Old Fashioned German Cookies Recipes

23 GERMAN COOKIES WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

Steps:

• Select your favorite recipe.
• Organize all the required ingredients.
• Prep a German treat in 30 minutes or less!

GERMAN BUTTER COOKIES (BUTTERPLäTZCHEN)

Steps:

• Add the flour, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and egg into a large bowl. Use your hands to knead the dough until the dough forms a ball (this takes around 5 minutes).
• Wrap the ball of dough in cling film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• After the 30 minutes are up, remove the dough from the fridge. Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sprinkle flour onto a smooth surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is approximately 3/8 inch thin. Use your cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and place them on the parchment paper. Once you've used up the rolled out dough, gather the leftovers, form another ball, roll it out again, and cut more cookies. Repeat the process until you have used up all the dough.
• Bake your cookies in the middle rack of your oven for around 10-12 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden brown along the edges. Depending on your oven and how thick your cookies are, your baking time might be slightly shorter or longer.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for around 5 minutes. Then remove the parchment paper with the cookies on it from the baking sheet and let the cookies cool fully.
• OPTIONAL: After the cookies have cooled sufficiently, you can prepare the topping by whisking powdered sugar and lemon juice or water together in a small bowl. This will be your "glue" for sprinkles and other decorations. Spread a small amount of the "glue" onto the cookie and then decorate as desired. You can get really creative here. If you decide to decorate your cookies with icing and/or sprinkles, let them sit until the glaze has hardened.

OLD FASHIONED BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift dry ingredients together. Place in food processor and process a few seconds to mix. Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces and place in food processor. Process 20 to 30 seconds until butter is cut in evenly. Add egg yolks and vanilla and process until mixture forms a ball. Remove, divide into 4 equal balls, flatten each and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat over to 375 degrees. Cut aluminum foil to fit approximately 4 cookie sheets. Using a well floured pastry cloth and rolling pin cover, roll 1 section of dough, leaving the rest refrigerated until needed. Roll evenly approximately 1/8" thick (or actually 1/8" thin). Using small size cookies cutters, cut cookies (they should remain in the cutter, then tap out on to the foil lined cookie sheets). Place cookies 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar crystals. (Easier to do one whole sheet red, next sheet green). Reroll scraps and roll out, trying to handle dough as little as possible. Don't reroll dough a third time, use another refrigerated section of dough. Bake approximately 8 minutes, one sheet at a time. Cookies should be slightly golden, remove quickly as once they start to brown, they could burn fast. Immediately slide foil off cookie sheet and leave cookies on foil to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in a wax paper lined, cookie tin. Cookies reach their taste potential after a day and will stay fresh in a cookie tin approximatelly 3 weeks. Actual yield is based on the size cookie cutter used. I use a very small size, approximately 1 1/2 " across.

OLD GERMAN HONEY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a saucepan over low heat, melt together sugar, shortening and honey. Let cool.
• Mix together eggs, vanilla, baking soda and ginger. Gradually add to cooled honey mixture.
• Slowly add 4 cups of flour to mixture. Stir until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) until golden (about 12-15 minutes).

OLD FASHIONED GERMAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Grind peanuts in food chopper or processor.
• Add stiffly beaten egg whites, flour and sugar, stir to mix well.
• Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheets.
• Bake at 300 for 15 minutes.
• Let cool.