Classic Frisian Cookies

If you are looking for a plain cookie that goes well all year round, look no further, these Frisian cookies are for you. They are prepared with a simple dough, containing constarch to make them extra tender. They go well with a nice cup of tea (normally black in the north of Germany). The cookies remind me of the Argentinian or Uruguayan cookies called alfajores as they also contain cornstarch. Classic Frisian cookies are also related to Heidesand cookies, which are also rolled first and then sliced into cookies and are also from the north of Germany from the region Lüneburger Heide.

I love cookies all year round, but Germans tend to make cookies only during the season. For that reason I found it rather sweet when this cookie was advertized as one you can make all year round. With a nice cup of fresh and strong black tea, be it summer or winter, Frisian cookies are served all the time. I believe there is a cultural difference in that Germany reserves most of the cookies for the Christmas season. So if a German cookie is advertized as an allrounder, well I am all in to try it out!

It barely happens, but I actually followed the recipe. I only halved it, as I felt it simply was too much. I love the fact that the recipe can be made in advance, these are slice cookies, so you need to roll them up, chill them before you actually cut the cookie and bake them. I will definitely keep these to make during the season as well. They are perfect to freeze, baked and unbaked, you will find further instructions below. If you are considering shipping cookies, check out this blog post, these are definitely some you could add to your cookie box.

Credit: Küchenlatein (in German)

Print Recipe

Classic Frisian Cookies

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 12-15min – Total Time: 30min

These classic Frisian cookies can be eaten all year round and are from the north of Germany.

Ingredients

• 125 grams of butter at room temperature
• 75 grams of regular sugar
• 1 egg
• One vanilla pod (you can use the zest of a lemon for extra freshness, use additional spices, etc. if you want to try some further varieties)
• 150 grams of all-purpose flour
• 50 grams of cornstarch
• Coarse sugar for rolling

Instructions

1

Cream the butter with the sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Then add the egg and the scrapes of the vanilla pod. Mix well. Add four and cornstarch and mix again, you may wish to do the last part by hand. Roll into two strings with a diameter of 4cm. If you are going to bake them right after chilling, roll in coarse sugar. If the sugar doesn't stick, you can brush the rolls with some egg white and try again. If you want to freeze the cookies unbaked, I recommed adding the coarse sugar before baking. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight.

2

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the rolls every 1/2 cm. Since the cookies don't contain any leavener, you can place them pretty close to each other. Bake between 10-15min, they still should be light. I baked mine for 12min, but this depends a lot on your oven. Baked cookies can be frozen as well, be sure to let them cool completely before doing so. If kept in an airtight container, these cookies will keep for a week.