These jam thumbprint cookies  with a chocolate cookie dough base bring together a soft, buttery dough, rich cocoa and bright apricot jam. They require no chilling time, shape easily, and deliver that classic Austrian flavour combination beloved during the Christmas season. Whether you’re searching for the perfect christmas thumbprint cookie recipe, a sweet treat with a festive touch or a jam-filled classic, this recipe fits effortlessly into your holiday season. Chocolate thumbprint cookies have to be on your christmas cookies baking list!

Why You Should Bake These Cookies This Christmas

They honour the famous Sachertorte, look elegant on a Christmas cookie tray, deliver deep chocolate flavour with minimal effort, store beautifully for gifting, and offer a nostalgic, family-friendly baking moment — exactly the kind of tradition that makes Christmas baking meaningful.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 250 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100 g brown sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 50 g unsweetened baking cocoa
• 300 g all purpose flour

For the filling:

• 300 g finely strained apricot jam, warmed

For the decoration:

• 100 g melted dark chocolate
• 50 g chocolate sprinkles

Extras : prepare a baking tray with parchment paper, a kitchen scale, stand mixer with a paddle attachment  or an electric hand mixer

Yield & Timing

Yield: approx. 35 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Instructions

1. Make the dough

Start with room-temperature butter — properly softened butter creams smoothly and incorporates air, which keeps the dough soft and prevents the cookies from cracking when shaped. Beat the butter, sugar and egg until light and creamy in a mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment .

In a medium bowl sift flour, cocoa powder and salt directly into the bowl. Mix until a smooth, soft dough forms. Because of the butter structure, the dough requires no chilling.

2. Shape the cookies (simple shaping instruction)

Scoop teaspoon-sized portions of dough and roll them into even 1-inch balls between your hands. This dough shapes easily and cleanly, making it perfect for beginners and family baking.

Place the balls on a with parchment prepared baking sheet. Using the rounded end of a wooden spoon, press a clean, deep hollow into the center of each cookie ball — the classic “thumbprint”.

3. Bake

Bake at 180 °C (356 °F) for 10 minutes, until the edges are slightly set but the centres remain soft. Remove from the oven; the cookies may appear delicate but will firm up as they cool.

4. Fill & Decorate

While the baked cookies are still warm, fill each hollow with warmed apricot jam drops or your favorite jam. Let the cookies cool completely, then drizzle with melted dark chocolate and finish with chocolate sprinkles.

Pro Tips for Success 

• Use soft, room-temperature butter so the dough mixes smoothly and doesn’t produce dough cracks.
• Press the indent of the dough balls gently but deep enough to hold the jam.
• Warm the jam slightly so it fills the center neatly.
• Don’t overbake—take the cookies out when the edges are just set.
• Let the cookies cool completely before adding the chocolate drizzle.

Substitute with different jams

Apricot jam is traditional for Austrian pastries, but you can easily switch it depending on taste or availability for another type of jam. Raspberry jam gives a bright, tangy contrast similar to Linzer cookies. Cherry or plum jam works beautifully with chocolate and creates a deeper, more robust flavor. For a sweeter option, strawberry preserves and make strawberry jam cookies; for a modern twist, try orange marmalade, which mimics the citrus notes sometimes paired with dark chocolate. Whichever filling you choose, make sure it’s smooth and slightly warmed so it fills the jam thumbprints cleanly.

Storage and Freezing Advice

These cookies store beautifully — a big advantage during the busy Christmas season.

Storage:
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Their flavour even deepens slightly over time, similar to many traditional Austrian baked goods or in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Freezing:
For best results, freeze the cookies unfilled:

• Shape and bake the cookies as directed.
• Let them cool completely.
• Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

When ready to serve, thaw the frozen cookies at room temperature, fill with warmed apricot jam and decorate with chocolate.

This method keeps the texture crisp on the outside, soft in the centre, and prevents moisture issues in the jam.

