German Spice Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extracts. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, spices and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with floured 3-in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Decorate tops with almonds, pressing to adhere., Bake 9-11 minutes or until light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, brown sugar, and molasses on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off a heaping teaspoon of dough, roll into a ball, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough, spacing balls 1 1/2 inches apart. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.)
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Glaze: Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk, and kirsch, if desired. Using a fork, dip each cookie in glaze to coat. Tap to remove excess glaze and place on wire rack to dry. Repeat with remaining cookies.
• To decorate: While the glaze is still wet, top cookies with a small pinch of peppercorns, if desired. Alternatively, let glaze dry completely before mixing together luster dust and kirsch with a small paintbrush. Lightly brush tops of cookies with luster dust mixture, if desired. Let dry before serving. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add the brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and pepper. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the egg mixture. Stir in raisins and walnuts. , Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until surface cracks. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, beat eggs.
• Add the brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon and pepper.
• Combine flour, baking soda and salt, gradually add to the egg mix.
• Stir in raisin and nuts.
• Drop by tablespoonsful 2 inches apart onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until surface cracks. (My oven cooks/bakes really hot and so I can only bake at 350 for 10 minutes).
• Remove to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, walnuts, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the vegetable shortening with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into rounds using a 2-inch round cookie cutter and place 1-1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Melt chocolate over low heat and drizzle over cooled cookies.

Steps:

• Soak the currants in the brandy for 10 minutes. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, and dark chocolate. Mix well with a whisk.
• Put the butter, sugar, vanilla, and lemon and orange zest in a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment and beat to combine but not aerate much, about 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly add the egg and mix for about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the currants and brandy. Mix until everything comes together.
• Gently knead the dough in the bowl with your hands until it comes together and is uniform. Divide the dough into 1 3/4-oz / 50g chunks and shape each chunk into a perfectly round ball. Place the balls on 1 or 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them about 3/4 inch / 2 cm apart, and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top firms up but the center is still slightly soft. Remove from the oven. Once the cookies are out of the oven, allow to cool for only 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. While the cookies are still warm, whisk together the glaze ingredients until a thin and smooth icing forms. Pour 1 tablespoon of the glaze over each biscuit, leaving it to drip and coat the biscuit with a very thin, almost transparent film. Finish each with 3 pieces of candied peel placed at the center. Leave to set and serve, or store in an airtight container for a day or two.

Steps:

• Cover almonds with boiling water in a bowl. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes and drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Pat almonds dry and remove skin. Allow almonds to dry on paper towels.
• Place half the almonds in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add apricots and dates; pulse until fruit is chopped. Reserve remaining 1 cup almonds.
• Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, cloves, cardamom, and salt in bowl. Beat eggs, brown sugar, honey, molasses, water, almond extract, orange zest, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add apricot mixture, blending until evenly distributed. Gradually stir in flour mixture on medium speed until dough comes together. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out cookies with a 2 1/2 to 3-inch diameter cookie cutter. Arrange cookies about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Lightly press 3 almonds into each cookie with tips towards the center to create a star pattern.
• Bake in preheated oven until cookies begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, whisk confectioners' sugar, milk, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest in a bowl until glaze is smooth. Brush warm cookies with glaze and allow cookies to cool completely.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, apple pie spice, cloves, cardamom, and red pepper; set aside.
• In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add molasses and brown sugar. Beat until combined. Beat in flour mixture just until combined.
• Divide dough in half; cover and chill for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
• Preheat oven to 375°F
• On a lightly floured surface roll half of the dough at a time to a 1/16 inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round scalloped cutter, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 6 minutes or until edges are browned. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. Makes about 66.
• TO STORE: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container, cover. Store at room temperature.
• Better Homes Christmas Cookies.