Plätzchen: German Christmas Cookies With A Long Tradition And History… (2024)
With December now in full swing and with Nikolaus only a day away, it is definitely cookie time. And not just any cookies. But a specific type ofWeihnachtskekseor Christmas cookies. Cookies with a long family tradition. To this day, my grandmother and my mom still bake loads and loads of these cookies and spend hours lovingly decorating them with frosting and all sorts of sprinkles, before filling them into tins with Christmas designs and gifting them to friends and other family members. The German “Butterplätzchen.”
To this day, I still remember my brother and I would always hang around the kitchen soaking in the freshly baked smell of these cookies and almost every single time, we would always dip our fingers in the bowl to steal a taste of the cookie batter. While I loved frosting cookies for hours while I was little, I have to admit that now I like them just plain or with just a dash of frosting.
Since this recipe has been in our family for generations now and is a well-kept secret, I thought I would share a chocolate version with my readers today.Schokoplätzchenwith a deer pattern. The wordPlätzchen,which literally means ‘a little place to sit’ and is pronounced ‘plehtschyun,’ consist of flour, sugar and butter (even though many Germans use a special backing margarine for most of their cookies). Additionally, eggs, milk, vanilla sugar, some baking powder are also added along with a choice of lemon extract and even baking marzipan.
Throughout Germany and other German-speaking countries like Switzerland and Austria, Plätzchen sometimes are also known asKekseor cookies, and Guetzli, Platzerl,Bredla,Loible/Loibla, or evenBroetle. But no matter what you call them, all of them are cut into various shapes using cookie cutters related to Christmas. And are a great way to spend a few hours with loved ones. The earliest Christmas cookies in the United States were brought by the Dutch in the early 17th century. Between 1871 and 1906 thanks to a change of importation laws for products imported from Germany, the first cookie cutters also became available in America. So, in a way Germany has shaped many Christmas traditions, not just the Christmas tree, Christmas tree ornaments, but also Christmas cookies.
Ingredients:
200 grams or 1 2/3 cups of flour
60 grams or 8 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of backing powder
100 grams or 1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg
125 grams or 1/2 cup of butter
100 grams or 2/3 cup or 4 oz of dark chocolate, grated
a pinch of lemon peel
20 grams or a little over 4 teaspoons of cocoa powder
Instructions:
Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat until combined.
Continue to mix until the dough is smooth.
Take the dough out of the bowl and form into a ball before cutting it into two equal pieces (that will make it easier to work with the dough especially if you double the recipe).
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Flour your table or baking surface.
First using plain rolling pin, roll out dough to about a 1/2 inch thick.
Using a wooden engraved rolling pin (a similar one like mine can be found on amazon) go over the dough one more time paying close attention to the design detail.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes and transfer cookies to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
In Germany, the Christmas season starts with baking the first batch of “Plätzchen,” traditional German Christmas cookies. The custom of baking Christmas cookies dates back many centuries to before Christ.
The dessert's roots can be traced to the 13th century when spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg were introduced to Europe. Franconian Monks are believed to have been the first to combine honey, spices, and breadcrumbs to create a sweet, flavorful dough. Lebkuchen has become associated with the holidays since then.
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.
The German tradition of biscuits and sweet pastries can be traced back to a very old Christian custom. As early as the 15th and 16th century, blessed bread was distributed to the faithful at the end of mass. The name of the Spekulatius biscuits comes from the Latin 'Specculum', or mirror.
By the 16th century Christmas biscuits had become popular across Europe, with Lebkuchen being favoured in Germany and pepparkakor in Sweden, while in Norway krumkake were popular. The earliest examples of Christmas cookies in the United States were brought by the Dutch in the early 17th century.
Not surprisingly, Lebkuchen have historical roots in Medieval Europe, when they were first eaten as Lekach, a type of honey cake that was brought through trade routes to Central and Eastern Europe by Italian Jews. Honey cakes were the primary treat for feasts in Medieval Europe.
WHAT IS ON THE BOTTOM OF LEBKUCHEN? Oblaten Lebkuchen are distinguished by a signature edible wafer (collectively called Oblaten in German) on the bottom. The wafers are made from wheat flour, starch, and water.
Lebkuchen was invented by monks in Franconia, Germany, in the 13th century. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg). The latter is the most famous exporter today of the product known as Nürnberger Lebkuchen (Nuremberg Lebkuchen).
The name speculaas has to do with the wooden molds the cookies are made in (we call it a speculaasplank, speculaas (sometimes also called speculoos) comes from the word speculum which means; mirror). One of the more famous shapes is a windmill of course!
Many claim this tradition was started as a way for parents to instill a sense of thankfulness in their children. In fact, many believe cookies symbolize the spirit of giving.
Over a lifetime, the average American eats 35,000 cookies (we think we can beat that!). Santa Clause eats an estimated 336 million cookies on Christmas Eve. Americans spend $550 million on Oreos each year—it was the best-selling cookie of the 20th century, and it's still going strong!
As a Christmas bread, stollen was baked for the first time at the Council of Trent in 1545, and was made with flour, yeast, oil and water. The Advent season was a time of fasting, and bakers were not allowed to use butter, only oil, and the cake was tasteless and hard.
These buttery holiday stalwarts have allegedly been around since at least the 16th century, when food historians believe the first cookie press was invented. Spritz comes from the German word spritzen, meaning “to squirt”—and as such, spritz cookies are always extruded.
Lebkuchen refers to German gingerbread, while herzen means heart! These hearts are adorned with names or sweet sayings similar to Valentine's cookies, and given to loved ones. For even more fun, the cookies are strung with ribbon and can be used as decoration or worn around the neck.
Thus, early lebkuchen recipes called for seven spices to symbolize the seven days of creation, and early lebkuchen molds featured biblical themes. Later, the molds became more secular featuring knights and nobleman, coats of arms and outdoor scenes. By the 19th century elaborate lebkuchen hearts came into vogue.
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Introduction: My name is Lilliana Bartoletti, I am a adventurous, pleasant, shiny, beautiful, handsome, zealous, tasty person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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