These German iced cookies are called Hanseaten. Not only are they beautiful to look at, with their red and white icing, but they also have an interesting history. These cookies are part of traditional North German cuisine, but they are also a great gift for Valentine's Day.
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What are Hanseaten Cookies?
Hanseaten is North-German cookies that consist of two shortbread biscuits sandwiched between a thin layer of either raspberry or strawberry jam. The top cookie is iced with a red and white glaze. The shape is either round or heart-shaped.
This cookie was invented in Lübeck by the pastry maker Heinrich Schabbel at the end of the 19th century. The name "Hanseat" is honouring the hometown of Heinrich Schabbel, "Lübeck". It is one of the three Hanseatic towns in Germany. [source: Wikipedia: Hanseaten Gebäck]
The pattern of the icing is reflecting the colours and pattern of the Hanseatic flag - red and white.
You will find these cookies in bakeries around Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen.
What were Hanseaten?
The term "Hanseat" refers to a member of the upper class of one of the three Hanseatic towns: Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck. Their rank was often equal to that of nobility in other European countries and would consist of the likes of mayors, senators, and senior pastors.
How to pronounce
As an English Speaker, you pronounce Hanseaten as HAN-SEA-AH-TEN.
How to make them
Equipment
- cookie cutters (heart-shaped or round)
- baking parchment
- non-stick silicon baking mat (affiliate link) (optional)
- icing bags
Ingredients:
(make sure to check the printable recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities)
- flour Germany Type 405, UK plain flour, USA pastry flour
- butter cold, diced, and unsalted
- egg yolks - these will help make the cookie nice and crumbly, but also make it easier to roll the dough.
- icing sugar/ confectioners sugar
- vanilla sugar (can be substituted with 1 teaspoon vanilla flavour)
To decorate
- ½ jar raspberry jam
- icing sugar/ confectioners sugar
- Juice from one lemon
- Food colouring
Recipe Steps
Making the cookies
- Place the flour on a non-stick baking mat. Sieve the icing/confectioner sugar on the flour. Add the vanilla sugar.
- Add the butter and egg yolks, and knead the mixture to a smooth dough.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm. Place in the fridge and leave to rest for approx 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F top to bottom heat. Line a baking tray with parchment.
- Dust your work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin (affiliate link), roll out the dough to approx 3 mm thickness. As the dough can be sticky use the cling film, you used to wrap the dough in by placing it over the dough. this will prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin (affiliate link).
- Cut out hearts, or round shapes with a cookie cutter. Place them on the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for approx 12 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven and leave to cool down.
Icing the cookies
- In the meantime mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice to a thick paste. If it gets too liquid, add more icing sugar. If it gets too dry you can add a little bit more lemon juice.
- Divide the icing into two portions. In one, place a couple of drops of red food colouring and mix.
- Divide the cookies into two piles. One will be for the tops, one for the bottoms. To decorate the cookies, I found it easier to first decorate the tops, and then wait for them to dry before sandwiching them with another cookie.
- You can either pour the icing, in an icing bag each. This will give you a more precise result. Alternatively you can spread the icing with a spoon and a knife. Cover one half in white icing and the other in red icing. Leave to set.
- Place a tiny scoop of jam on the bottom cookie. Make sure the sides are not covered, as otherwise, they might squeeze the jam out of the sides when you place the top cookie on top.
- Add the top cookie onto the bottom. And they are ready to serve.
Storage Instructions
Store the cookies in an airtight container. They should last 2 weeks. This way they will stay moist, soft and crumbly. You can store them for even longer if you leave the assembly for when you want to serve them.
More German Cookie Recipe
- Heidesand - German Shortbread Cookies
- Easy Marzipan Cookies
- Spitzbuben
- Bethmännchen
- German Butter Cookies
More Ideas for German Valentine's Day Recipes
Recipe
Hanseaten- German Iced Biscuit
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cups (200 g) butter cold
- 2 egg yolks from medium eggs at room temperature
To decorate
- ½ jar raspberry jam
- lemon juice of 1 whole lemon
- 2 cups (200 g) powdered sugar
- Red food colouring
Instructions
- Place the flour on a non-stick baking mat. Sift the powdered sugar on the flour. Add the vanilla extract (affiliate link).1 cup powdered sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 egg yolks
- Add the butter and egg yolks and knead the mixture to a smooth dough.1 teaspoon vanilla extract (affiliate link), ¾ cups butter cold
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm. Place in the fridge and leave to rest for approximately 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F top to bottom heat. Line a baking tray with parchment.
- Dust your work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin (affiliate link), roll out the dough to approximately 3 mm thickness. As the dough can be sticky, use the cling film you use to wrap the dough. Place it over the dough. This will prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin (affiliate link).
- Cut our heart or round shapes with a cookie cutter. Place them on the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for around 12 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven and leave to cool down.
Icing the cookies
- In the meantime, mix the powdered sugar with the lemon juice to a thick paste, adding the lemon juice in small amounts. If it gets too runny, add more powdered sugar. If it becomes too dry, add a bit of lemon juice.lemon juice, 2 cups powdered sugar
- Divide the icing into two portions. Place a couple of drops of red food coloring in one and mix.Red food colouring
Assemble
- Divide the cookies into two piles. One will be for the tops, one for the bottoms. To decorate the cookies, I found it easier to decorate the tops than to wait for them to dry before sandwiching them with another cookie.
- You can either pour the icing into an icing bag for a more precise result. Or you can spread the icing with a spoon and a knife. Cover one half in white icing and the other in red icing. Leave to set.
- Place a tiny scoop of jam on the bottom cookie. Make sure the sides are not covered; otherwise, they might squeeze the jam out of the sides when you place the top cookie on top.½ jar raspberry jam
- Add the top cookie onto the bottom. And they are ready to serve.
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