerbread spice (ground cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, ...)
• 1 teaspoon rum
• 150g flour
• 200g ground hazelnuts
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda

• jam (apricot or Hagebutte)
• 200g dark chocolate

Preparation

Slowly melt the chocolate together with the butter. In separate bowl, mix eggs, sugar, spices and rum until nice and foamy. Add melted chocolate and butter (be careful that it's not too hot) and stir. Finally, add flour, hazelnuts and baking soda.

Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and spread the mixture evenly. Bake at 170°C (~350°F) for 20-25 minutes. In the meantime, melt the chocolate for covering, and spread on the hot cake right out of the oven. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then cut into 1 inch squares. Hint: The cutting is easiest with a piece of dental floss!

Let cool completely, and then glue a pair of these together using the jam.
Instead, in a twist inspired by the famous Austrian Sachertorte, you can first spread the jam thinly on the hot cake right out of the oven, let it cool and dry, and then spread the chocolate on top of that.

Elisenlebkuchen

Ingredients

• 100g flour (= 3/4 cup)
• 4 large eggs
• 200g white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• a hint of nutmeg
• zest of half a lemon and orange
• 200g finely chopped candied orange and/or lemon peel (mixed is OK)
• 1 teaspoon rum
• 500g ground almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• ~50 small Backoblaten (optional)
• black and white chocolate to cover

Preparation

Mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Blend in spices, and flavorings as well as the almonds until you have a solid paste.
With a teaspoon, place little heaps of dough on a cookie sheet or the Oblaten. Bake at 150°C in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes.

Kokosmakronen

Ingredients

• 4 large egg whites
• 150 g white sugar
• 200 g marzipan
• 1 tablespoon of rum
• 300 g unsweetened coconut flakes

• ~50 small Backoblaten (optional)
• 200 g dark chocolate to cover them

Preparation

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar and beat well. Cut marzipan into small pieces and slowly blend into the eggwhites together with rum. Finally add coconut flakes.
With a teaspoon, place little heaps of dough on a cookie sheet or the Oblaten. Bake at 150°C in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes. After cooling down, melt the chocolate and cover the Makronen with them.

Wespennester / Schweinigel

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 250 g powdered sugar
• 30 g cocoa
• 1 envelope of vanilla sugar (or some real vanilla or vanilla extract)
• 250 g almonds, slivered

Preparation

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar, vanilla and cocoa and beat well. Finally stirr in almond slivers.
With a teaspoon, place little heaps of dough on a cookie sheet or small round Oblaten (edible paper). Bake at 160°C in a preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes.

As a variation, you can make "Schweinigel" (pig-hedgehogs) by replacing the cocoa and vanilla by the juice and zest of half a lemon.

Vanillekipferl

Ingredients

• 300 g flour
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 250 g butter
• 100 g ground almonds

• 150g powedered sugar
• 1 envelope vanilla sugar

Preparation

Knead flour, sugar, butter and almonds into a thick dough. Form into a ball, cover with cling film, and refrigerate for 1 h. Roll into a roll of about 1 cm diameter, then cut off pieces of about 5 cm and roll the ends into pointy ends. Shape into a crescent and place on baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven at 170°C for about 20 minutes until very lightly brown. Let cool down for a few minutes, but before fully cooled cover them in plenty of powdered sugar (place them in a container with sealed lid and gently shake to cover evenly) and let cool fully.

Lebkuchen(männchen)

Ingredients

• 120 g butter
• 100 g brown (unrefined) sugar
• 130 g honey (liquid)
• 2 egg yolks
• gingerbread spice
  (cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, ...)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 400 g white flour
• 1 packet of baking soda

• 50 g dark chocolate
• 100 g powedered sugar
• 1 egg white
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

Mix butter, sugar, honey, egg yolks and gingerbead spices and salt. Slowly add flour and baking soda and combine into a solid dough. Wrap in ceran wrap and let sit in fridge for about 1 hour.
Roll dough into about 5 mm thick sheets. Use cutters to cut out gingerbread men and place on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper. Bake at 160°C for about 10-15 minutes. Don't overbake them!
Beat egg white with lemon juice until stiff, then add sugar. Melt chocolate. Use to decorate gingerbread men.

Schwäbische Springerle

Ingredients

• 4 medium eggs
• 250 g powdered sugar
• 250 g white sugar
• 600 g white flour
• 1 packet of baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 shot of Kirschwasser

Preparation

Beat eggs until stiff, then add the Kirschwasser. Add sugar and salt and slowly blend on low setting for about 10 minutes until the sugar is fully dissolved. Then sieve the flour and baking soda together and swiftly add to the mixture. Wrap in ceran wrap and let sit in fridge for at least 24 hours.
Roll dough into about 1 cm thick sheets. Place on Modeln with the floury side facing down. Push the dough into the Modeln with a rolling pin, then flip it over onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Let sit uncovered for another day at least. Finally take each Springerle, now hardened on top, and dip the bottom in whole anise seeds. Place back on cookie sheet and bake at 160°C for about 10-12 minutes. After that, reduce heat to 120°C and bake for another 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake, they become harder as they cool.
Let cool, then store openly in a sufficiently humid place to allow them to soften a bit befor eating.