German cookies: ingredients, recipe with description, cooking features, photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Many countries around the world can boast of their unique dishes served for the holidays, and ways of preparing them. One of these is the recipe for the German Platzchen Christmas cookies. Surprisingly, under this name, the inhabitants of Germany mean any such delicacy that is baked directly on December 24, that is, the day before Christmas. But be that as it may, this dish is incredibly tasty and looks very attractive, because in pastry shops it is decorated with white icing and strips of quality chocolate.

This article will show you how you can make your own German Christmas cookies with minimal effort.

Differences in German confectionery

In German cuisine, you can find many unique recipes for a variety of pastries. There are biscuit rolls, gingerbread and cakes. But special attention deserves cookies, which are prepared exclusively before the biggest holidays.

The recipe below is going to be classic as it features a traditional combination of flavors. In fact,the resulting pastries will become the basis for the manifestation of your culinary fantasies. However, if you wish, you will be able to distinguish yourself with originality already during the preparation of the dough. For example, by reducing the amount of sugar and adding coarse s alt and various spices, you can get cookies that are ideal as a beer snack. Ground cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger will pair especially well here.

Baking Features

As mentioned earlier, German Christmas cookies are not so much an original recipe as a whole concept. In Germany, it is customary to put up a Christmas plate on this holiday, on which you can find several types of various cookies. It is only important that it is baked the day before and is fresh.

But the most important thing to remember during cooking is that the products should by no means look the same. Cookies must be completely different from each other. They can be given an unthinkable shape or generally cooked according to a variety of recipes. Well, if you can’t do this, then you need to put all your efforts into decorating.

Ingredients

Despite the big name, the recipe for German cookies for Christmas is quite simple. For him, you don’t even need to go to the store additionally, since the basic ingredients can always be found at home. So, for cooking you will need to take:

• 300 grams of premium wheat flour;
• 150 grams of butter;
• 100 grams of sugar;
• 1chicken egg;
• 1, 5 teaspoons vanilla sugar;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder.

If desired, various flavorings can also be used to prepare German cookies: rum, cognac, liqueurs. They will add an extra touch of flavor and aroma to the baked goods.

Step cooking

During the preparation of this dish, you must follow the recipe very carefully. For German cookies, it is quite classic and uncomplicated, so it will not cause any difficulty even for a novice hostess. So to get delicious products you need to follow this instruction:

1. In a deep bowl, you will need to pour all the dry ingredients that were listed above. First of all, pre-sifted flour, both types of sugar and baking powder go here.
2. Next, softened butter is added, which is cut into small pieces. Using a mixer, the mass can easily be turned into a fairly small crumb.
3. Then the egg and flavor are introduced (if you decide to add it). The resulting dough is kneaded and then collected into a tight ball. It will need to be wrapped in cling film and sent to the refrigerator for about a couple of hours to rest.

Shaping

The next step in making German cookies is to directly shape the dough. To do this, you need to get it out of the refrigerator and let it lie down for a while at room temperature to make it easier with it.contact.

You can roll out the dough directly on the table using a rolling pin. If it turned out to be of sufficient quality, then it will not stick to the table. However, if the desired consistency could not be achieved, then it is better to sprinkle the workplace with a small amount of flour.

Dough is recommended to be rolled out to a thickness of about half a centimeter. But here you can already be guided by your own preferences. If you like dry pastries more, then the thickness can be made less. Then, molds with a Christmas theme are taken, with the help of which the future German cookies are cut out.

Baking

The resulting cookie blanks must be transferred to a baking sheet covered with baking paper. You can stack them side by side, because it will not spread to the sides during baking.

This sweet is cooked at a temperature of 180 degrees, so you need to preheat the oven well. Care must be taken to ensure that the German cookies do not burn. It will take no more than 10 minutes to prepare. Just make sure that it becomes slightly ruddy, and then take it out. Once the cookies are cool, you can start decorating them.

Cookie decoration

When decorating these cookies, you are allowed to fully express your creative abilities, since any products are suitable for this, and you can vary them depending on your own desire. Marzipans, pistachios,candied fruits, candied cherries and even cherry jelly. You can also use store-bought toppings if you wish.

But the glaze is best to make the simplest: it should consist only of powdered sugar and egg whites. That way she won't take away the taste of the cookie itself.

To prepare the glaze, you need to take 2 proteins and about 200 grams of powdered sugar. All this will need to be beaten together, and then dip each cookie into the resulting mixture. Immediately after applying the glaze, before it has had time to dry and harden, you need to start decorating the pastries.

Conclusion

In Russia, Christmas holidays do not fall on December 25, as in Catholic countries, but on January 7. However, this does not mean at all that you cannot treat yourself to delicious German cookies at any time. As you can see, it's very easy to prepare. And the ingredients are pretty easy to find, as the grocery set is standard and uncomplicated.

Although at first glance these cookies do not seem original, but the best thing about them is that they can be cooked with children together. Just let them get creative and decorate the baked goods themselves. They will definitely be impressed and will quickly eat every last crumb.