This kind of cookies have a lot of names here in Germany: Spitzbuben, Hildabrötchen or Linzer Plätzchen for example… the recipes vary a bit by the amount of the ingredients or what kind of jam/marmalade is used – but basically, they all look the same: D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S ;)
Spitzbuben are among my favorite Christmas cookies – it is a pretty basic dough actually and easy to handle. You can make them quick, not many steps, so it is definitely an easy bake with a great result. The only pain in the a** is the removal of the seeds if you use raspberry jam – so I won’t be mad with you if you use one without seeds from the store – me, of course, used my own homemade raspberry vanilla jam – with seeds to remove. ;)
Anyways – the sweet cookie and the jam filling in the middle are a really good combination. And as many Christmas cookies – if you store them in a tin box, they get better each day. You just have to make sure you don’t let them dry out. That’s why a good old tin box is best for cookies like that.
Note: If you are looking for the shapes of these cookies, you can try these links here: Cookie Cutter Set* or this single cookie cutter*.
If you like chocolate you might want to try my chocolate version of these cookies: Chocolate Spitzbuben. They are as easy to prepare as the classic ones but dark ;) You can make them with jam as well or use a chocolate ganache or Nutella to fill them.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 40 pieces)
2/3 cup (150g) butter
2/3 cup (75g) confectioner’s sugar
1 3/4 cups (225g) all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
1 jar (12 oz.) raspberry jam
(ca. 40 Stück)
150g Butter
75g Puderzucker
225g Mehl (Type 405)
1 Eigelb
Prise Salz
1 Glas (ca. 340g) Himbeermarmelade
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. In a large bowl mix the butter in small pieces, confectioner’s sugar, flour, egg yolk and salt and knead first with a handheld mixer or food processor and then with your hands until you get a nice smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175°C). Line several baking sheets with baking parchment. Cut the dough in half and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of 0.08 inch (2mm). Use a round cookie cutter (or a glass) with a diameter of 2.4 inches (6cm) and cut out cookies. Use a smaller cookie cutter to make a hole or heart in half of those cookies. Place the cookies on the baking sheets and knead the remaining dough again and cut out more cookies.
3. Place one baking sheet at a time in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool down a bit on a wire rack.
4. Add the raspberry jam to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Force through a sieve and let cool down for about 5 minutes. Place a small amount of jam (about a teaspoon) on the cookies with no hole and place a cookie with a hole on top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and let cool/dry for an hour on a wire rack. Store in a tin box without any other Christmas cookies – separate the cookies with sandwich paper.
1. In einer großen Schüssel die Butter in kleinen Stücken, Puderzucker, Mehl, Eigelb und eine Prise Salz zuerst mit den Knethaken eines Handrührgerätes oder der Küchenmaschine, dann mit den Händen zu einem glatten Teig verkneten. In Klarsichtfolie wickeln und 30 Minuten im Kühlschrank ruhen lassen.
2. Den Ofen auf 175°C (350°F) vorheizen. Mehrere Bleche mit Backpapier auslegen. Den Teig halbieren und auf einer bemehlten Fläche ca. 2mm (0.08 inch) dick ausrollen. Mit runden Ausstechern (Ø 6cm/2.4 inch) Plätzchen ausstechen (geht auch mit einem Glas) – die Hälfte der Plätzchen dann in der Mitte noch einmal mit einem kleineren runden (Ø 3cm/1.2 inch) oder herzförmigen Ausstecher ausstechen. Plätzchen auf die Bleche legen und die Teigreste mit dem restlichen Teig verkneten und weitere Plätzchen ausstechen.
3. Jeweils ein Backblech in den Ofen schieben und ca. 10 Minuten backen. Plätzchen auf einem Kuchengitter etwas abkühlen lassen.
