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Cookies

Cantuccini with Dried Cranberries

Today I am introducing a very simple cantuccini recipe. This November my blog is all about giving gifts from the kitchen. Cantuccini are a perfect gift in my opinion. This famous cookie from Italy keeps long, can easily be transported as it is very sturdy and freezes beautifully. My husband ate them so quickly, I barely managed to take some pictures. I decided to go with a rather classic recipe with one small addition: dried cranberries. Yes, you can omit them, but we both felt they taste extra special with them.

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Stroopwafels from the Netherlands

Stroopwafels or syrup waffles are exactly what they say, a very thin and crispy waffle that is filled with syrup or, to use the Dutch word, “stroop”, hence the name. Stroopwafels are extremely popular in the Netherlands and are often sold as a Dutch souvenir. Apparently they were invented in 1810 by the baker Gerard Kamphuisen in the city Gouda. In 2023 they were part of the German show “Das große Backen”, which is a German baking competition. Obviously I had to watch the show and immediately thought of these delicious waffles, which I have always liked to eat. Just as a little anecdote: for my wedding a Dutch friend of mine brought along fancy stroopwafles as a wedding gift. However, my soon-to-be parents-in law happily munched them away while staying over in my apartment, blissfully unaware that these were meant as a wedding gift. So soon the stroopwafles had to be replaced. And in order for this not to happen again, I decided to create my own recipe. I tweaked a few I found online and was happy with the result. Below recipe can be made in Germany and uses a lot of common ingredients.

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Sugar Cookies as a Wreath with Royal Icing and Merry Christmas!

Right before Christmas I wanted to share a sugar cookie with royal icing made to wreaths. I use these for our Christmas tree, but obviously you can also just eat them like this or give away as a gift. My Christmas tree ornaments always need to be homemade, at least most of them. I usually decorate my Christmas tree with gingerbread. As we have a dog now, we do have some “fake” gingerbread ornaments, mainly hanging at the bottom so that there is no danger. However, this year I decided to also decorate with the sugar cookies made as Christmas wreaths.  Continue Reading…

Grandma’s Peppermint Cookies

Today I wanted to introduce a recipe from my grandma again, which I found in her little handwritten recipe booklet: peppermint cookies. I had to order the peppermint oil and I wondered how my grandmother got hold of it back in the days. This recipe also requires baking ammonia, which you can find in Germany during the season, but I have no idea where to get it in the U.S.  Maybe in a pharmacy? I kid you not, my grandmother has about 10 different peppermint cookies in her recipe book and about half of them require baking ammonia and all do require peppermint oil. When making them, you may think of dying your hair, but the baked cookies won’t taste anything like that. The baking ammonia makes these cookies extra soft and extra fluffy. If you are a peppermint lover, these cookies are for you!

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Advent Wreath made from Gingerbread (Vegan Option)

Adventskranz aus Lebkuchen

Shame on me, somehow I never manage to take care of a proper Advent wreath on time. When I finally decide to buy one, they are always sold out or only very sad ones are left. I am talking about the traditional ones with candles and fir branches. But not this time. This time we will have an advent wreath made from gingerbread. I love making things from gingerbread. Years ago, when I was a poor university student, I started this tradition of making everything from gingerbread as I didn’t have money to buy any expensive Christmad decoration. I decorated the Christmas tree with gingerbread, the nativity was made from it, I even hung some igingerbread n the windows. It is definitely something I hold dear. So this year I decided to make the advent wreath from gingerbread as well.

Adventskranz aus Lebkuchen

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More Than 20 Seasonal Cookies

Plätzchen backen

I learned recently that it is common in Germany to serve a plate full of Christmas cookies on the first of advent (this year on November 27th). I know, this is different than in the U.S. Christmas is already full in force here as we don’t have Thanksgiving. So I figured I would show you more than 20 cookie recipes to choose from. I decided to pick unusual recipes, recipes you haven’t tried yet, many of them from the U.S., but also from Latin America and some German ones that are not that common. I hope you find some to your liking.

#1 Brownie cookies from the U.S.

Zartschmelzene Brownie-Cookies Continue Reading…

Ginger Cookies for the Season

Ingwerplätzchen mit frischem Ingwer

Today I am introducing you to these amazing ginger cookies! They have three types of ginger in them, freshly grated ginger, ginger powder and candied ginger. I promise you, they do taste like ginger. I love their buttery flavor. The chocolate adds a nice contrast. If you are looking for some delicious cookies for the season, look no further, these ginger cookies are perfect for any cookies box.

Ingwerplätzchen mit frischem Ingwer Continue Reading…

Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookie

Finally some cookies on the blog again. I haven’t posted a recipe for 9 (!) months, can you believe that? This is extra crazy because of course there were cookies in our house during those nine months, believe me. I find it sad that Germans tend to bake cookies only for the season, there even is a special word for these cookies, instead of Kekse you will say Plätzchen. But I ignore that, for me cookies can be eaten all year long. We had brownie cookies, my favorite chocolate chip cookies and Nutella chocolate chip cookies, recently we have had vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies or pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.

Brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookie Continue Reading…

Traditional Gingerbread Heart for the Oktoberfest

Lebkuchenherzen zum Oktoberfest

For the beginning of the Oktoberfest I decided to introduce gingerbread hearts, they are a staple during this time, decorated with royal icing, often in blue and white for the Bavarian colors and showing the edelweiss flower common in the mountains. These gingerbread hearts, however, don’t necessarily need to be served for the Oktoberfest only, you can also give them as a gift for a special occasion such as a wedding, baptism, or as another sweet giveaway. Essentially, I went for my beloved recipe for gingerbread, which has been on my blog for a while. You can very easily make a vegan version of this recipe as it does not contain eggs. Please see details in the recipe below.

I asked several experts who have eaten hearts from the Oktoberfest and they did tell me that yes, you usually make it with the traditional gingerbread spices. You don’t necessarily have to, but it is pretty common. So folks, if you are in for some decorating, for having fun, this recipe is for you!

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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Tahini

Vegane Chocolate-Chip-Cookies mit Tahini

Chocolate chip cookies with a nice nutty flavor, coming from tahini, that’s what you will get today! I am excited to present the third vegan recipe in January. If you would like to know why I am doing a vegan January, please check out my previous post. In my opinion, chocolate chip cookies are the best thing in the world, they are souldfood, a simple dessert, easy to prepare, they make children happy as well as adults. Regardless if filled with caramel, plain, with brown butter, I have quite a few recipes on my blog, even including a chocolate chip cookie cake, that’s how much I love this flavor. I have been wanting to try chocolate chip cookies with tahini for a while now and finally managed to give it a try. I love the vegan version, even my husband gobbled up the cookies happily and gave his stamp of approval. These vegan cookies contain tahini, the sesame paste as a replacement for the egg. You can also check out my vegan chocolate chip cookie with pumpkin.

Vegane Chocolate-Chip-Cookies mit Tahini Continue Reading…