Christmas time is time well spent with the closest family and friends and the perfect time for baking delicious treats. If you wonder what to bake – think we can help here and save you some time!

Below you will find a collection of Christmas treats with direct links to each recipe available on our page.
A quick summary will tell you if it’s the recipe you are looking for… or if you will just bake all of them 😉

Merry Christmas everyone and happy baking!

Traditional Linzer Cookies

Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Christmas Cookies

Chocolate Rum Balls

Vanillekipferl – Traditional Crescent-shaped Vanilla Biscuits

Classic Christmas Cookies

Christmas is coming closer… with big steps now! This can only mean one thing: It is time for more super delicious cookies like these tradtional Linzer cookies!

You may have noticed this from our last recipe: We are looking for classic and traditional cookies and here is another recipe we would really like to share with you.

After we already shared a classic German recipe for Zimtsterne, we are now heading towards Austria where the Linzer cookie originates from.

What could be better than basically a sandwich made of cookies? Exactly – nothing! Be prepared for Christmas with these delicious and pretty looking cookies.

Things to know before you start

Time Schedule

In about 3,5 to 4 hours you will have a big pile of traditional Linzer cookies.

Info: The work and waiting times for the shape and bake steps are per baking plate full of cookies. You will have dough for about 4 baking plates. So while one batch of cookies is baking in the oven, you can already prepare the next one.

Total ingredients

We can’t really tell how much Linzer cookies you will have in the end, because it totally depends on how big your cookie cutters are and how thick you will roll out the dough. But with all these ingredients you should be able to bake about 50 to 60 medium sized traditional Linzer cookies.

Info: You can pretty much take any marmalade you like or even chocolate if you want. We personally prefer a mix of the 3 berries we mentioned in the ingredient list.

Difficulty

Another simple cookie recipe.

Baking tools

You are good to go with a hand mixer, bowl, rolling pin, 2 baking plates (1 is also fine), parchment paper, cling film and of course cookie cutters. We used the classic round, star and heart shaped cookie cutters.

Check out our baking tools section to see what we are using on a daily basis while baking.

Steps

1. Mix – Dough

• Sift the all purpose flour and powdered sugar in a bowl together with the vanilla sugar, salt and finely ground hazelnuts
• Stir until all the dry ingredients are combined
• Add the eggs and start mixing
• While mixing, add the cold butter in smaller chunks and mix until fully combined (about 5 minutes)

2. Rest

• Press the dough together and wrap it in cling film
• Afterwards store it in the fridge at 4-6°C (39,2-42,8°F) for at least 1 hour

3. Shape

• Take 2 baking plates and cover them with parchment paper
• Take the dough out of the fridge and separate 1/4 of it
• Put the rest of the dough back to the fridge while you prepare the first batch of cookies
• Place it on a floured surface
• Gently roll out the dough to about 0,2 cm
• Use your preferred cookie cutter to cut out the cookies
• Cut out a small hole in the center of 1/2 of the cut out cookies so you have one batch of cookies without a hole and one batch with a hole (later the cookie half with the hole in the center will go on top of the one without the hole)
• Place the cookies on the baking plate covered with parchment paper
• Form the scraps of the dough into a ball, roll it out again and cut further cookies out of the remaining dough until there is no more dough left for further cookies
• Then take another 1/4 of the dough from the refrigerator and make the next batch of cookies
• Tip: If the dough starts sticking to the rolling pin while rolling it out, add a little all-purpose flour on top of the dough and start rolling it out further

4. Bake

• Preheat oven to 170°C (338°F) for ~20 minutes with the circulating heat function
• Put the first baking plate with the cookies in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes
• When the margins start go get brown, the cookies are ready
• After baking take them out immediately
• Tip: While your first batch of traditional Linzer cookies is in the oven, you can prepare the next batch

5. Cool

• Let your traditional Linzer cookies cool down for about 30 minutes on some kind of baking grid

6. Heat Marmalade

• You can either heat the marmalade up in the microwave or on the stove
• Microwave: Fill a bowl with the marmalade, place it in the microwave, heat it up for 10 seconds, stir and check if it is warm (not hot!). Repeat the process until it is warm enough.
• Stove: Fill a pot with the marmalade and heat it up until it is warm enough while constantly stirring (it should not boil!)

