Authentic Spitzbuben (German Jam Cookies)

5 from 9 votes

Authentic Spitzbuben (German Jam Cookies)

A classic German Christmas cookie. Spitzbuben is made with ground hazelnut, buttery shortbread pastry and layerd with delicious jam.

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Resting Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings cookies

Calories 244kcal

Author Marita

Equipment

silicon baking mat optional - but it prevents the dough sticking to the work surfaces
Rolling Pin
Rolling Pin Guides optional, but they make sure that your dough is rolled out in an even thickness.
Christmas Cookie Cutters
Linzer Cookie Cutters
Piping Bag

Ingredients

350 g unsalted butter 12 oz
250 g granulated sugar 8.8 oz
1 pinch salt
500 g flour 17.5 oz (UK plain flour, USA pastry flour, Germany type 405)
150 g ground hazelnut 5 oz can be subsituted with ground almonds
1 egg yolk from an medium egg

To decorate

1 jar jam about 200 g /7 oz. Choose what you fancy. Red Currant Jam (Traditional) Cherrie Jam, Plum Jam etc.
100 g icing sugar /confectioners sugar 3.5 oz

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Add the butter, sugar and salt to a bowl. Knead it through with your hands to a homogenous mass. This will prevent butter clumps in your dough later on.
350 g unsalted butter, 250 g granulated sugar, 1 pinch salt
Now add the flour, hazelnut and egg yolk. Knead until combined and then roll it into a big ball..Cover the cookie dough with clingfilm and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This will allow the butter to cool down again and make the dough easier to shape.
500 g flour, 150 g ground hazelnut, 1 egg yolk
Preheat your oven to 180°C or 356°F, top to bottom heat.
Divide the dough into two portions and then roll it out to approx. 3 mm thick.
Using cookie cutter of your choice, cut out equal amounts of top and bottom cookies. For the tops, if you don't have a "Linzer cookie cutter", use a smaller cookie cutter or a round tip of your piping bag to make a hole in the middle.
Place the cookies on a try lined with baking paper. Always make one tray with tops, and one tray with bottom cookies.
Bake for around 6-10 minutes. The cookies should be golden brown, and not get too dark.
Should your jam be difficult to spread, you can heat it up in a saucepan a little to make it more liquid. If you are using a jam with bits, strain the jam through a sieve.
You can either spread the jam with a spoon, or, my preferred method is to fill the jam in a piping bag, cut a hole at the small end, and pipe it onto the bottom biscuits. Leave a 2-3 mm edge free when adding the jam, otherwise, it will squeeze out the sides.
1 jar jam
Sprinkled the top biscuits with icing sugar before placing them onto the bottom biscuits.
100 g icing sugar /confectioners sugar
Serve immediately or place in a cookie tin until needed.

Notes

I strongly advise you to check the step-to-step instruction pictures in the main post.

Expert Tips for Assembling the cookies

Ensure that you give the dough enough time to rest in the fridge. This will avoid the dough getting too warm and soft to work with.
Ideally, use cold hands and a cold surface when rolling to prevent the dough from getting too warm and soft.
If you find that the dough sticks to the work surface when rolling, cover the surface with some flour. A non-stick silicone mat can help in this case as well.
Wait until the cookies have completely cooled before assembling them. This will prevent them from breaking.

Can you make the dough ahead of time?

You can prepare the dough up to three days ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to roll and cut them.

Storage Instructions

Store the cookies in an airtight container. In Germany, it is customary to store Christmas cookies in special cookie tins. If you store more than one Christmas cookie recipe in one tin, use baking parchment to separate them so their flavours don't mix up. They should last between 2-3 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.

In my opinion, the Spitzbuben tastes best the day after baking.

Nutrition