Here in Germany, we have some bakes and sweets that have kind of weird names – even for us Germans. People eat things like »Liebesknochen« aka. Lovebones or »Schweineohren« aka. Pigs Ears (that is something sweet, not actual ears from pigs) or »Katzenzungen« aka. Cat Tongues (yeah I know… peculiar). The name of today’s »Christmas Cookie Friday« cookies can easily be put into the same category of weirdness: Engelsaugen aka. Angel Eyes. In general a nice name, but when you look at the cookies and imagine angels with that kind of red eyes?! Oh boy…
Who comes up with names like that? Does anybody know? Well… the Angel Eyes also have a second name that is a bit less weird/frightening I think: Husarenkrapferl. The translation for this one would probably be »hussars donuts«. Not sure though. A friendly hussar with a donut in his hands is much less odd than an angel with big red eyes, right?
Just kidding. I really like these Christmas cookies – no matter what you call them. They are easy to prepare and very versatile. Depending on my mood when baking, I might add some liquor to the dough for some extra flavor. Rum works well or Amaretto. You can also add some coconut flakes or ground almonds to the dough. When it comes to the filling, I normally use something that is open in the fridge. We always have some kind of marmalade or jelly in the fridge. Many classic recipes ask for redcurrant jelly, but I prefer raspberry or cherry. Use whatever you like.
The preparation is incredibly easy. You knead the dough together, form small balls out of it and then flatten them a little. Not much, you don’t want them to be extra-large cookies. With the end of a wooden spoon you then press an indentation into these pieces of dough and fill them with jam as you wish.
In some recipes the cookies are baked »empty« and without filling. In this case, the filling is added after they have cooled down. This means you can use chocolate or other delicious fillings instead of jam for cookies like this.
What are your favorite Christmas cookies? Do you have a family tradition of baking them before Christmas? Please let me know!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 25 cookies)
5.3 oz. (150g) butter
1/2 cup (70g) confectioners’ sugar*
2 medium egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 organic lemon, zest only
1 3/4 cups (240g) all-purpose flour*
1 pinch of salt
jam or jelly (e.g. raspberry, orange, blueberry)
some confectioners’ sugar* (optional)
(etwa 25 Plätzchen)
150g Butter
70g Puderzucker*
2 Eigelb (M)
1 TL Vanille Extrakt*
1 Bio-Zitrone, nur Abrieb
240g Mehl (Type 405)*
1 Prise Salz
Marmelade oder Gelee (z.B. Himbeere, Orange etc.)
etwas Puderzucker* zum Bestäuben (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the butter and confectioners’ sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. You might have to scrape down the bowl several times. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix in well. Mix the flour with the salt and add to the bowl – mix/knead until just combined. Shape a ball (the dough will be very sticky) and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Mix the jam/jelly with a spoon to get it softer. If you don’t like the seeds of raspberry jam, for example, remove them before you use it (pressing through a sieve).
3. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit. Make about 25 walnut-sized balls out of the dough and place them on the baking sheet. Use the back end of a wooden spoon and press a little depression in each ball and fill with jam or jelly. Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down on a wire rack. Dust with some confectioners’ sugar while they are cooling if you like (optional).
1. Die Butter mit dem Puderzucker in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Eigelbe, Vanille Extrakt und Zitronenabrieb gut unterrühren. Das Mehl mit dem Salz vermischen und zur Schüssel dazugeben und nur kurz unterrühren/kneten. Den Teig zu einer Kugel formen, flach drücken und in Klarsichtfolie einschlagen – für mindestens 2 Stunden in den Kühlschrank legen.
2. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Die Marmelade/Gelee glatt rühren und ggf. Kerne entfernen (z.B. bei Himbeermarmelade), sollte man das nicht mögen.
3. Den Teig aus dem Kühlschrank holen und ein paar Minuten warm werden lassen, dann etwa 25 walnussgroße Kugeln aus dem Teig formen und auf das Blech setzen. Mit dem hinteren Ende eines Kochlöffels eine kleine Mulde in jede Kugel drücken (ggf. Kochlöffel vorher noch in Mehl tauchen, damit nichts kleben bleibt). Etwas Marmelade bzw. Gelee in jede Mulde füllen und dann für etwa 12-14 Minuten backen. Die Plätzchen aus dem Ofen holen und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen. Man kann die Engelsaugen vor dem Abkühlen auch noch mit Puderzucker bestäuben, wenn man das mag (optional).
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Angel Eyes aka. Engelsaugen
- Prep Time: 00:25
- Cook Time: 00:14
- Total Time: 03:00
- Yield: 25 1x
- Category: Christmas Cookies
- Method: -
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Engelsaugen are classic German Christmas cookies. My grandma used to bake them every year and so do we now. They are just too good not to make them for Advent.
Ingredients
5.3 oz. (150g) butter
1/2 cup (70g) confectioners‘ sugar*
2 medium egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 organic lemon, zest only
1 3/4 cups (240g) all-purpose flour*
1 pinch of salt
jam or jelly (e.g. raspberry, orange, blueberry)
some confectioners‘ sugar* (optional)
Instructions
1. Add the butter and confectioners‘ sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. You might have to scrape down the bowl several times. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix in well. Mix the flour with the salt and add to the bowl – mix/knead until just combined. Shape a ball (the dough will be very sticky) and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside. Mix the jam/jelly with a spoon to get it softer. If you don’t like the seeds of raspberry jam, for example, remove them before you use it (pressing through a sieve).
3. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit. Make about 25 walnut-sized balls out of the dough and place them on the baking sheet. Use the back end of a wooden spoon and press a little depression in each ball and fill with jam or jelly. Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down on a wire rack. Dust with some confectioners‘ sugar while they are cooling if you like (optional).
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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