7. Assembling

• Place the cookies with the hole in the middle on one side and the matching cookies without a hole on the other side
• Sift the powdered sugar on top of every cookie that has a hole in the center
• Place about 1/2 teaspoon of marmalade in the center of every cookie without a hole and spread it slightly
• Now take the sugar-dusted cookie half, place it on top of the cookie half with the marmalade and press it down a bit
• Repeat the process for alle remaining cookies

Conclusion

Taste

The Linzer cookies have a very balanced taste. Even though the dough contains hazelnuts, you cannot immediately tell it from the taste. They are not too heavy which gives you the opportunity to eat more than one or two cookies – we think that’s quite important 😉

If you enjoy them shortly after baking, the taste is a little more buttery and the cookies are crunchier. If you have a strong will and can wait until the next day (how does that work by the way?!), the cookie gets a little softer and the marmalade in the middle firmer.

No matter which option you choose, you will have some super delicious cookies that will also make your Christmas tableprettier!

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Welcome to the next level of Christmas feelings: Zimtsterne – Cinnamon star Christmas cookies.

A very traditional German Christmas cookie which is made of almonds, cinnamon, powdered sugar and egg white. You will see them in every bakery and Christmas market in Germany this time of the year.

This cookie is basically “Christmas to eat” and just its smell will bring you into holiday mood. It reminds of childhood, excitement prior to Christmas and the cosiness of this festive time.

Get into the Christmas mood with this lovely recipe.

Things to know before you start

Time Schedule

In about 4 to 16 hours you will have a nice batch of Zimtsterne – Cinnamon star Christmas cookies.

Info: The work and waiting times for the shape and bake steps are per baking plate full of cookies. You will have dough for about 2 baking plates. So while one batch of cookies is baking in the oven, you can already prepare the next one.

Total ingredients

We can’t really tell how much “Zimtsterne” you will have in the end, because it totally depends on how big your star cookie cutter is and how thick you will roll out the dough. But with all these ingredients you should be able to bake about 30 to 40 medium sized cinnamon star Christmas cookies.

Info: The all-purpose flour is just in case when your dough gets too sticky.

Difficulty

A really straightforward and simple recipe.

Baking tools

You are good to go with a hand mixer, bowl, rolling pin, 2 baking plates (1 is also fine), parchment paper, cling film and of course star cookie cutters. 

Check out our baking tools section to see what we are using on a daily basis while baking.

Steps

1. Mix – Dough

• Separate the eggs and put the egg yolks aside (unfortunately we won’t need the egg yolks at all)
• Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and then stop (be careful not to over-beat the egg whites)
• Sift in the powdered sugar while still beating the egg whites until stiff peaks form
• Fold in the non-blanched finely ground almonds and cinnamon powder until fully combined

2. Rest

• Press the dough together and wrap it in cling film
• Afterwards store it in the fridge at 4-6°C (39,2-42,8°F) for at least 2 hours
• Tip: You will get a better result, if you store the dough overnight (about 12 hours)

3. Mix – Glaze

• Separate the egg and put the egg yolk aside (unfortunately we also won’t need this egg yolk at all)
• Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form
• Sift in the powdered sugar while still beating the egg whites until you have a really firm glaze

4. Shape

• Take 2 baking plates and cover them with parchment paper
• Take the dough out of the fridge
• Place it on a surface
• Gently roll the dough out to about 1 cm
• Use a star cookie cutter to cut out cookies
• Place the cookies on the baking plates covered with parchment paper
• Form the scraps of the dough into a ball, roll it out again and cut further cookies out of the remaining dough until there is no more dough left for further cookies

• Tip: If the dough starts sticking to the rolling pin while rolling it out, add a little all-purpose flour on top of the dough and start rolling it out further

5. Glaze

• Take your previously prepared glaze and use a small spoon to drip a bit of the glaze on top of a cookie
• Use a toothpick to brush the glaze everywhere on top of the cookie all the way to the edges
• Repeat this process for all cookies

6. Bake

• Preheat oven to 100°C (212°F) for ~15 minutes with the circulating heat function
• Put the first baking plate with the cookies in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes
• Have a look from time to time on your cookies as the glaze should not get brown
• After baking take them out immediately
• Tip: While your first batch of cinnamon star cookies is in the oven, you can start glazing the next ones

7. Cool

• Let your “Zimtsterne” cool down for at least 30 minutes on some kind of baking grid

Conclusion

Taste

As outlined in the introduction, this cookie is “Christmas to eat”. The combination of almond and cinnamon taste is pure bliss and will make you feel cozy and relaxed – the right Christmas spirit.

