German Xmas biscuit recipes-my family favourites

German Xmas biscuit recipes-my family favourites

December 5th, 2010

provided by Merle Dieterich, passionate mom and businesswoman whose 2 beautiful children, Lerato and Marvin never cease to amaze and teach her about what counts. You’ll find her at jozikids.co.za

The smell of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, vanilla and the taste of freshly home baked Xmas biscuits are the senses most evocative for me and my family for this time of the year.

The following biscuit recipes have been tried and tested by my kids and I. I discovered them when I lived in Germany where the culture of home baked Xmas biscuits is widespread and deeply rooted.

Enjoy them and please add your favourites to this list.

CINNAMON STARS / ZIMTSTERNE

Quantity: 70 stars
Oven temperature: 160 degrees
Baking Time: 7-8min

Ingredients:
500 g ground almonds
5 egg whites
450g icing sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbl rose water

Icing sugar snow for stars

Beat egg whites until they are stiff

Add sifted icing sugar

Keep 1 cup of this icing sugar mixture aside to coat the biscuits later and the rest you will use to create the biscuit dough

Biscuit mixture

Add almonds, cinnamon and rose water to the icing sugar mixture. Mix together quickly.

cover dough and store in the fridge for at 1 hour.

Making the stars

Sprinkle surface with sugar and roll out the dough (thickness about 1cm). Cut out stars.

Paint each star with the icing sugar snow ( made earlier)

leave cut biscuits on a tray in the oven overnight to dry out before baking them, then bake them in preheated oven at 160 degrees for 7-8 min

Or bake them immediately in preheated oven at 160 degrees for 7- 8 min

GERMAN LEBKUCHEN /HONEY CAKES

Quantity : 35 biscuits
Oven temperature: 220 degrees
Baking Time: 35-40 min

Ingredients:
200g honey
200g sugar
2 eggs
Freshly grated peel of a lemon
100g chopped candied orange and lemon peel
70g almond sticks
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of:
salt,grated nutmeg, cloves, cardamom
500 g flour
2 tsp backing powder

Heat and mix the honey and sugar. Leave to cool

Mix eggs, grated lemon peel, almond sticks and all the spices

Add sifted flour and backing powder

Mix and knead into a dough

Sprinkle flour onto a surface

Roll out dough –approx ½ cm thick and cut into squares

Bake at 220 degrees for about 35-40 min.