4. Himbeermarmelade in einem Topf aufkochen, durch ein Sieb streichen und 5 Minuten abkühlen lassen. Je einen Teelöffel Marmelade auf ein Plätzchen ohne Öffnung geben und mit einem Plätzchen mit Öffnung deckeln. Mit Puderzucker bestreuen und auf einem Kuchengitter 1 Stunde abkühlen/trocknen lassen. In einer Blechdose ohne andere Plätzchen lagern – mit Butterbrotpapier die Lagen trennen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Classic German Spitzbuben aka. Hildabrötchen
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 80
- Yield: 40 1x
Description
Delicious classic German Christmas sandwich cookies with a layer of jam in the middle.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (150g) butter
- 2/3 cup (75g) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 3/4 cups (225g) all-purpose flour
- 1 egg yolk
- pinch of salt
- 1 jar (12 oz.) raspberry jam
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix the butter in small pieces, confectioner’s sugar, flour, egg yolk and salt and knead first with a handheld mixer or food processor and then with your hands until you get a nice smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175°C). Line several baking sheets with baking parchment. Cut the dough in half and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of 0.08 inch (2mm). Use round cookie cutter (or a glass) with a diameter of 2.4 inches (6cm) and cut out cookies. Use a smaller cookie cutter to make a hole or heart in half of those cookies. Place the cookies on the baking sheets and knead the remaining dough again and cut out more cookies.
- Place one baking sheet at a time in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool down a bit on a wire rack.
- Add the raspberry jam to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Force through a sieve and let cool down for about 5 minutes. Place a small amount of jam (about a teaspoon) on the cookies with no hole and place a cookie with hole on top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and let cool/dry for an hour on a wire rack. Store in a tin box without any other christmas cookies – separate the cookies with sandwich paper.
Notes
- Enjoy baking!
More German Christmas Cookies can be found in my Top 10 of German Christmas Cookies. It’s always good to know some good Christmas cookie recipes ;)
*Amazon Germany Affiliate Link (Werbung)
Do you know where I can purchase the cookie cutters for these? We are looking for scalloped with a three hole, clover, heart, star, and flower. Thanks for any help you can give.
Hi Bill,
I added a link to Amazon to the post – but that is for Germany – I don’t know if you can find that in other countries on Amazon as well.. hope it still helps :)
Cheers,
Marc
Walmart has them, about$5:00 is the cost. Happy Baking, Jutta
I was looking for a doable recipe so I could make some Christmas cookies for my German professor. This is perfect!
I hope your professor likes the cookies! :)
Cheers, Marc
Can the dough be made a couple of days in advance? Thanks!
Hi Susan,
the dough can be made and stored in the fridge up to 3 days in advance. Just give it some chance to warm up a bit before using it after such a long time ;)
Cheers, Marc
We have recently lost my M-I-L, our kids’Omi, who made these cookies every year for family and friends. We decided to keep that tradition alive but could not find her recipe. We threw away 5 different dough attempts and about gave up hope. Then found this!! Thank you for sharing because this is so similar and will be our annual recipe to keep Oma alive in our house!!!
I am sorry for your loss.
Keeping such traditions alive is very nice! I am glad the recipe was a match with the cookies she made.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
What a joy to find this! I had lost the recipe and have been looking for it for some time now, thank you so much!
Happy Holidays!
My daughter-I -law is German. She has been in the States for 13 years and I made these to surprise her, she absolutely loved them. Her other is gone now and she said these reminded her of home.
Hello ,
Christmas is near . How many days can i store it in a container ?
Hi. Mine are normally good to eat for at least 2 weeks. Probably even longer.
These look delicious! Is it best to use unsalted or salted butter?
I never use sated butter for baking. Not needed ;)
These look lovely. What about using almond flour/meal for half of the flour? I’ve seen some German family members use the ground almonds method.
Sorry – can’t give advice here – never made them with almonds.
Cheers
Marc
I am so grateful I found your blog. Relatively new to Germany but interested in this new tradition of baking cookies for Christmas. I was getting quite lost on the internet with all the recipes (in german) and I am just so glad I found your blog. So helpful and beautifully presented. I have printed a few and will give them a try. Thanks so much!
Is it better to use cold butter or room temperature butter?
I use cold butter here, but slightly warmer is also fine.