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How to make Spritzgebäck: the No. 1 traditional German Christmas shortbread

The Christmas markets are opening this weekend. The temperature is dropping. It’s time to get baking. At least that is what most German housewives seem to think. And what better way to start our trio of German Christmas cookies than with our family favourite: Spritzgebäck.

Christmas in Germany means Christmas markets, Glühwein, Advent calendars and Christmas biscuits. For Christmas this year, we will be sharing three German Christmas biscuit recipes. The first recipe is my mother-in-law’s family recipe for Spritzgebäck, or traditional German Christmas shortbread biscuits.

Every year, my Mother-in-Law makes her Spritzgebäck for Christmas. How much longer she will do so, I can’t say (she’s nearly 90!).

In November, we’ll set a date and mark it in our calendar. My MIL prepares the dough and we’ll go down to the cellar with the mincer and push the Spritzgebäck out.

Turn. Pause. Turn. Pause. Turn. Pause. The biscuits line up on the tray like ribboned soldiers.

Peter eagerly helps to get to eat the leftover dough.

Recently, we’ve had to change up our roles. I now do the baking; my MIL’s balance is degenerating and removing a hot tray from a hot oven is risky.

She is still the boss.

Short & sweet

TASTE: Light and buttery
EASE: As long as you let the dough rest long enough so that it is malleable, these biscuits are very easy to make
PROS: A recipe for family bonding
CONS: Helpers who want to eat the dough
AGAIN?: Definitely. Every Christmas. It’s a family tradition

Watercolour bowl: short and sweet

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German Christmas biscuits; fresh German Spritzgebäck cooling on a rack
Bowl of Spritzgebäck next to some blue baubles; German Christmas biscuits; German Christmas cookies; German Spritzgebäck; Spritzgebaeck; German shortbread cookies; fresh biscuits

Spritzgebäck

Classic German Christmas butter cookies: these Spritzgebäck (literally squirt cookies) are our family's favourite. This is my German Mother-in-Law's recipe.
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Cuisine German
Servings 50 cookies

Equipment

  • Paddle attachment
  • Dough hook attachment
  • Plastic wrap
  • mincer, cookie press or piping bag
  • baking paper

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g butter softened to room temperature
  • 150 g white sugar
  • 300 g plain flour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 packet of vanilla sugar 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
  • Dark cooking chocolate melted (optional)
  • Red fruit jam jelly (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 175°c fan-forced.
  • With a paddle attachment or beater, beat the butter for approximately 20 seconds on slow, then increase the speed and beat until slightly creamy.
  • Add the sugar, vanilla and egg and increase the speed again until well combined and fluffy.
  • Change to a dough hook attachment. Add half the flour and the salt and beat until combined. Then add the rest of the flour and beat until combined.
  • With a clean hand, knead the ‘dough’ until it is well combined and forms one big ball of dough.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  • Remove from the fridge. Depending on your method, load your mincer/piping bag/cookie press and slowly squeeze out strips of ruffled dough onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
  • Place the biscuits on a tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until they just start to take on some colour.
  • If you are using the jam, add a thin layer of jam to any biscuits that have a 'slot' where it won't leak out the sides too much.
  • If you wish, wait for the biscuits to cool and then half dip them in melted dark chocolate.

Notes

If you are planning to use a piping bag or a cookie press, don’t bother with refrigerating the dough. Both methods work much better if the dough is not cold and the butter has not hardened.

Nutrition

Serving: 2gCalories: 63.37kcalCarbohydrates: 7.61gProtein: 0.71gFat: 3.4gSaturated Fat: 2.1gCholesterol: 12.51mgSodium: 0.76mgPotassium: 7.38mgFiber: 0.16gSugar: 3.03gVitamin A: 105.15IUCalcium: 2.32mgIron: 0.29mg
Keyword German butter cookies, German Christmas biscuits, German Christmas cookies, Traditional German recipes
Have you tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

German Christmas biscuits

In December, houses and bakeries are perfumed with the smell of sweet biscuits and cinnamon. It is a difficult time of year if you are dieting!

