Advent is the time for Christmas cookies. There is no other time of year when people are baking more cookies. Even though you could bake many of those cookies any other day as well. I wouldn’t mind if someone served me a few of these delicious Xmas Wreath Cookies with my coffee at the height of summer. They are delicious all year round. Some people might say the decorations are too »Christmassy« for July or August. But who cares? ;P
I can understand that Cinnamon Stars are not the kind of cookies that give everyone a summer feeling. Even though you can find the first gingerbread, speculoos cookies, and cinnamon stars in supermarkets at the end of August. ;P The cinnamon flavor is something many people connect to colder weather and Christmas. Perhaps not the best mindset when it’s 30° outside. :P
Saying that – shortbread sandwich cookies with jam filling like the Xmas Wreath Cookies here work well all year round. You can find, for example, Linzer Augen Sandwich Cookies in many bakeries all year round. Regardless of whether it’s warm or cold outside ;P Almond Marzipan Crescents, which are often baked at home around Christmas, are also available all year round in bakeries… I guess, as long as there is no cinnamon involved, everything is good! ;P
Anyway. These cookies here were created with Christmas in mind… even though they would taste good all year round I guess. I wanted to try a variation of my classic Spitzbuben aka. Hildabrötchen recipe. I like the classic Spitzbuben cookies that are filled with jam and have confectioners’ sugar on top, but why not try something new from time to time? The modification is not that severe or too complicated. The cookies and the filling are basically the same – just a new idea for the decorations to make them look more festive. Like little Christmas wreaths. ;P
I used chopped pistachios and cranberries for the decoration – for the typical green and red color combination you can find everywhere for Christmas. With the cranberries, you get the red and with the pistachios the green color. Obviously. Unfortunately, not all pistachios are the same. Some of them are bright green, some are more brownish or yellowish. If you want to be sure that your green pistachios are really green, you have to dig a little deeper into your pockets and get some coins out to buy really green pistachios*. If you don’t want to do that, you can simply use red and green sugar pearls. ;)
In case you have a Turkish or Arabic market/bazaar nearby, you check for those super green pistachios there as well. Those markets sometimes sell green pistachios and other nuts or dried fruits in smaller quantities – no need to buy a whole bag of nuts. Those nuts and dried fruits are usually not cheaper than the ones you can get in a supermarket, but if you only want a handful of nuts, why buy an entire bag? ;P
I often bring back home those super green pistachios when visiting Spain. There is a large and very touristy market (Mercat de la Boqueria) for all sorts of veggies, fruits, and everything else edible in Barcelona we love to go to. They have everything, and I’ve picked up those super green pistachios from there several times already. ;) Well. You don’t have to travel abroad to get pistachios, but I wanted to mention it. ;P
Enough about pistachios! You can create extremely delicious cookies with this recipe here. No matter, what type of decoration you use. Take a look at my Orange Funfetti Spitzbuben and you will see, colorful sprinkles are absolutely fine to use. If you are not a big fan of sugar pearls and sprinkles, you can change the look of your Christmas cookies with some black cocoa powder. Check out my Marble Christmas Sandwich Cookies and you can see what I mean.
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
some chopped pistachios and dried cranberries
1 jar (12 oz./340g) raspberry marmalade (or similar)
(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
gehackte Pistazien & Cranberrys (getrocknet)
1 Glas (ca. 340g) Marmelade (z.B. Himbeermarmelade)
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 a 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 chopped pistachios and cranberries. 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 decorations), smooth it out a bit, and press a decorated cookie with an opening on top to create a sandwich cookie. 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 gehackten Pistazien und Cranberrys 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 dekorierten Keks mit Öffnung aufsetzen. Die Spitzbuben für mindestens 1 Stunde trocknen lassen, dann in einer Keksdose ohne andere Kekse an einem kühlen Ort lagern. Diese 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.
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Easy Xmas Wreath Cookies
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:10
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Classic German Christmas cookies with a little twist – these Xmas Wreath Cookies are based on the classic Spitzbuben Cookies. Easy and delicious!
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
some chopped pistachios and dried cranberries
1 jar (12 oz./340g) raspberry marmalade (or similar)
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 a 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 chopped pistachios and cranberries. 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 decorations), smooth it out a bit, and press a decorated cookie with an opening on top to create a sandwich cookie. 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 Xmas Baking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
