Christmas cookies have always been very special to me. As a child I remember I would wait with bated breath until my Oma would hand me a big cookie tin full of the vast variety of traditional German Christmas cookies she would make ever year. I savoured those cookies, tried to make them last as long as possible… they never lasted very long. 🙂
I remember baking Christmas cookies with my Mom each year, helping her roll little balls of dough, cut shapes with all the different cookie cutters we had and of course sneak some dough, you know, just to make sure they were ok!
It’s been many years now that I’ve been given the lead on making the family’s Christmas cookies and almost as long that I have been making them entirely from spelt flour. It took some trial and error, but after a few years I created quite a large collection of spelt Christmas cookie recipes. Although I would love to have the time to make them all, I’ve chosen to only bake my absolute favourites this year… and of course to share those favourites with you!
- The Pecan Snowball Cookies are little balls of joy that my Grandma Grace (my Dad’s Mom) used to make at Christmas, ones that my Mom loved so much she started making them too and now I continue that tradition. They are definitely my absolute favourite.
- The Lemon Crackle Cookies are a newcomer to the Christmas cookie team and are based on a recipe that I found in one of those magazines this time of year that are jammed with cookie recipes from cover to cover. Of all the new cookie recipes I have tried, this one is worth starting a new tradition for. 🙂
- The Shortbread Cookies are very much a staple Christmas cookie for most, but these little gems come with a twist that was passed down by Grandma… there’s a little golden brown sugar in there that gives the cookies this delicate carmelized flavour. It’s unreal, trust me.
- Last, but certainly not least, is my all time favourite cookie from that big cookie tin my Oma would always give at this time of year… Spitzbuben aka Raspberry Jam Cookies. Sounds funny to say, but these little cookie sandwiches are to. die. for.
I feel so honoured to carry my Grandma and Oma’s traditions forward and hope that someday I have a little guy or gal who will be just as wide eyed with excitement to roll little balls of dough or savour their own cookie tin full of edible treasures.
Happy baking!
If you liked this recipe you are going to love these ones!
German Spice Cookies (Spekulatius)
Oma’s Almond Anise Christmas Cookies with Spelt Flour
Hazelnut Macaroons
Pecan Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups organic all purpose, unbleached spelt flour or organic, all purpose wheat flour (227g)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 3/8 cup pecans finely ground (170g)
- 1/2 cup icing sugar (60g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (227g)
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup icing sugar for rolling
Instructions
-
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and pecans. Set aside. In a small bowl, add 1 cup of the icing sugar and set aside.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand beater, beat the butter until creamy then add ½ cup of the icing sugar in small amounts and beat until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.
-
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gradually and beat on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Use a large wooden spoon or your hands to finish combining the ingredients together. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into approximately 1 inch balls and place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Let cool for a few minutes, toss in icing sugar and transfer to a large plate to cool completely.
-
Once cookies have cooled to room temperature toss in icing sugar again. Store in an air tight container.
Lemon Crackle Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (60g)
- 2 ¼ cups organic all purpose, unbleached spelt flour or organic, all purpose wheat flour (270g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 ¼ cups organic sugar (250g)
- 4 tsp grated lemon zest from approximately 2 lemons
- 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tbsp grapeseed oil or other high quality oil (45ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp lemon juice from approximately 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling
- ½ cup icing sugar for rolling
Instructions
-
In a small saucepan melt the butter and then set aside to cool. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
-
In a large food processor, add the sugar and lemon zest and process for about 30 seconds or until zest is finely ground. Add the egg, egg yolk, butter, oil, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Process again for about 30 seconds or until mixture is pale yellow and completely incorporated. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours up to 24 hours.
-
Place the granulated sugar and icing sugar in two separate small bowls then set aside.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, toss in granulated sugar first, then generously toss in icing sugar and place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes rotating the sheet halfway through until dough is set and bottoms are golden brown. Let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Allow to cool completely the store in air tight containers.
Spelt Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp icing sugar sifted
- ¼ cup golden brown sugar lightly packed
- ¼ cup rice flour
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups organic all purpose, unbleached spelt flour also known as white spelt flour
Instructions
-
In a medium bowl sift together the rice flour, salt and spelt flour. Set aside.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand beater, beat the butter until creamy then add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the sifted icing sugar and golden brown sugar and beat until combined. Gradually add the sifted flour and salt and beat on low until the dough comes together. Finish mixing the dough by hand until completely incorporated. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours up to 24 hours.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out to ¼ inch thick, cut shapes with a cookie cutter and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 9 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Transfer cookies to cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Store in air tight containers.
German Jam Cookies (Spitzbuben)
Ingredients
- 250 g organic all purpose, unbleached spelt flour also known as white spelt flour
- 150 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 60 g whole or blanched almonds finely ground
- ½ cup raspberry jam or other jam of your choice
- ¼ cup icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand beater, beat the butter until creamy then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the flour and ground almonds and mix the dough by hand until completely incorporated. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of 12 hours.
-
Remove the dough from the fridge and allow to warm up almost to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out to ¼ inch thick, cut shapes with a cookie cutter and place 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Transfer cookies to cooling racks and allow to cool completely.
-
Once cool, spread a thin layer of jam on the bottom of one cookie and press the bottom of a second cookie on to it. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Before serving, dust one side of each pair of cookies with icing sugar (optional). Store in air tight container.
