Tag Archives: Christmas cookies

Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 5: Butterplätzchen

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Cornelia | Comments Off

Butterplätzchen – Butter Cookies

A classic in German Christmas baking is the Butterplätzchen (butter cookie). It’s a favorite for baking with children. They love using cookie cutters in all kinds of shapes to make these most classic Christmas cookie of all and decorate them later. The difference between American and German Christmas butter cookies might not only be the recipe but also the size. Usually the German variation is thinner and much smaller in size than its US counterpart.

Ingredients for the dough:

250 g – flour
200g – butter
100g – Baker’s sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp – rum
grated skin of one lemon

Ingredients for the decoration:

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk
for decorating: chocolate sprinkles, colored sugar sprinkles or pearls, smarties , coarse sugar, etc.

Prepare a shortcrust pastry ( Knetteig) by sifting the flour on a board, adding the sugar and the butter cut in little flakes on top. Make a little depression in the middle of the heap of the flour mixture and add the egg yolk, rum and grated lemon.

Blend the ingredients by first chopping them with a large knife, then kneading them to a smooth dough with your hands.

Form a big round ball out of the dough, wrap it in parchment paper and let it rest for about 30 min in the refrigerator.

Dust your work surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough to about 3mm thin. Cut out different forms with your cookie cutters. Place the various cookie shapes on a lined baking sheet, and bake them for about 356-392 Fahrenheit in the pre-heated oven for about 8-10 minutes. They should look golden brown.

Before you start decorating your cookies, place the cookies on a cooling rack. Then whisk the egg yolk used for decorating with the 1 tbsp milk and brush the cookies with a thin layer. Decorate them with chocolate sprinkles, colored sugar pearls or coarse sugar.

…and you are ready to enjoy one of the most traditional German Christmas Cookies!

Happy Forth Sunday of Advent!

.

Let us know your favorite German Christmas Cookie Recipe and send it to CaliforniaGermans(at)gmail.com !

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

Comments Off on Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 5: Butterplätzchen

Posted in German Cooking & Baking, German Foods & Markets, German Traditions, Life in California, Uncategorized

Tagged Baking, Butterplätzchen, California, CaliforniaGermans, Christmas cookies, Expats, German, Weihnachtsbäckerei

Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 4: Coconut Macaroons -Two different ways

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Cornelia | Comments Off

Coconut Macaroons – Kokosmakronen

Coconut macaroons are an absolute must for any holiday cookie baker. At least that’s what I was told by a very dear American friend, who has lived for years in Germany. When she saw my recent Friday posts on German Christmas Cookie baking, Weihnachtsbäckerei, she insisted that I had to include this old time favorite!

So here we go with her two recipes ! Yes, two recipes: One is with whole eggs and the other one is made only with egg whites. A great recipe, if you have excess egg whites left from your previous cookie baking, which you want to use.

Coconut Macaroons Recipe made with Whole Eggs

Ingredients:

125g Butter
375g Sugar
1 package Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract
4 Egg yolks
50g flour
375g shredded coconut
4 egg whites

Beat the butter into a foamy mixture slowly adding half of the 375g sugar, as well as the Vanilla sugar and the 4 egg yolks. After having mixed well add the rest of the sugar. Then gradually add the 50g of flour to the batter together with the 375g shredded coconut.

In a separate bowl beat the 4 egg whites until you get a firm and stiff consistency, then carefully fold it into the coconut mixture.

With 2 teaspoons take out some of the batter, form little heaps of dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 420-430 Fahrenheit and bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Makes a batch of deliciously golden looking coconut macaroons!

Quick Coconut Macaroons Recipe made with Egg Whites only

Ingredients:

3 egg whites
250g sugar
350g shredded coconut
A few drops orange peel aroma by Dr. Oetker or McCormick
150 g hacked pistachios for decorating

Beat the egg whites to a firm, stiff consistency gradually adding the sugar while you keep beating the mixture until it takes on a glossy consistency and has stiff peaks. Fold the shredded coconut together with the orange aroma carefully under the batter.

Form little heaps of dough, put a few hacked pistachios on top and put them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the coconut macaroons in a preheated oven (320 Fahrenheit) for about 10-15 minutes.

Makes beautifully white coconut macaroons with a green pistachio top!

Enjoy!

Let us know your favorite German Christmas Cookie Recipe and send it to CaliforniaGermans(at)gmail.com !

Image: Pixabay.com

————————————————————————–

Comments Off on Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 4: Coconut Macaroons -Two different ways

Posted in German Cooking & Baking, German Foods & Markets, Life in California, Uncategorized

Tagged Baking, California, CaliforniaGermans, Christmas cookies, Expats, Weihnachtsbäckerei

Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 3: Chocolate Wasp Nests

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Cornelia | Comments Off

Chocolate Wasp Nests – Wespennester

Today we are adding a chocolate macaroon with slivered almonds and a touch of cloves to our Weihnachstbäckerei. A very light but intensely flavored Christmas cookie satisfying your chocolate cravings. Thank you Christine R. from San Diego!

Ingredients for 60 pieces:

250g slivered almonds

2 tbsp sugar

250g bittersweet chocolate

4 egg whites

250g sugar

1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:

Spread the slivered almonds on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the 2 tbsp sugar. Bake them in the oven at 392F degrees for about 15 minutes to let them get golden brown.
In the meantime melt the bittersweet chocolate over a hot-water bath
Let both chocolate and almonds cool down.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Carefully add the sugar and the ground cloves while continuing to beat the egg whites.
Continue to mix the mixture with the electric mixer (on a lower level) for about another 10 minutes until the mixture takes on a glossy and thick appearance. Slowly add and fold into the mixture the slivered almonds and the melted chocolate.
With 2 teaspoons make little heaps of dough and put them on a greased baking sheet.
Bake the cookies on the lowest rack in the preheated oven (302 F ) for about 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Let us know your favorite German Christmas Cookie Recipe and send it to CaliforniaGermans(at)gmail.com !