Conclusion

These Austrian Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies combine tradition, simplicity and a flavour profile rooted in the heritage of the Sachertorte. They are reliable, beautiful and ideal for anyone searching for christmas cookie recipes, chocolate cookie recipes or a classic jam cookie recipe.
With the right butter temperature, clear timing, easy shaping and proper storage techniques, they turn out perfectly every single time — just the way good baking has always been done.

Final Words – Why You Should Make These Cookies

These cookies are the perfect mix of simple baking and unforgettable flavor. They bring the classic taste of rich chocolate and sweet apricot jam together in a way that feels warm, traditional, and truly special. They’re easy enough for beginners, impressive enough for gifting, and festive enough for any Christmas table. If you want a cookie that always works, looks beautiful, and carries a touch of Austrian charm, then this is the recipe you shouldn’t miss. Just bake them once—and they’ll become a holiday favourite in your home.

Sweet Hugs Nina

Did you make my delicious, easy Sacher chocolate thumbprint cookies recipe? Let me know, and tag me on Instagram. Or leave me some kind words and a star rating. I will always be thankful for that 

Need more cookie recipe?

• Fairy kisses- an unique Christmas Cookie Recipe
• Baileys Hazelnut Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
• Boozy Chocolate Cake Moon Cookies
• “Eisenbahner” – Austrian Railroad Cookies
• “Nussecken” – Nut Corner Cookies
• Angel Wings- Easy Christmas Sugar Cookies

Easy Austrian Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Apricot Jam

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: CookiesCuisine: Austrian CookiesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

35

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Baking time

10

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• For the Dough

• 250 g 250 unsalted butter, room temperature

• 100 g 100 brown sugar or granulated sugar

• 1 1 egg, room temperature

• Pinch salt

• 50 g 50 unsweetened baking cocoa

• 300 g 300 all purpose flour

• For the Filling

• 300 g 300 finely strained apricot jam, warmed

• For the decoration:

• Decorations

• 100 g 100 melted dark chocolate

• 50 g 50 chocolate sprinkles

Directions

• Make the dough
• Start with room-temperature butter — properly softened butter creams smoothly and incorporates air, which keeps the dough soft and prevents the cookies from cracking when shaped. Beat the butter, sugar and egg until light and creamy in a mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment .
• In a medium bowl sift flour, cocoa powder and salt directly into the bowl. Mix until a smooth, soft dough forms. Because of the butter structure, the dough requires no chilling.
• Shape the cookies (simple shaping instruction)
• Scoop teaspoon-sized portions of dough and roll them into even 1-inch balls between your hands. This dough shapes easily and cleanly, making it perfect for beginners and family baking.
• Place the balls on a with parchment prepared baking sheet. Using the rounded end of a wooden spoon, press a clean, deep hollow into the center of each cookie ball — the classic “thumbprint”.
• Bake
• Bake at 180 °C (356 °F) for 10 minutes, until the edges are slightly set but the centres remain soft. Remove from the oven; the cookies may appear delicate but will firm up as they cool.
• Fill & Decorate
• While the baked cookies are still warm, fill each hollow with warmed apricot jam drops or your favorite jam. Let the cookies cool completely, then drizzle with melted dark chocolate and finish with chocolate sprinkles.

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The post Easy Austrian Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with Apricot Jam appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

What are strawberry curd cheese dumplings?

Austrian cheese dumplings with breadcrumb coating are a traditional Austrian sweet recipe popular during strawberry and stone fruit season. These dumplings are low in sugar but still sweet because of the sweetness of the ripe strawberries and the added teaspoon of Nutella. We Austrians enjoy this deliciousness for dessert or lunch. I love to enjoy those dumplings for lunch on a Friday or as a dessert on the weekends, served with a scoop of ice cream and strawberry compote. We Austrians have always had a sweet tooth and developed a category only for sweet main dishes.

The dough is soft and more like a batter and contains only 5 ingredients .The stuffing of the curd cheese dumplings varies and depends mostly on what’s in season. The dumplings get cooked in salted water and afterwards coated with bread crumbs which get browned and caramelized in sugar and butter.

