Oma's Old-Fashion German Christmas Cookies is from a recipe that my mother dictated to me to add to my recipe card collection. That recipe was passed on to her by her mother.
It might be a lot of work to make them, but these authentic German Christmas cookies have just the right amount of sweetness and crispiness:
They might just become your family's favorite holiday cookies, too!
¾ cup sugar
Yolks of 1-1/2 hardboiled eggs (be sure the yolks are not black)
1-1/2 raw eggs
1 lemon, juice and zest*
Handful of walnuts, chopped fine
1 tablespoon brandy (optional)
3 cups flour, or more as needed (Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour can be used)
Cream together the butter and sugar. In a separate plate, crumb the hardboiled eggs with a fork. Add raw eggs, lemon juice and zest, and brandy (if used). Mix well. Gradually add the flour until all added. Mix well until blended, then form into a ball.
Turn the ball out onto a floured board, then divide into quarters, working with one quarter dough at a time.
Using a rolling pin, roll to ¼ inch thick, then use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Brush with egg white-lemon mixture and sprinkle with finely chopped nuts.
Bake at 350° until crisp but do NOT brown on edges.
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OMA'S GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Ingredients:
½ lb butter¾ cup sugar
Yolks of 1-1/2 hardboiled eggs (be sure the yolks are not black)
The traditional recipe calls for brushing with an egg white/lemon juice mixture and sprinkling with chopped nuts. Save some of the raw egg whites in a cup and stir in a little of the lemon juice. Save this to brush the mixture onto the unbaked cookies, after which you will sprinkle with nuts.
1-1/2 raw eggs
1 lemon, juice and zest*
Handful of walnuts, chopped fine
1 tablespoon brandy (optional)
3 cups flour, or more as needed (Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour can be used)
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| How I Make Grated Lemon Zest |
*How Do You Zest a Lemon?
You might be wondering what is lemon zest? The "zest" is what you get when you grate a lemon rind. I use a firm fresh lemon and just grate the yellow part all around the lemon. Don't shave the white part or it gives a bitter taste. You can use a special lemon zester but I use the tiniest part of my metal food grater to make lemon zest.
I use a clean stiff brush to dust the zest from the grater into a bowl.
Instructions:
Have your favorite cookie cutters ready.Cream together the butter and sugar. In a separate plate, crumb the hardboiled eggs with a fork. Add raw eggs, lemon juice and zest, and brandy (if used). Mix well. Gradually add the flour until all added. Mix well until blended, then form into a ball.
Turn the ball out onto a floured board, then divide into quarters, working with one quarter dough at a time.
Using a rolling pin, roll to ¼ inch thick, then use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Brush with egg white-lemon mixture and sprinkle with finely chopped nuts.
Bake at 350° until crisp but do NOT brown on edges.
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