German Christmas Cookies

Hildabrötchen or Spitzbuben ( German Christmas Cookies ), they’re among my absolute favorite cookies! I actually love any cookies that are filled with jam. They just always taste great, in my opinion.

The best part is, they’re super easy to make. All you need is a batch of my non-sticky dough, powdered sugar, and your favorite jam (preferably a smooth jam without fruit bits, or alternatively, a jelly).

 

Ingredients:

•  4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (500 g)
•  1 1/10 cups very soft butter (so soft it’s almost melting) (250 g)
•  1 1/10 cups sugar (250 g)
•  2 eggs 
• A pinch of salt 
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar (optional) 
• Additionally: Smooth jam or jelly for filling 
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 320°F in a convection oven (375°F top and bottom heat).

Knead all the ingredients into a soft and uniform dough. Wrap the dough in foil and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Afterward, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out round circles. While rolling, dust the surface with a little flour to prevent sticking.

Place the circles on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut out small circles from half of the circles.

Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes. Definitely not longer! I take them out at the latest when they start to brown at the edges. When they come out of the oven, they’ll still be soft, but they’ll firm up as they cool. Baking Christmas cookies for too long usually makes them too dry, and that applies to almost all cookie recipes!

Once the cookies have cooled, dust the rings (the ones with a hole in the middle) with powdered sugar and for the other cookies, put a dollop of jam on them or place it with a small spoon. Put a cookie with a hole on top, and you’re done. Enjoy! 🍪🍓