The origin of curd cheese dumplings.

This dessert recipe originates from the Bohemian Empire, which was part of the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and is today the Czech Republic. It’s a well-loved traditional dish popular in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Every nation claims this dish as its own, of course, and therefore, the recipe varies in its ingredients, fillings, and preparation.

While these dumplings get cooked in salt water in most Eastern European countries, these dumplings get baked in Germany.

What is curd cheese?

Curd cheese is a fresh cheese made from skim milk. It has a starter added to the curdle; the milk is very lightly colored and is soft and spreadable. It has a slightly sour tang to the taste and is not aged at all.

Austrian quark cheese tends to contain less fat than cottage cheese. It is sometimes called medium-fat soft cheese.

Substitutions for curd cheese.

If curd cheese isn’t available where you live, here are some options you can use instead of curd cheese:

• Quark trained with a cheesecloth; otherwise, it’s too wet.
• Farmer’s cheese
• Ricotta
• Cream cheese
• dry-curd cottage cheese
• cottage cheese pressed through a sieve

The Ingredients:

• Butter: Unsalted butter is what we use
• Salt: a pinch of salt for seasoning
• Curd cheese
• eggs
• flour
• Strawberries
• Nutella
• bread crumbs
• sugar
• More Butter

What to serve with strawberry curd cheese dumplings.

Firstly, these dumplings coated in caramelized bread crumbs are delicious as they are. Just served warm with some extra bread crumbs and a dust of powdered sugar, the following sides are also excellent choices as well .

• Vanilla ice cream is always a great addition to any warm-served dessert.
• Apple sauce is a classic, and you can’t go wrong with it.
• Strawberry compote is a great side as well. I even have a great recipe on my blog.
• Homemade fruit sauces are a great fit as well for this Austrian dessert.

Variations of fillings:

I’m filling these curd cheese dumplings with whatever fruits are in season.

• Apricots: use small apricot. Get rid of the pit and put a sugar cube into the apricot instead.
• Plums: it’s the same for plums. Remove the pit and put a sugar cube into its middle instead. If you don’t have sugar cubes, fill it with 1/2 tsp sugar.
• Berries: different berries or a mix of other berries are great filling. I like to sprinkle them with vanilla sugar.
• Nougat filling tastes so good!
• Any chocolate tastes excellent, as well.
• A combination of white chocolate and raspberries makes for a heavenly, delicious filling.

What’s essential when making these strawberry curd cheese dumplings?

“Homemade Austrian curd cheese dumplings step by step”

• The dough is very soft and sticky. The best way to make the dough pliable is to chill it for 2 hours.
• While the dough is chilling, I’m dropping teaspoon-sized amounts of Nutella on a baking sheet and freeze them. This way, it’s easier to fill the dumplings.
• Dust your kitchen surface and rolling pin enough before rolling out the dough.
• Don’t forget to dust your hands. This prevents the dough from sticking too much to your hands.
• Cut the dough into squares, transfer a square into your hand put a nutella drop into the middle, and small strawberry.
• Afterward, I close the dough around the filling, pinch the openings together with my fingers, and then roll it into a ball.

Here are some more tips for this authentic Austrian curd cheese dumpling recipe.

• The thickness of the dough will prevent it from tearing when closing it around the filling.
• I cook the dumplings for about 10 minutes in salted water. The water should gently bubble.
• Dumplings are ready when rising to the surface.
• Immediately coat the dumplings with the caramelized bread crumbs after cooking.

Can these Austrian curd cheese dumplings be prepared in advance ?

Austrian sweet cheese dumplings can easily be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Just follow the recipe until the dumplings are stuffed and rolled into balls. Sprinkle them with some flour, put them on a tray, cover them with cling fling or aluminum foil, and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days.

How to store leftover dumplings.

In case you have some left over dumplings put them into an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Reheat them in a pan with the leftover caramelized bread crumbs over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.

