IN DER WEIHNACHTSBÄCKEREI: GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Go to any German supermarket and from September onwards and you will be met with many different kinds of Christmas cookies — or ‘Plätzchen’, as they are called here. Plätzchen in September!!!!! Outrageous!!!!! at least one person will yell across the aisle: the appropriate time to start consuming holiday confectionery is always a topic of discussion. Traditionally, these cookies are baked at home and consumed during the advent period, starting four Sundays before Christmas day. A big part of their appeal is the social aspect that is baked into them: almost never does one bake Plätzchen alone, and never does one bake just for oneself. Boxes of Plätzchen are neatly packed and shipped off to grandchildren at university or shared with neighbours and hairdressers alike. It’s not just the cookies themselves that are shared and gifted — so are the recipes used to make them, although it isn’t always all ‘ho-ho-ho’ and ‘jingle all the way’. Long discussions — even fights! — are not unheard of when the best recipe for this-or-that is at stake. So, we won’t try to tell you how to make them, we’ll just give you our personal top ten.
Vanillekipferl
Probably the most famous of all German Christmas cookies are Vanillekipferl. Legend has it that they were invented in Vienna during the unsuccessful Ottoman occupation of 1683 as a way of mocking the half moon shape on the occupier’s flag. What is more certain, however, is that the half moon shape became world famous when it made the move to France by way of Marie-Antoinette. Here, in the late 19th century, it developed into what we now know as a croissant. Meanwhile, the Vanillekipferl was and has remained a buttery shortbread style cookie made with ground almonds — positively drowned in powdered sugar.
Lebkuchen
Probably the most ancient of all Christmas pastries is Lebkuchen, or gingerbread: the first examples of this style of baked goods date back to the time of the pharaohs in Egypt. Of course, these breads were not spiced in the same way and were also not related to any single holiday. But, even then, it was festive fare, loved in part for its longevity. Lebkuchen is made of rye flour and lots and lots of liquid sweetener — traditionally honey. Because no water or fats are added, it keeps for a very long time. It was during the middle ages that monasteries began preparing Lebkuchen for Christmas, and after the colonisation of Asia, the now typical spices began to appear. It can be shaped almost any way, so there’s bound to be something for everybody. We went for that most German of shapes, the pretzel.
Engelsaugen
If it sounds like an excuse for not finding much information, that’s because it is, but let’s just say some things are just so good you don’t need to know too much about them. Anyway, whether you call them Engelsaugen, Ochsenaugen, Kulleraugen or Husarenkrapfen and whether you fill them with jam or chocolate ganache — according to the Dr Oetker website, “grandma’s Christmas plate” can’t do without them.
Linzer Augen
Linzer Augen originate in the Austrian city of Linz and share quite a few similarities with the more famous Linzer Torte. Both are made of a buttery dough that contains almond meal, and both are traditionally filled with redcurrant jelly. However, they differ in the fact that the Augen are filled with jam after they come out of the oven, and not, as is the case for the torte, before. The traditional Linzer Augen have three small holes arranged in a triangle shape, but these days, shapes range from stars and hearts to Christmas trees and smiley faces.
Linzer Kipferl
The city of Linz is a pretty big deal when it comes to Plätzchen, with two different kinds making the list. The Linzer Kipferl is an example of what is called “Spritzgebäck”, a grotesquely buttery dough that gets pressed through a nozzle and is baked low and slow into a melt-in-your-mouth dream of a cookie. While we have seen the Kipferl shape before, the chocolate-dipped edges give the Kipferl from Linz a character all its own.
Schwarz-weiß-Gebäck
Schwarz-weiß-Gebäck is neither really schwarz, nor is it weiß, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s pretty cool looking. Different households make different versions of the cookie: there’s the classic spiral, of course there’s the chequerboard, but you might also see striped cookies — and the lazy baker can always go for a marbled effect. Regardless, it’s a classic Plätzchen.
Berliner Brot
Berliner Brot is neither Brot, nor is it from Berlin. It’s also not a brownie. Instead, it’s more of a West-German cousin to Italian Cantuccini, filled with whole hazelnuts and traditionally flavoured with a syrup made by boiling down apple juice into a thick treacle. It keeps for a really long time and seems to get better the longer it sits, so make a double batch and keep some for the days after Christmas.
Zimtstern
What says Christmas more than the star shape — representing the star of Betlehem, which, in the nativity story, led the three wise men to baby Jesus. Or: what says Christmas more than cinnamon infused cookies? The Zimtstern has it all: a nutty, crispy, spiced base, covered with an eggwhite glaze that gets dried in the oven. They are almost as old as the bible, too: first mentioned in 1536, when Cardinal Campeggio served some to Emperor Carl the Fifth, they became something of a sleeper hit. It wasn’t until centuries later that regular people could afford cinnamon too, and the Zimtstern’s lore spread across the lands.
Spekulatius
Spekulatius originated in the so-called low countries, or what are now the Netherlands and Belgium. It is a crisp, snappy and decidedly spicy cookie, almost always decorated with wonderfully intricate designs, which are achieved by pressing the dough into wooden moulds. A mixture of cinnamon, cardamom, white pepper and cloves forms the basis of its wintery appeal, the molasses-rich brown sugar brings it home — if there ever was a product of colonialism, it’s Spekulatius. Like the Zimtstern, Spekulatius was a rare luxury until European consumer societies were fully formed in the second half of the twentieth century. Now, no Christmas is complete without it.
Wespennester
Wespennester, or wasp’s nests, are somewhat controversial. Whipped egg whites are mixed with almond pieces and chopped chocolate and baked into a hearty merengue that really does look like a wasp’s nest, which isn’t necessarily something most people like to think about while eating. But, more problematically, being essentially a merengue, they cast doubt on everything a Plätzchen is. There is no rolled out though, heck, there isn’t really any dough at all. But they’re pretty tasty anyway, so if you won’t tell, we won’t either.
Text: Yannic Moeken
Photography: Junshen Wu
Set: Yannic Moeken & Gemma Wilson
Cookies: Sandra von Mayer-Myrtenhain & Yannic Moeken
Creative Production: Sandra von Mayer-Myrtenhain
