German Cookie Recipes

A good collection of German cookie recipes is essential to creating a true traditional German environment around Christmas. As Germans stop by to visit friends and neighbors during the holiday season, they are sure to be met with a plate of delicious homemade cookies and either hot tea or a nice mug of Gluhwein.

Every Christmas season, we would receive a number of decorative tins of Oma's Christmas cookies in the mail, and they were treasured by the whole family (as long as they lasted). It wasn't just the tastiness of the cookies that made them special, but the knowledge that each one was handcrafted by my grandmother while she was thinking fondly of us so many miles away.

Lebkuchen (Spiced Christmas Cookies)

This Lebkuchen recipe helps you to create one of the signature German cookie recipes. These soft and chewy spiced holiday cookies can be found in all variety of shapes and sizes throughout the holiday season. Feel free to use cookie cutters to create your own mix of shapes. Large baking wafers can easily be cut with kitchen scissors to serve as the base for any form.

Vanillekipferl (Almond Crescent Cookies)

This Vanillekipferl recipe (Vanillehornchen) comes directly from Oma’s recipe box. These powdered sugar covered almond crescent cookies (along with Linzer Augen) always dominated the Christmas cookie tins sent or set out every year. Made perfectly these cookies are very delicate, but that means that they leave behind some tasty crumbs.

Pfeffernusse

This Pfeffernusse recipe makes the spicy and nutty round Christmas cookies that are popular throughout Germany and the rest of northern Europe during the holiday season. Although the name means "pepper nuts", may modern recipes call for no pepper, and some do not include nuts. This traditional recipe calls for both.

Linzer Augen (Jam-filled Sandwich Cookies)

The Linzer Augen recipe, that is so popular around the Christmas season, is a miniature cousin of the much larger Linzer Torte. Essentially it is the combination of flaky almond dough and fruit preserves that ties the two together. Luckily, the much smaller Linzer Tortchen are also much simpler to prepare.

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