Christmas Archives - Page 2 of 3

My Nine Favorite Holiday Cookies

I am not the conventional German cookie maker. Yes, of course I have all the traditional German cookies on my blog, such as vanilla crescents, cinnamon stars, gingerbread aka Lebkuchen and Linzer. However, my favorite cookies, even during the season, are usually not the traditional Christmas cookies. I usually prefer cookies you can eat all year round. Many German cookies are based on some version of sugar cookie or even pie crust, if you are looking for tips how to deal with this type of sugar cookie, check out this blog post. I also have one full blog post on how to freeze leftover egg yolks and egg whites. If you are looking for some different cookie, below list may be for you. I usually make a full plate with different cookies and many times one of the below cookies was declared the favorite from the receiver of the cookie plate.

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19/11/2021

Espresso Parfait with Cranberry Sauce

Today I am introducing a fast espresso parfait, which is served with cranberry sauce. In case you are looking for a festive dessert you can prepare in advance for Christmas, this may be for you. Since it is frozen, it is up to you to decide when to make it. Also, you can make the cranberry sauce up to two days in advance. I think it is perfect for Christmas as you will have one less thing to worry about. The creamy espresso parfait is delicious on its own, however, if topped of with the tangy cranberry sauce, you have a winning team. Let’s get started!

11/12/2020

Pfeffernüsse or German Spice Cookies from Grandma

Have you ever heard of Pfeffernüsse aka German spice cookies? I live in the south of Germany in the city Munich. Once I asked in a bakery whether they sold any and they look at me as if as were from Mars. So I checked, since there are so many German dialects, maybe they use another word in Bavaria, but no, I quickly learned that they are also called Pfeffernüsse here. However, they seem to be more common in the north of Germany, the Dutch and Danish also have similar versions. The handwritten recipe book from my grandma contains about ten different recipes. Many of her recipes contain peppermint extract and this one is closer to gingerbread or German Lebkuchen. Pfeffernüsse literally translates as “pepper nuts”, probably they are called “nuts” because they are the size of walnuts. At least the ones I grew up with are rather small.

27/11/2020

Gingerbread House with Video and Printable

Lebkuchenhaus oder Knusperhaus zu Weihnachten

Guys, it was so, so much fun baking, decorating, assembling, and also filming this gingerbread house (video further down below). You can’t imagine how wonderful this was. Probably because this year is different and so I needed to relax even more than usual. I dare say that I have become a gingerbread expert over the years. You need to know that I always decorate our tree with gingerbread, I also make tiny gingerbread houses you can actually place on your mug every year. I have learned a lot making gingerbread over and over again. And today I am going to share with you how to make this gingerbread house from scratch. You will find a recipe for a sturdy house, lots of helpful hints and tips, a recipe for royal icing and a video showing the entire process. I have traditionally made a gingerbread house for the first of advent for several years. I just love when the entire apartment smells like cinnamon and other spices throughout December. So let’s get started!

20/11/2020

Soft Snickerdoodles

Weiche Zimtkekse aus USA: Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are America’s answer to German cinnamon stars! I love snickerdoodles and I find it super exciting every time a German tries one and declares it the new favorite cookie. Snickerdoodles are easy to prepare and are similar to how sugar cookies are created. You will need cream of tartar for these beauties to stay soft and puffy. The recipe does not require any chilling.

13/11/2020

German Vanilla Crescents with Real Vanilla

These German vanilla crescents are prepared with real vanilla to give them maximum flavor. This is a classic Christmas cookie very popular in the German-speaking countries. So we are going to add vanilla not only in the dough, but also in the dusting. They are called vanilla crescents for a reason.

03/11/2020

Tips for Shipping a Cookie Box

Wie man eine Weihnachtsplätzchendose verschickt

Cookie boxes are my thing! I love shipping cookies to friends and family during the season! I have been doing this for years. And since this year is so special and you may not be able to see everybody you hold dear, how about shipping a cookie box instead? This post will let you know which type and size of box to choose, which cookies are best to ship with lots of recipe suggestions, how you make your cookie box look nice and give it a personal touch and how your cookies make it safe and sound without breaking or going bad. Let’s have a look:

Simple sugar cookies with royal icing

#1 Which box is best to ship cookies?

It may sound counter-intuitive, but I do prefer rectangular boxes, even if round cookie boxes seem so much more common here in Germany. I find rectangular boxes so much better as you can easily create smaller compartments by cutting out some carton (yes, you can use an old cornflakes box) and by placing them inside your cookie box to create smaller compartments. So stacking the cookies becomes much easier as each has its small compartment and is protected even better. You probably could create something similar with a round cookie box, but I am very bad at this. This is not to say that you can’t use round boxes, but as stated, for shipping rectangular boxes are better.

