Dessert Recipes
Mandelspritzgebäck (German Christmas Almond Cookies)
Description
"I can't remember a single holiday season without this typical German cookie recipe. My Mom and my mother-in-law bake these cookies. As a child we helped bake them, and the fun part for us kids was always to "style" the cookies. I prefer them with any icing or decoration."
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄3 cups unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1⁄3 cups ground almonds (blanched)
- 3 drops bitter almond oil (see note)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
- Preheat oven (375°F, 190°C).
- Grease baking trays.
- Mix butter with sugar until creamy. Add egg and egg yolk and mix until foamy.
- Add almonds and a few drops oil of bitter almonds.
- Add flour (mixed with baking powder) little by little and mix. The dough should be elastic, but will not be smooth.
- Fill in the dough into a cookie press with big star nozzle or better into a meat grinder with a big star nozzle.
- Make/press dough strings of about 2 to 3-inches. Form dough strings into rings, "S", horseshoes or any other shapes you like and place on baking tray.
- Bake for about 12 minutes. Cookies should still be light.
- NOTE: Oil of bitter almonds: if you can't find it, use almond extract.
- NOTE on cookie press: the dough is elastic but not smooth. So using a simple icing bag could be difficult. I use a meat grinder with a special cookie star nozzle. You can use a suited cookie press.
- NOTE on custom yield: I really can't give the correct custom yield. But the amount will make several baking trays. Baking time is given for one tray.