Finally, if you tried this easy strawberry recipe for “Erdbeer Topfenknödel”, aka Strawberry curd cheese dumplings, and found the recipe and post helpful, please give it a rating and leave me a kind comment. Nothing makes me more happy than hearing from you, preparing some Traditional Austrian food . And let’s not forget it’s one of my favorite Austrian recipes as well .

– Nina <3

If you’d like to stay up in the loop follow me on Instagram.

Easy Strawberry curd cheese dumplings – best Austrian dessert

4 from 85 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: DessertCuisine: austrian

Servings

16

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

306

kcal

This is a one of the best Austrian desserts ever! "Topfenknödel" – strawberry curd cheese dumplings fluffy, soft, fruity and have a creamy consistency . The dumplings are filled with a medium sized Strawberry and Nutella and are covered in caramelized buttery bread crumbs.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Dumplings dough

• 160 g 160 butter cut into small cubes

• 2 2 eggs

• 500 g 500 curd cheese or any substitution found in the blog post

• 1 tbsp 1 white sugar

• 1 pinch 1 salt

• tsp zest of 1 lemon

• 300 g 300 all purpose flour

• Filling

• 16 16 strawberries medium sized, cut of a little bit of the and the greens.

• 1 tbsp 1 vanilla sugar

• 100 g 100 Nutella or any other nut cream you prefer

• Buttery caramelized bread crumbs

• 120 g 120 butter

• 80 g 80 white sugar

• 80 g 80 bread crumbs made of white bread

Directions

• Dumplings dough
• Start with mixing together the butter eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached for 2-3 minutes.
• Add all other ingredients and mix until it forms a dough.
• Wrap the dough into plastic wrap and chill the dough for 2 hours.
• Filling
• On a baking paper drop teaspoon sized Nutella creme on a baking paper and freeze until you start with the filling.
• Use medium sized strawberries for the filling. If there are only large ones available cut into thump sized pieces . Mix the strawberries with the vanilla sugar and set aside.
• After the dough is cold and chilled sprinkle your working surface and your rolling pin with enough flour other wise the dough will be too sticky .
• Roll out the dough until it's 1cm thick (0,4 inch)
• Dust the dough surface and cut into 10cmx10cm quarters (3 1/2 inch x 3 1/2 inch)
• With the help of a spatula take one dough square into your dusted hands.
• Put a Nutella drop and a strawberry on top and close the dough around it. Everything should be covered by the dough.
• Pinch the seams together . Make sure the dough ball isn't open anywhere.
• Roll the dough into a ball . But be carefully.
• Put the dumpling on a flour dusted tray and repeat with the other dough squares.
• Cooking the dumplings
• Fill a medium sized heavy bottom pot with water and heat heat until it cooks.
• Add 1 teaspoon of salt and reduce heat until its a gentle bubbling.
• Put the dumplings into the bubbling water but make sure that there is still enough space between the dumplings.
• Let the dumplings cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the dumplings rise to the surface .
• When the dumplings are done, transfer them one at a time with a skimmer into the bread crumbs and coat every dumpling on all sides .
• Repeat with the rest of the curd cheese dumplings.
• Serve warm and with a dust of sugar. Enjoy!
• Buttery caramelized bread crumbs
• Heat a medium sized pan on medium high heat and let the butter melt.
• When the butter is melted reduce the heat to medium and add the sugar. Let everything caramelize for 1-2 minutes. But make sure it doesn't get burnt.
• At last add the bread crumbs. Mix everything together and let the bread crumbs get golden brown before switching off the heat.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 306kcal
• Carbohydrates: 30g
• Protein: 8g
• Fat: 17g
• Saturated Fat: 11g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 4g
• Trans Fat: 1g
• Cholesterol: 59mg
• Sodium: 289mg
• Potassium: 112mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 12g
• Vitamin A: 481IU
• Vitamin C: 7mg
• Calcium: 47mg
• Iron: 2mg

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The post Austrian Curd Cheese Dumplings stuffed with strawberries and Nutella: Indulgent Homemade Desserts appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

Austrian fried doughnuts are called “Krapfen”

At the beginning of the new year im always in a foul mood. Everything is beginning anew, my favorite season (Christmas) ist finally over and I just can’t get myself to pick me up and heave me out of that depressing hole. But when the first bakeries start to fill their sales counters with “Krapfen” , my hubby knows what to do. Buying me had dozen and leave me alone until I feel better and high on sugar .