As we couldn’t get finely ground almonds but only chopped ones, our cinnamon star Christmas cookies were a little chunkier than they normally should be.

However, these cookies are usually quite soft. The glaze is a little firmer which is a nice contrast. The “Zimtsterne” are a little sweet but almonds and cinnamon are the dominant taste.

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The name “Brookies” already tells you: This recipe is a combination. A combination of styles and flavour. Cookies and brownies! Why only have one when you can have two delicious things in one bite?

When you browse through our blog you can tell that we like sweets. We have some cookie recipes available and we also have a fudgy chocolate brownie recipe.

As we are constantly searching for new things, why not combine what you like? Of course we are not the first to try it but we can assure you: It is worth it!

So scroll down to the ingredients list, hop into the next supermarket and create a simple but delicious dessert!

Things to know before you start

Time Schedule

In about 3 hours you will have some cool looking brookies.

Info: The work and waiting times for the shape and bake steps are per baking plate full of brookies. You will have dough for 4 full baking plates. So while one batch of brookies is baking in the oven, you can already prepare the next one.

Total ingredients

You will have about 48 medium sized brookies.

Info: For the chocolate chips you can pretty much take whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be dark chocolate chips, but they give a nice balance to the sweet dough. Therefore, you can also go for milk chocolate or white chocolate chips.

Difficulty

Only the shaping of these cookies is a bit different compared to most other cookie recipes, but the recipe is still simple overall.

Baking tools

You will need a stand mixer or hand mixer, 2 bowls, 2 baking plates (1 is also fine) and parchment paper.

Besides that you can have a look at our list of baking tools that we are constantly using.

Steps

1. Mix – Chocolate chip cookie dough

• We used a hand mixer to mix the dough, but you can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment
• Mix the softened butter with the brown and white sugar for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy
• Separate the egg white and yolk of one egg (unfortunately the egg white is not needed for anything)
• Afterwards add the egg yolk, one whole egg and vanilla extract and mix for about 2-3 minutes until combined

• Sift all the dry ingredients together in a second bowl and stir until combined
• Add them step by step to the previous dough while mixing further until no dry lumps remain

• Fold the dark chocolate chips into the dough with a big spoon 

2. Mix – Brownie dough

• We used a hand mixer to mix the dough, but you can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment
• Mix the softened butter with the brown and white sugar for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy
• Separate the egg white and yolk of one egg (unfortunately the egg white is not needed for anything)
• Afterwards add the egg yolk, one whole egg and vanilla extract and mix for about 2-3 minutes until combined

• Sift all the dry ingredients together in a second bowl and stir until combined
• Add them step by step to the previous dough while mixing further until just combined to avoid overmixing
• The dough should be slightly thick

3. Pre-shape – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

• Portion the chocolate chip cookie dough into 48 even pieces of about 18 g per dough piece
• Roll each dough piece with your hands into a small ball and place next to each other on a plate

4. Pre-shape – Brownie Dough

• Portion the brownie dough into 48 even pieces of about 15 g per dough piece
• Roll each dough piece with your hands into a small ball and place next to each other on a plate

5. Rest

• Cover both plates with the dough balls and store them in the fridge at 4-6°C (39,2-42,8°F) for at least 1 hour

6. Shape

• Take 2 baking plates and cover them with parchment paper
• Take 1 brownie dough ball, 1 chocolate chip cookie dough ball, press them a bit together with your hands and shape a small cylinder
• Place the flat side of the dough cylinder on the baking plate and press it a bit down
• Repeat the process for the other 11 dough cylinders and place them next to each other (3 rows with 4 dough cylinders per row)

7. Bake

• Preheat oven to 175°C (347°F) for ~20 minutes with the circulating heat function
• Put one baking plate in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 8 minutes
• After baking take the brookies out on the parchment paper they were baked on

8. Cool

• Let your brookies rest on the baking plate they were baked on for about 10 minutes to set
• Afterwards transfer them to a wire cooling rack for further cooling of at least 20 minutes to fully set

Conclusion

Taste

The bright side is the chocolate chip cookie of course. It is sweet, soft – melty with a buttery taste and simply a proper cookie with chocolate chips.

