Advent is the time for Christmas cookies – it all starts on the first of December and ends whenever all the cookies are gone. If you bake a lot like me that can be in late January ;P Every family has their traditions, and everyone has their favorite Christmas cookies. The amount of cookies to choose from is pretty much endless. Today I’ve taken a traditional recipe for Spitzbuben and modified the cookies a little. You can call them Orange Funfetti Spitzbuben now. Not your traditional Christmas cookies I have to admit ;P
There are a lot of Christmas cookie recipes out there. Some of the classic cookie recipes can be found here on the blog. Many of them we’ve been baking as a family for ages already. On the first Sunday in Advent, several boxes of them have to be ready so you have something to nibble along with a coffee or tea… watching the first cheesy Christmas movies ;P
But sometimes it’s not so bad to leave the classics behind and try something new. Or in this case, to simply give a classic recipe a little update. My fellow blogger Andrea from Zimtkeks & Apfeltarte has called it »giving some old cookies a new look & feel«. Why not ;P In this case here the plain looking Spitzbuben got a colorful update.
Andrea and I are baking together once a month – aka. »Bake Together – The Baking Surprise«. We pick a theme/topic and create something in our kitchens. At the end we surprise each other with the results. Well… since we are very close to the first Advent Sunday the topic is Christmas cookies. Classics with a new look & feel. Who would have thought that ;P
Spitzbuben cookies are simple sandwich cookies, filled with jam and dusted with some confectioners’ sugar. They look nice but quite basic. I thought – why not make them a bit more colorful with some sprinkles. To counteract the added sweetness from the sugar sprinkles I decided to go for a less sweet and slightly bitter orange jam as a filling. I like that combination a lot!
To be honest – normally I am not the biggest fan of rainbow sprinkles. They are ok inside a cake to give the cake some color. On top of cakes or cupcakes as decoration… difficult for me. Depending on the type of sprinkles you use they can be very hard and unpleasant to eat if everything else is soft. Luckily the sugar glaze that keeps the sprinkles in place here on the cookies also softens them a bit – so here the sprinkles are fine ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 40 cookies)
For the cookies:
1 3/4 cups (230g) all-purpose flour
2.5 oz. (70g) confectioners’ sugar
1 pinch of salt
5.3 oz. (150g) butter
1 medium egg yolk
For the decoration:
3.5 oz. (100g) confectioners’ sugar
some lemon juice
rainbow sprinkles (nonpareils)
1 jar (12 oz./340g) orange marmalade
(ca. 40 Kekse)
Für die Kekse:
230g Mehl (Type 405)
70g Puderzucker
1 Prise Salz
150g Butter
1 Eigelb (M)
Für die Dekoration:
100g Puderzucker
etwas Zitronensaft
bunte Zuckerstreusel
1 Glas (ca. 340g) Orangenmarmelade
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and egg yolk and knead everything with the dough hooks of a hand mixer (or your food processor) until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Roll out half of the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface, then cut out round cookies (with cookie cutter or a glass). Cut out the center of half of these cookies with a smaller round cookie cutter/glass and place all of them on the baking sheet. If you have more space and leftover dough roll out again and cut out more cookies. Place the remaining dough in the fridge again and bake the first batch of cookies for about 9-10 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies should not get much color. Take out and let cool down on the baking sheet for a moment, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining dough until all dough is used, and you got the same amount of cookies with/without a cut-out center.
3. For the decoration mix the confectioners’ sugar with some lemon juice until smooth. You want the mixture to be on the thicker side and spreadable, not too runny. Coat the cookies with the cut-out center with the glaze and sprinkle with the nonpareils. Let dry completely.
4. Stir the jam to loosen it up (you can also warm it up briefly), then add about 1 tsp. on each cookie (the ones without sprinkles), smooth it out a bit, and press a colorful cookie with an opening on top to create a sandwich cookie. There you go, you’re done! You can try one (!) cookie now. Let the rest dry for at least 1 hour. Store in a metal box or similar in a cool place without other types of cookies. When stored correctly the cookies should be good to eat for at least 7-10 days.