Germans bake at Christmas. When I say bake, I mean bake excessively. There are so many different recipes, I struggled to decide which three to make.

How many? According to the statistics, German bakeries baked more than 70,000 tonnes of Christmas biscuits in 2016, and more than 115,000 tonnes in the mid-1990s. These figures do not take into account the homemade cookies either.

According to a 2011 study conducted for Dr Oetker, a German producer of baking ingredients, utensils, and cookbooks, Spritzgebäck is the fourth most favourite biscuit of Germans.

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Spritzgebäck are a family favourite

My MIL has been using the same Spritzgebäck recipe for decades. They are Peter’s favourites. While she was helping me today, Miss M decided that they’re her favourites too.

The name Spritzgebäck comes from the German words spritzen, which means squirt, spray or inject and Gebäck, which means biscuits or pastries.

You can easily recognise Spritzgebäck, regardless of how they are made. They look a little like ruffles or waves.o

German Christmas biscuits; fresh Spritzgebaeck biscuits next to a star-shaped bowl of blue Christmas ornaments

Tips for making these traditional German Christmas shortbread

Spritzgebäck is a two-person job in this house: we normally use a very old mincer (grinder) with a cookie attachment. One person turns the handle and pushes the dough into the mincer. Meanwhile, the second person (normally my MIL) cuts off the right amount of dough as it squeezes out and places it on the tray for baking.

If you are using a mincer, you might like to make double to make up for the dough that will remain in the mincer.

I have not tried it using a mincer attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer. I will have to see if they come with the right plates. Does anybody know?

For these biscuits, I used a cookie press. It was hard work and I would definitely recommend using a mincer if you have one. For most of the Spritzgebäck, I used the plate that had one squiggly line through the middle.

The piping bag did not work for me at all, though it theoretically should. Make sure you use a large tip if you want to try.

Make sure you let the dough rest (outside of the fridge) for at least 30 minutes before using. I had to knead mine again to make the dough soft enough for it to pass through the tip.

I had a little helper, too, which may have detracted from the effectiveness.

Can you make the dough in advance?

Yes. The dough keeps well in the fridge overnight or even up to 48 hours. Some similar recipes even call for the dough to be made the night before you want to use it.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic cling wrap or place it in an airtight container.

You can also freeze the Spritzgebck dough. If you wrap it in plastic cling wrap it will keep for up to two months.

Let the dough defrost completely at room temperature before using.

Why not change up your Spritzgebäck?

My MIL doesn’t make many Christmas biscuits anymore. This gives her freedom to decorate her Spritzgebäck in one of two ways:

  1. She half dips some in chocolate – normally dark chocolate. Melt 25 grams of butter with 100 grams of chocolate and dip your biscuits into the chocolate to coat one end.
  2. She’ll make some Spritzgebäck with two parallel ribbons with a dip in between. Once baked, she’ll spoon a little jam along the dip. She uses homemade red currant jelly (rote Johannesbeergelee), but you can get something similar from the store.

You can also make chocolate Spritzgebäck. Add 30 grams of cocoa powder (Dutch-processed) with your flour and one egg to your Spritzgebäck dough and work as you would the plain Spritzgebäck. You can also add some of your favourite Christmas spices, such as half a teaspoon of Spekalatius spice (similar to pumpkin spice).

Will you keep yours plain or will you jazz them up?

How long do Spritzgebäck keep?

In our house, not long. My MIL puts some aside in a separate tin for Christmas Eve (Germany’s big Christmas celebration) to make sure we have some.

Like other Christmas cookies, you should store your Spritzgebäck in an airtight, opaque container (cookie tin or plastic container). Store the container somewhere cool and dry (temperatures 15 to 18°c). Your Spritzgebäck should stay fresh for three to four weeks.

Make some Spritzgebäck for the holidays

When it’s cold outside, it’s the perfect time to make some German Christmas biscuits. Not only are they delicious, but they will make your home smell inviting and festive.

Why not start with our family’s favourite Christmas biscuits, Spritzgebäck?

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