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