1. Mehl, Puderzucker und Salz in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. Butter und das Eigelb dazugeben und alles mit den Knethaken eines Rührgeräts (oder Küchenmaschine) zu einem glatten Teig verkneten. Den Teig dann in Klarsichtfolie wickeln und für 30-45 Minuten in den Kühlschrank legen.
2. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Die Hälfte des Teiges auf einer leicht bemehlten Fläche dünn ausrollen und dann runde Plätzchen ausstechen (mit Ausstecher oder Glas) – bei der Hälfte der Plätzchen die Mitte noch ausstechen. Die Teigkreise auf das Blech setzen. Teigreste erneut ausrollen und weitere Plätzchen ausstechen, bis das Blech voll ist. Restlichen Zeit zurück in den Kühlschrank legen und dann die ersten Plätzchen für etwa 9-10 Minuten backen. Die Plätzchen sollten nur minimal Farbe bekommen. Aus dem Ofen holen und kurz auf dem Blech abkühlen lassen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter umsetzen und komplett auskühlen lassen. Den kompletten Vorgang mit dem restlichen Teig wiederholen, bis alles aufgebraucht ist und eine passende Anzahl von Plätzchen mit und ohne Öffnung vorhanden sind.
3. Den Puderzucker für die Dekoration mit etwas Zitronensaft glatt rühren – die Mischung sollte sich gut verstreichen lassen und nicht zu dünn sein. Die Kekse mit Öffnung in der Mitte damit bestreichen und mit den bunten Zuckerstreuseln bestreuen. Komplett trocknen lassen.
4. Die Marmelade einmal gut durchrühren, um sie aufzulockern (man kann sie auch kurz aufwärmen), dann jeweils etwa 1 TL auf die Kekse (ohne Öffnung) geben und etwas glatt streichen und einen bunten Keks mit Öffnung aufsetzen. Mission accomplished! Wer mag, darf schon einen Keks naschen. Die restlichen Spitzbuben für mindestens 1 Stunde trocknen lassen, dann in einer Keksdose ohne andere Kekse an einem kühlen Ort lagern. Die Kekse halten i.d.R. (wenn richtig gelagert) mindestens 7-10 Tage.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Orange Funfetti Spitzbuben Christmas Cookies
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:10
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These colorful Christmas sandwich cookies are a spin on traditional German Spitzbuben – decorated with nonpareils and filled with orange marmalade. So good!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
1 3/4 cups (230g) all-purpose flour
2.5 oz. (70g) confectioners’ sugar
1 pinch of salt
5.3 oz. (150g) butter
1 medium egg yolk
For the decoration:
3.5 oz. (100g) confectioners’ sugar
some lemon juice
rainbow sprinkles (nonpareils)
1 jar (12 oz./340g) orange marmalade
Instructions
1. Mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and egg yolk and knead everything with the dough hooks of a hand mixer (or your food processor) until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Roll out half of the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface, then cut out round cookies (with cookie cutter or a glass). Cut out the center of half of these cookies with a smaller round cookie cutter/glass and place all of them on the baking sheet. If you have more space and leftover dough roll out again and cut out more cookies. Place the remaining dough in the fridge again and bake the first batch of cookies for about 9-10 minutes in the preheated oven. The cookies should not get much color. Take out and let cool down on the baking sheet for a moment, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining dough until all dough is used, and you got the same amount of cookies with/without a cut-out center.
3. For the decoration mix the confectioners’ sugar with some lemon juice until smooth. You want the mixture to be on the thicker side and spreadable, not too runny. Coat the cookies with the cut-out center with the glaze and sprinkle with the nonpareils. Let dry completely.
4. Stir the jam to loosen it up (you can also warm it up briefly), then add about 1 tsp. on each cookie (the ones without sprinkles), smooth it out a bit, and press a colorful cookie with an opening on top to create a sandwich cookie. There you go, you’re done! You can try one (!) cookie now. Let the rest dry for at least 1 hour. Store in a metal box or similar in a cool place without other types of cookies. When stored correctly the cookies should be good to eat for at least 7-10 days.
Notes
Happy baking!
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