These German hazelnut Christmas cookies are easy to make & look and taste great, with a delicious flavoring from the hazelnut.

I mentioned before that I have been lucky enough to live in a few places. This has included being in other countries at this time of year when there are often lots of interesting things to experience and, of course, eat. These days as we are becoming more and more aware of and interested in other cultures, we seem to adopt many traditions and food.

That is certainly true of some of the sweet goodies around at this time of year. Italian panettone, German stollen and sometimes British Christmas cake or Christmas pudding are circulating that bit further. German Christmas cookies are also ones that have traveled not too badly. Though as with many things, the bought versions are never as good as homemade. These German hazelnut Christmas cookies are the perfect example.

Recipes rediscovered

I studied in Germany for a while and not so long ago I came across a number of recipes for Christmas cookies that our teacher gave us one time. It both brought back memories and reminded me how out of practice my German is. I was finding it tricky to translate the recipes that at the time were like second nature to understand.

Anyway, I battled on and have had a play with the recipes. I have been enjoying the results, too. Certainly they have gone down well in this house and, if nothing else, look great on the tree thanks to the cute snowflake cutters I managed to get when I was across in Edinburgh last week.

But don’t waste them on the tree, they are definitely worth eating too. These cookies are lovely and crumbly with a delicious flavor from the hazelnut flour/ground hazelnuts. You would think there was more in there, it gives a surprisingly complex flavor, but the recipe is actually very simple.

How they’re made

These are easy to make and are fun to make with kids as well, though with more normal cutters rather than slightly fiddly ones as I went for. They keep not badly, too, if they get the chance, and can be decorated as you like. You can use frosting/icing, a dusting of powdered sugar or dipped in or drizzled with chocolate.

They would be a great treat to bring to any holiday party and fit nicely in to that ‘look more impressive than the effort gone into them’ category. I have reduced the sugar a bit from the original though there is still a bit. As with so much associated with this time of year, it’s not for every day but for now and again, it’s a tasty treat.

Just a couple last notes on making them. First, my apologies for not adding cup measures, I forgot to check and found it easy enough to just put the bowl on the scales as I added so hopefully that works for you too. If you do use a more fiddly cutter as I did, you will probably want to roll slightly thicker. Make sure you flour your rolling pin or it will stick (speaking from experience). The dough can be hard to pull together initially but it becomes a lot easier to use as it warms and is rolled out. If you want to dust with sugar, do this while they are still warm, but icing or chocolate should be put on once cooled.

Other than that, enjoy these delicious German hazelnut Christmas cookies, and Frohe Weihnachten!