A tin can will work best and can be found in German stores during this time of the year. Once I even bought a cookie box already filled with cookies in a grocery store and replaced those with my own homemade cookies. So you can go with tin, thick carton, or wood. Paper is not thick enough, you may only use it if you want to wrap single cookies in some extra containers.

The size is also tricky, they shouldn’t be too small as you won’t be able to put in any cookies (and they fill up much faster than you think), but also not too large. I would suggest about 17-20cm in diameter and 8-10cm in height for round cookie boxes, these are the ones I liked a lot. For a rectangular box again height should be between 8-10cm, the largest I shipped was 17cm in width and 20cm long.

30/10/2020

All Recipes From My Cookie Box

Wow, you guys are crazy! And I am crazy! Because I will be flying to my in-laws tomorrow and I am writing this blog post even though I haven’t packed yet. I usually plan my posts long in advance. But not this time. That’s because soooo many of you requested the recipes of the below cookie box. When I showed the picture on Instagram and Facebook, many of you wanted to get ALL the recipes. Figure that. All of them. And since I am far away from being able to link on Instagram, I will link the recipes in this blog post. The below picture shows the cookies with numbers, so you should be able to match them. I tried to number them clockwise, so it is easy to see which one is which. The cookies are as follows:

Brownie cookies
German cinnamon stars (gluten free)
Speculoos prezels (I made them to prezels and dunked them in chocolate)
Ugly sweater gingerbread
Baci di dama (hazelnut cookies)
Snickerdoodles
Nutella chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate chip cookies with instant pudding
Spice wreaths (I made mine with marzipan “cranberries), not on my blog

P.S.: If you are making all these cookies, you will probably have a lot of egg whites left over. What to do with leftover egg whites and how to freeze it, you will find here.

And in case you were wondering, I like to bake one cookie per day. I work full-time, so I always made one recipe after work. Once cooled, I immediately froze them and only took them out shortly before shipping. I am not the type who will make like five different cookies in one night. Too stressful, that’s not me. If it is a recipe that requires the dough to chill, I would prepare the dough in the morning, go to work, return, and then cut out the cookies, bake them, etc.

I have shipped a lot of cookies successfully, just be sure to make cookies you can stack and that are sturdy. I feel that the tin/can already protects them well, so what I did was to stack them and cover with some napkins or similar. The cookie box was protected with newspaper. So far the cookies I’ve shipped all made it safe and sound. I even did a cookie box giveaway for the international cookie day. If you have not shipped cookies, give it a try. First ship nationally and see how it goes. I am telling you, it is addictive!

The cookie box you can see is from the German publishing house Grätz (currently seems to only be available on Amazon). I will take this box to my in-laws in Spain. And since I still need to pack, I will leave you to it. As always feel free to ask me anything about baking or if you encounter problems. Alright, have wonderful holidays!

21/12/2019

Happy Holidays with this Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake

Today I am introducing a delicious orange cranberry bundt cake. I just love that this bundt cake is so moist, contains real fruit and is just perfect for winter. The batter is fairly easy to prepare and I am sure that you can serve this cake either for Christmas or any kind of get together you have planned in your future. Heck, you may even try it for breakfast!

Since Christmas is just around the corner, I decided to spice this cake with some traditional Christmas spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the like. I am sure the cake will also taste without, but seriously, I put quite a bit of effort into making this cake look pretty. I mean, for me the taste of a cake will always overrule its prettiness. Seriously. I don’t understand how people find cakes made with ultra-sweet fondant georgeous. Sure, they may be from the outside, but it really saddens me that you cannot eat fondant. So what’s the deal? Why do people say these cakes are gorgeous if you can’t eat half of them? In this instance I decorated my bundt cake with some oranges, cranberries, and rosemary to make it extra special. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to also make the batter have some secret ingredient. Hence the spice plus fresh cranberries and orange juice. I can assure you, this cake definitely tastes as good as it looks!

23/12/2018

Snickerdoodles with Brown Butter

Snickerdoodles with brown butter are a cinnamon surprise from the U.S. I decided that they are perfect for the season. In case you don’t know, snickerdoodles have a similar base as sugar cookies, but are then formed into balls which are then rolled in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon before you bake them. As far as I know you can find snickerdoodles in the U.S. throughout the year, however, due to their cinnamon flavor I decided to make some during the season.

19/12/2018

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