The dark side is the brownie. It has this typical full chocolate flavour which turns out nicely creamy in your mouth.

As it is no brownie as such but in the shape of a cookie, the edges are a little crunchy which is a nice extra.

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After having baked a hearty pumpkin seed sourdough bread already, we felt like there must also be something sweet with the autumn vegetable number one and of course there is. So we proudly present: soft pumpkin snickerdoodles!

Some of you may wonder what a snickerdoodle is and why we don’t call them cookies. A snickerdoodle is a kind of cookie which is made with butter (or oil), sugar, flour and – most importantly – rolled in cinnamon sugar. Due to this last step, they are also often called “sugar cookies”. Characteristically they have a cracked surface and can be crisp or soft based on how exactly you baked them.

Part of the ingredient list is “cream of tartar” which (together with baking soda) adds a unique and tangy flavour to the snickerdoodle. Unfortunately cream of tartar is not available everywhere, but you can replace it with baking powder like we did in this recipe.

Things to know before you start

Time Schedule

In about 3 hours you will have a big batch of soft pumpkin snickerdoodles.

Info: The work and waiting times for the shape and bake steps are per baking plate full of pumpkin snickerdoodles. You will have dough for 2 or even 3 full baking plates depending on how big you are going to make them. So while one batch of pumpkin snickerdoodles is baking in the oven, you can already prepare the next one.

Total ingredients

This recipe yields about 24 medium or 36 small sized soft pumpkin snickerdoodles.

Tip: If you can’t buy canned pumpkin puree, you can easily make it on your own by baking, cooking or microwaving pumpkin pieces until they are soft and then blend them to a puree.

Difficulty

A pretty quick, straightforward and simple recipe for soft pumpkin snickerdoodles.

Baking tools

A stand mixer or hand mixer, a bowl, 2 baking plates (1 is also fine) and parchment paper are needed. As usual for most cookie / snickerdoodle recipes a cookie scoop can come in handy for shaping the pumpkin snickerdoodles so they all will be the same size, but it is not necessary. Using just your hands is also fine.

Also check out our list of baking tools that we are constantly using.

Steps

1. Mix

• We used a stand mixer to mix the dough, but you can also use a hand mixer
• Beat the softened butter together with the white sugar in a large bowl for about 1 minute
• Afterwards, add the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and mix for 2 minutes until combined
• Then add the egg and also mix until fully incorporated

• Sift all the dry ingredients together in a second bowl and stir until combined
• Carefully add them to the previous dough step by step while mixing further on low speed until just combined to avoid overmixing
• The dough should be very soft but still thick

2. Rest

• Store the pumpkin snickerdoodles dough sealed in the fridge at 4-6°C (39,2-42,8°F) for 2 hours

3. Shape

• Take a small bowl, fill it with white sugar and and pumpkin spice and stir until combined
• Take 2 baking plates and cover them with parchment paper
• Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to get some dough out of the bowl to have roughly the same amount of dough for every cookie
• Roll the dough with your hands into a ball
• Coat it with the pumpkin spice sugar mixture on all sides by rolling it around in the bowl you previously set aside
• Place the coated dough balls next to each other on the baking plate (3 rows with 4 cookies per row)
• We went for 12 pumpkin snickerdoodles per baking plate so we had 24 in total

4. Bake

• Preheat oven to 175°C (347°F) for ~20 minutes with the circulating heat function
• Put one baking plate in the middle rack of the oven and bake for a total of 10 minutes or until the edges start getting brown
• After baking, take the pumpkin snickerdoodles out
• Info: We baked one batch with the circulating heat function and one with the upper and lower heat function. By using the upper and lower heat function, the dough diverged too much. If your oven only has the upper and lower heat function, you should bake at about 190°C (374°F).

5. Cool

• Let your soft pumpkin snickerdoodles rest on the baking plate they were baked on for 5 minutes
• Afterwards transfer them, including the parchment paper, to a wire cooling rack for further cooling for at least 15 minutes to set

Conclusion

Taste

These beautiful pumpkin snickerdoodles have a soft and moist inside and are crunchy on the outer edges. They are sweet as well as aromatic.

You can clearly tell that pumpkin spice is leading in the taste as it is quite a unique taste of course. If you know it, you can clearly taste the pumpkin but its taste is more hidden.

It’s like you assume something is there, a secret, but you are not entirely sure what it is, which is a very nice twist in a cookie.

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