Authentic Bethmännchen - Marzipan Almond Cookies

A glas cake platter with Frankfurter Bethmännchen placed on top.

5 from 7 votes

Authentic Bethmännchen - Marzipan Almond Cookies

Try this delicious speciality from Frankfurt. It is a cookie formed into a ball of marzipan with, icing /confectioners sugar, almonds and rosewater

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1

Servings cookies

Calories 37kcal

Author by Marita Sinden

Equipment

Ingredients

¼ cups whole almonds
7 ounce marzipan
¾ cups ground almonds
1 egg
¾ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon flour
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon rosewater
2 tablespoon orange liquor (you can substitute with Amaretto if you prefer)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Add a little water (about 500 ml into a saucepan and add the almonds to it. Bring the water to a boil for no longer than 2 minutes. Then quickly strain the almonds. You will find that the skin just slips off the nuts. With a knife (now is the best time as they are softened) slice the almonds in half lengthwise. Spread them on a paper towel to dry.
¼ cups whole almonds
Separate the egg and place the egg yolk and egg white into separate bowls. Place the egg yolk in the fridge.
1 egg
Sieve the powdered sugar to avoid any lumps. Roughly chop the marzipan into smaller pieces. Mix with the sugar, flour, ground almonds, egg white, and orange liqueur and knead to a homogenous dough.
7 ounce marzipan, ¾ cups ground almonds , 1 egg, ¾ cups powdered sugar , 2 tablespoon flour , 2 tablespoon orange liquor
Next, form the dough into an even roll and with a knife, cut off equally-sized pieces.
Form the dough pieces into balls and place them on the baking tray. (My balls had a rough 3 cm diameter)
Press three almond halves into the top of each ball.
Now, mix the milk and egg yolks. Apply the egg wash with a pastry brush on the cookies. You can also apply a further tablespoon of rosewater or orange liqueur on to the cookies before baking.
1 egg, 4 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon rosewater
Preheat your oven to 170°C or 340°F and bake your cookies for about 15 minutes.
Leave to cool. If desired, dust them with icing sugar before serving.

Notes

I strongly recommend checking on the step by step instruction pictures on the main post.

Recipe Variations

There are not one recipe for these iconic Frankfurter cookies but every Frankfurt family has their own. Here are some ways you can adapt the recipe:

without egg - to make vegan Bethmännchen simply omit the egg in the dough. Instead of coating the cookie with egg wash, you can brush it with a little lemon juice and (soya, oak or almond) milk instead. Naturally, the bethmännchen is without butter.
without flour - You do not have to use the flour in the recipe. Lots of recipes don't but I like adding it for the consistency and flavour. (Otherwise, I think it gets to sweet). This will make the cookies gluten-free.
without rosewater (affiliate link) - You do not have to add
the rosewater (affiliate link) into the dough nor brush with it. It is traditional to use rosewater (affiliate link) but not obligatory.
non-alcoholic bethmännchen - If you do not want to use liquor, it is fine. For me the best liquors are orange liqueur (affiliate link) or amaretto (affiliate link). But you can leave it out.

Storage Instructions

These traditional cookies from Frankfurt will stay fresh for up to 4 weeks. It is important that you leave them too cool entirely before placing them in a cookie tin (affiliate link).

This will prevent them from sticking together and preserve their look. Ideally, you will store each type of cookie in a separate cooking tin. If you want to store several kinds of cookies in the same tin, I would advise you to separate them with baking parchment so the flavours do not merge.

Nutrition