Favourite Cookies: Our 100 top recipes presented in one cookbook

By Naumann & Göbel Verlag

A delightful biscuit offensive!

Whether you want them chocolatey or nutty, crisp and delicate, with a jam filling or colourfully decorated - there's everything here for friends of traditional German Christmas baking with cinnamon stars and vanilla crescents, as well as those looking for new and original Christmas baking ideas. These small, sweet nothings make great nibbles and look good on any colourful tray of biscuits. They go well with a quick espresso or a relaxed and leisurely coffee morning. They're so varied, so you'll never get bored. Try out our huge range of recipes and discover new favourites.

- It's biscuit city: all kinds of favourite classics and trendy, modern recipes from all over the world.
- Loads of recipes for a colourful platter: from crisp, soft and delicate ones to fruity ones or others made with a complete range of aromatic spices

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naumann & Göbel Verlag
• Release date: Apr 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9783815587553

Book preview

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Traditional and simple recipe favourites

Gingerbread cookies

Preparation time: approx. 45 minutes (plus resting and baking time)

Makes approx. 50 cookies

275 g syrup

20 g sugar syrup

550 g honey

150 g brown sugar

1 kg plain flour

1 tbsp gingerbread spices

1 tsp ground aniseed

15 g bicarbonate of soda

45 g candied orange peel, chopped

45 g candied lemon peel

2 pinches of potash

1 egg

90 g raisins

55 g candied sugar, crushed

250 g potato starch

flour, for dusting the work surface

fat, for greasing the baking trays

1Mix the two syrups with 3 tablespoons of water. Add the honey and brown sugar, then heat the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved. Leave to cool.

2Combine the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, candied orange and lemon peel, then add to the lukewarm syrup mixture.

3Add the potash mixed with a 1½ tablespoons of water, then stir the egg, raisins and candied sugar into the mixture. Using your hands, knead the ingredients into a smooth dough. Cover and leave to rest for 12 hours.

4Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C (Gas Mark 6, fan oven 180 °C). Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead again. Roll out to a thickness of 1 cm. Cut out cookie shapes in whichever form or shape you choose, then lay the cookies on greased baking trays and bake in the oven for approx. 18 minutes.

5Toast the potato starch in an oven heated to 160 °C (Gas Mark 3, fan oven 140 °C) until light golden, then set aside to cool. Stir the starch into 1 litre of cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the mixture slides away from the sides of the pan. Spread this mixture over the cookies to create a lovely glaze.

Bethmännchen

German Christmas cookies

Preparation time: approx. 45 minutes (plus chilling and baking time)

Makes approx. 70 cookies

For the cookie dough:

125 g plain flour

1 egg yolk

50 g caster sugar

1 pinch of salt

100 g soft butter

For the topping:

500 g raw marzipan (almond paste)

2 eggs

160 g icing sugar

130 g ground almonds

55 g plain flour

6 drops of rose water

Also:

120 g peeled, whole almonds

flour, for dusting the work surface

1Quickly knead all the ingredients together into an even dough, then shape into a ball. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2Roughly chop the raw marzipan, separate the eggs and sift the icing sugar. Using your hands, knead together the almond paste, icing sugar, ground almonds, flour, egg whites and rose water. Cover the mixture and chill in the refrigerator for approx. 1 hour.

3Pre-heat the oven to 150 °C (Gas Mark 2, fan oven 130 °C). On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the cookie dough to approx. 3 mm thick, then, using cookie cutters, cut out 70 small, round cookie shapes. Place on baking trays lined with baking paper.

4Shape the marzipan into 70 small balls. Slice the almonds in half lengthwise and arrange 3 almond halves pointing upwards around the sides of each ball, pressing them firmly into the ball. Lightly beat the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of water and brush each cookie base with the egg mixture. Place a marzipan ball onto each cookie base and lightly brush with egg mixture. Bake for approx. 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Butter cookies

Preparation time: approx. 30 minutes (plus resting and baking time)

Makes 40 cookies

250 g butter

1 egg

125 g sugar

2 tsp vanilla sugar

225 g plain flour

125 g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp double cream

cocoa, for dusting

flour, for dusting the work surface

fat, for greasing the baking sheets

1Beat the butter, egg, sugar and vanilla sugar together with the hand-mixer until frothy and creamy. Mix the flour, cornflour and baking powder together, add to the egg mixture along with the cream and knead the ingredients into a smooth dough. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for 1 hour.

2Pre-heat the oven to 175 °C (Gas Mark 3–4, fan oven 150 °C). On a floured work surface, roll out the cookie dough to a thickness of approx. 3 mm. Using the side of a grater, press a pattern into the dough, then cut out cookie shapes.

3Arrange the cookies on 2 greased baking sheets. Bake in the oven for approx. 12–15 minutes. Dust with cocoa before serving.

Edible tree decorations

Preparation time: approx. 1 hour (plus chilling and baking time)

Makes 40 cookies

125 g plain flour

1 egg yolk

50 g caster sugar

1 pinch of salt

100 g soft butter

1 tsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

100 g icing sugar

sugar beads and sugar heart decorations

icing pens with glitter

silver ribbon, for hanging

1Sift the flour onto the work surface and press a hollow in the centre. Place the egg yolk, sugar, salt, soft butter, chopped into small pieces, and spices in the depression. Quickly mix all the ingredients into an even dough and shape into a ball. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for approx. 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2Pre-heat the oven to 200 °C (Gas mark 6, fan oven 180 °C). On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of approx. 4 mm. Cut out stars, Christmas trees and angel shapes until the cookie dough is all used up.

3Arrange the cookies on baking sheets lined with baking paper. Using a straw, poke a hole through each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes and then leave to cool on a wire rack.

4Mix the icing sugar with 2–3 tablespoons of water to make a smooth icing. Use this to stick on the sugar beads and hearts. Use the icing pens to decorate the cookies and stick on the sugar decorations. Leave to dry completely.

5Loop a piece of silver ribbon through the hole in each cookie, knotting the ends together firmly.

Sour cream rings with cinnamon

Preparation time: approx. 25 minutes (plus chilling and baking time)

Makes 60 rings

250 g butter

8 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp soured cream

500 g plain flour

4 egg yolks

1 tsp cinnamon

melted butter, for brushing

flour, for dusting the work surface

1Quickly knead together the butter, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, soured cream, flour and egg yolks to form a smooth, shortcrust pastry, then chill in the refrigerator for 1