Image: CaliforniaGermans.com

—————————————————————————-

Comments Off on Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 3: Chocolate Wasp Nests

Posted in German Cooking & Baking, German Foods & Markets, Life in California

Tagged Baking, California, CaliforniaGermans, Christmas cookies, Expats, Weihnachtsbäckerei

Weihnachtsbäckerei – Part 2 : Rum Squares

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Cornelia | 3 comments

sweets-1224509_1280

Rum Squares – Rumwürfel

Gusti F. from Northern California shared her easy to bake recipe for delicious Rumwürfel/Rum Squares. Let’s say it’s a cookie for adults, since the rum flavor is a bit strong for the kids. But I can assure you, you will fall in love with these Rum Squares! They are just so delectable! – Thank you, Gusti!

Ingredients for the sponge dough mixture:

160 g butter

4 whole eggs

500g sugar

500g flour

(60g cocoa if you like the dough to be chocolate colored inside; or you can make half a batch with brown dough and the other half with light dough)

3/4 of a Dr. Oetker baking powder bag

1 small cup of milk

Ingredients for the chocolate/coconut coating:

500g powdered sugar

8 rows of “Blockschokolade” (baking chocolate)

3/4 l rum

1 -2 bags of coconut flakes

Directions:

1. Combine the butter, eggs, sugar, flower, baking powder and milk and blend it into a sponge cake mixture (Rührteig). Once smooth, put half of the dough mixture aside and mix in the cocoa so you can make half a batch of rum squares that a chocolaty inside.

2. Smooth out the dough on a baking sheet that’s covered with parchment paper and put it in the oven for 45 minutes at 356 F.

3. In the meantime, while the cake mixture is baking, prepare the chocolate coating: Grind the baking chocolate (“Blockschokolade”) and mix it in with the powdered sugar. Slowly add the 3/4 l of rum to the mixture while stirring continuously and blending it into a somewhat pasty mixture.

4. After 45 min take the baking sheet out of the oven and cut the cake into little squares.

5. Put the coconut flakes into a bowl. Take each little cake square and dunk it into the chocolate-rum mixture, let the excess chocolate mixture drop off and then roll the chocolate square in the coconut flakes.

6. After step 5, put each square straight into an airtight container so that the aroma of the tasty Rum Squares is preserved.

Enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea!

Let us know your favorite Christmas cookie Recipe and send it to CaliforniaGermans(at)gmail.com !

Image: Pixabay.com

___________________________________________________________

CALIFORNIAGERMANS.com, your Go-to Website for Everything German in California. Find a wealth of resources covering German life in California and read about events and other things German that we come across as Expats here in California. http://www.californiagermans.com

3 Comments

Posted in Cultural Happenings, German Cooking & Baking, German Foods & Markets

Tagged CaliforniaGermans, Christmas cookies, Plätzchen, Recipe, Weihnachtsbäckerei, Weihnachtsplätzchen

German Christmas Cookie Challenge – Weihnachtsplätzchen

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Cornelia | 6 comments

Weihnachtsbäckerei

The holiday season is officially upon us. Next week is Thanksgiving and on Saturday, November 27, is already the First Sunday of Advent and we light our first candle on our advent wreath!

But, hold on…! We need some tasty German Christmas Cookies to complete our German ‘Vorweihnachtszeit’ (pre-Christmas) traditions.

So we thought of having a German Christmas Cookie Challenge!! …Are you in?

Send us your authentic and most loved German Christmas Cookie recipe and be featured here on our website!

Do you have a special recipe that makes you remember those cozy candlelight evenings with family and friends back in Germany? We need it!

Help us bring the comfort and warmth of the beautiful ‘Adventszeit’ (Advent Season) to all the CaliforniaGermans expats here in California! There is nothing like the scent of freshly baked cookies bringing Christmas spirit into our homes.

Send in your favorite German Christmas Cookie recipe to californiagermans(AT)gmail.com

Every Friday until December 23, the night before German Christmas, we will feature a cookie recipe that is special to a CaliforniaGermans at “Weihnachtsbäckerei” on our website.

To start off the official Christmas Baking Season, here is a Christmas favorite of my family: Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Crescents), a recipe passed down from my grandmother.

Vanillakipferl – Vanilla Crescents

Ingredients:

250 g flour (add a pinch of baking powder)

vanillekipferl-1824345__340 125 g sugar

3 egg yolks

200 g unsalted butter

125 g almond flour

50 g hazelnut flour

Bourbon Vanilla Extract

Combine all the ingredients to a dough by hand not the mixer. We call it ‘Knetteig’. Start out with the flour to which you add the almond flour, hazelnut flour and the sugar. Then add the butter (should be at room temperature and cut into little thin pieces) and then add the egg yolks and some Bourbon Vanilla extract. You can start mixing it all with a fork but once the dough gets heavier it’s easiest to just get in with your hands to work a nice smooth dough.
Put the dough to ‘rest’ into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes cut a chunk off the main dough to make a long 1 inch role which you then cut into 2 inch pieces. (Repeat that step for the whole dough) Take each 2 inch piece and roll it into a crescent with the ends thinning out towards the end. Place your crescents on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350-390 °F
Then turn the still warm Vanillekipferl in Vanilla Sugar , and your first German Christmas cookie is ready to eat!

Happy Holidays!