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German Cinnamon Cookies

Messy decorating but perfectly baked cookies!
Cookie dough is flecked with almonds bits

This is a great old recipe that’s more flavorful than sugar cookies. It’s a true almond flavor from finely chopped almonds. It’s also flavored with cinnamon and vanilla for a true German taste.

This makes a lot of cookie dough. You can freeze the extra dough or bake all the cookies and freeze the extras cookies. The color is a deep tan and the added flecks of finely chopped almonds adds texture and interest.

I like weighing the flour and sugar when I bake. It is a much more accurate measurement, so I’ve added the weights in grams.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, 3 sticks, room temperature

1 pound confectioners sugar, 454 grams

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups sifted flour, 472 grams

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound almonds, finely chopped

Directions

  1. Whisk together sifted flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a mixer beat butter till light. Add confectioners sugar and beat till creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat till fluffy.
  3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix at a slow speed just until combined.
  4. Add nuts to dough and mix until combined.
  5. Scrape dough into a medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight or several hours
  6. Take a cup or 2 of dough and pat into a round shape on a floured surface. Roll to desired thickness. Cut with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Keep 1-2 inches in between cookies. Arrange cookies of same size on each sheet for even baking.
  7. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-8 minutes or until done. Do not let cookies brown at the edges. They will puff up. Also they crisp up as they cool.
  8. Cool cookies on cooling racks.
  9. Decorate after cooling several hours if desired. I use Royal Icing. Recipe below

ROYAL ICING

Combine in a medium bowl 1 egg white and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice. Add confectioners to desired consistency. Thicker icing for piping. Thinner for spreading and dipping. Start with 1 cup confectioners sugar and see what the consistency is.

Voila!

Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps

This 1950s recipe is one my mom made and has become my favorite cookie. It took me awhile to get the technique down and the recipe correct. She would call them Molasses Sugar Cookies or Ginger Snaps. I call them Ginger Snaps.

The thing to remember is that it’s a crisp cookie. If you make the cookie too large they will not be crisp. Use a ruler and roll the cookies into balls no larger than 1/2 to 3/4 inches diameter. This will make a 2 inch cookie which is perfect for 2 or 3 bites of crisp gingery spicy cookie.

The spices you use makes a difference too. Use fresh spices for the best flavor! Have fun with this spicy and aromatic Ginger Snap!

A couple things you need to know ahead of time. You’ll need 1/4 cup molasses. This is NOT dark corn syrup. Molasses is very flavorful and the brand I use is Grandma’s Molasses. Mostly because I can usually find it at the grocery stores

Also I like a lot of spice. If you don’t then add less spice. The original recipe is 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. I usually measure in heaping spoons!

Dry Ingredients Waiting to be Whisked Together
Roll 1/2 to 3/4 inch balls of chilled dough between your hands and then roll in a small bowl of sugar
Space the balls on parchment about 2 inches apart
Bake them for about 7 minutes at 375 degrees. They will puff up and then flatten while in the oven
Cool the cookies on the baking sheets 10 minutes. Then place them on cooling racks

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 heaping teaspoon ground ginger

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Extra sugar for rolling cookies

Directions

  1. Place melted butter in a stand mixer bowl
  2. Add sugar, molasses and egg
  3. Beat well until light and fluffy
  4. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt
  5. Add dry ingredients to molasses mixture and mix until just combined. Don’t over beat
  6. Chill dough several hours or overnight
  7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
  8. Place some sugar in a small bowl
  9. Take a small teaspoon of dough and roll into a ball between your hands. Balls should measure 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter.
  10. Roll the balls into the sugar. I do about 6 at a time in about 1/2 cup or so of sugar
  11. Place balls on baking sheets covered with parchment. Bake about 7 minutes, depending if they are 1/2 inch across or more than 1 inch. You will see the cookies puff up and rise. Wait till they collapse flat before you take them out of the oven!!! But don’t let them get too brown. Take them out of the oven as soon after they all collapse flat
  12. Cool on the baking sheet 10 minutes. Then transfer cookies to cooling racks till completely cold
  13. This recipe makes about 90 cookies
  14. Voila!
Also called Ginger Snaps!