Krapfen are my favorite kind of treat . They are most popular during the carnival season but mostly you get them at the bakeries almost all year round. “Krapfen” are our kind of fried doughnuts. It’s an enriched dough classically fried to golden perfection and filled with apricot jam. Of course most bakeries serve them filled with vanilla or chocolate cream too but for us Austrians the classically fried doughnut filled with apricot jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar will always have a special spot in our hearts.

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Cointreau and orange zest – Gather the ingredients.

To make this delicious Austrian Fried Doughnut recipe, you will need the following ingredients: 500g all-purpose flour, 8g active dry yeast, 50g sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 300ml warm milk, 25g butter melted, 3 egg yolks, 1tbsp cointreau, zest from 1 orange and oil for deep-frying. You will also need about 300g of fine apricot jam and confectioners’ sugar for powdering them on top before serving.

Yes you read right! Cointreau and orange zest adds that special something to these treats.

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Mix the Dough and Knead.

Start by mixing the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt together in a bowl of your stand mixer with the hook attached. Gradually add the warm milk, egg yolks and butter to the dry ingredients while mixing continuously in your stand mixer. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (10 minutes). Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

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Let the dough rest & bake.

Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 2cm (3/4-inch) thickness. Cut into about 7 to 8cm large (this is about 2 3/4 inch) circles using a cookie cutter or drinking glass rim. Place the doughnuts on a greased baking sheet and let them rest for another 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium sized heavy bottom pan over medium heat until it reaches 180 °C (360°F) . Carefully place the doughnuts into the hot oil, allowing enough room for them to expand while cooking. Fry them for 2-3 minutes per side with the lid on. flip the dougnuts with tongs once they are golden brown. Remove from oil with a spider strainer and drain on paper towel. Let them cool on a cooling rack.

Fill the doughnuts with delicious apricot jam

Once the doughnuts are cooked, remove them from the oil and let cool slightly on a rack. For a delicious finish, fill them with warm apricot jam using a piping bag and a donut tip ! This will give them a tangy sweet flavour that takes this fried treat to the next level. Enjoy with lots of powdered sugar on top for the authentic Austrian experience.

Make them healthier – try the oven baked version instead!

For a healthier option, try baking the doughnuts in the oven instead of frying them. Preheat your oven to 170°C Fan (340° F). Brush the doughnuts with melted butter and bake for 14-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown. As the oven baked doughnuts won’t be as crispy as fried ones, brush them with butter again when they are freshly out of the oven and dust them with powdered sugar. Dont forget to powder them with powdered sugar on top again when cooled– they’ll still taste delicious and extremely fluffy!

What is important when making these Austrian style fried doughnuts.

• Make sure that the milk is warm and not hot. The heat will destroy the activity of the yeast otherwise.
• The egg yolks have to be at room temperature.
• Give the dough time to rise!
• Use a kitchen thermometer to observe the temperature of the frying oil. The oil shouldn’t be hotter than 180°C
• Be careful when working with hot oil.
• Use fine mashed apricot jam. No jam with pieces because how will you press the fruit pieces through the tip?!?
• Let the freshly fried doughnuts drip off on some kitchen towel.

Of course you can fill these “Krapfen” any way you want. Vanilla pudding or a chocolate cream make great fillings too but for us Austrians there is no better filling than simply delicious apricot jam. I’m confident that you and your family will fall in love with this doughnut recipe immediately .

Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from yo guys and always to my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite .

Warm sticky hugs, Nina

If you are in need of some non fried yeasty recipes, here are some of my favorite:

• The most delicious healthy banana pumpkin bread ever.
• Homemade Mother’s Day gifts: brioche hearts
• Apple galette with honey whiskey frangipane
• Easy Victoria sponge cake recipe
• No-bake white chocolate berry cake

An Authentic Austrian Fried Doughnut recipe

4 from 42 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: DessertCuisine: American, austrian

Servings

14

doughnuts

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

234

kcal

resting time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

5

minutes

Enjoy a delicious taste of Austrian cuisine with this easy-to-follow recipe for Austrian Fried Doughnuts! These light and fluffy doughnuts are filled with fine apricot jam goodness, and they make a great snack or dessert any time.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 500 g 500 flour all purpose is fine , bread flour is fine too

• 8 g 8 dry yeast

• 1 pinch 1 salt

• 50 g 50 sugar

• 1 tbsp 1 orange zest Zest of 1 orange

• 1 tbsp 1 Cointreau or peach tree

• 30 g 30 butter melted

• 300 ml 300 milk warm

• 3 3 egg yolks

• oil for frying

• 250 g 250 apricot jam fine, no fruit pieces

Directions

• I a bowl of your stand mixer attached with the hook add all the dry ingredients and the orange zest and mix.
• Gradually add the warm milk, egg yolks and butter to the dry ingredients while mixing continuously in your stand mixer.
• Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (10 minutes). Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour or until doubled in size. 
• Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 2cm (3/4-inch) thickness. 
• Cut into about 7 to 8cm large (this is about 2 3/4 inch) circles using a cookie cutter or drinking glass rim. Place the doughnuts on a greased baking sheet and let them rest for another 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium sized heavy bottom pan over medium heat until it reaches 180 °C (360°F) . 
• Carefully place the doughnuts into the hot oil, allowing enough room for them to expand while cooking. Fry them for 2-3 minutes per side with the lid on
• Flip the dougnuts with tongs once they are golden brown. Remove from oil with a spider strainer and drain on paper towel. Let them cool on a cooling rack.
• The the doughnuts aren't hot analoger to the touch fill them with apricot jam in using a piping bag and a donut tip.
• Don't forget to sprinkle them with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

• Oven Baked Doughnuts- An  Healthier Option
• For a healthier option, try baking the doughnuts in the oven instead of frying them. Preheat your oven to 170°C Fan (340° F). Brush the doughnuts with melted butter and bake for 14-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown. As the oven baked doughnuts won’t be as crispy as fried ones, brush them with butter again when they are freshly out of the oven and dust them with powdered sugar. Dont forget to powder them with powdered sugar on top again when cooled– they’ll still taste delicious and extremely fluffy!

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 234kcal
• Carbohydrates: 44g
• Protein: 5g
• Fat: 4g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 1g
• Trans Fat: 0.1g
• Cholesterol: 49mg
• Sodium: 35mg
• Potassium: 97mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 13g
• Vitamin A: 183IU
• Vitamin C: 2mg
• Calcium: 43mg
• Iron: 2mg

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The post Krapfen: An Authentic Austrian Fried Doughnut Recipe appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

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What are Eisenbahner – “Railroad” Christmas cookies

Every year at Christmas I take it upon myself to try a new Christmas cookie recipe, simply to be able to surprise my loved ones with something new in the Christmas cookie jar.

This year, I have chosen a traditional Christmas cookie recipe from my grandmother and made it my own “Homemade holiday cookies with a twist” . Eisenbahner in Englisch “Railroad” Cookies. The recipe originates in Austria and Germany, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any more facts about the recipe.

Railroad cookies consist of a crispy shortbread base, left and right; an incredibly delicious almond paste is sprayed in a strip that looks like train tracks. After baking, the center is still filled with a delicious jam, and the cookies are cut.
Now, the cookies sound super elaborate, but they are not. The cookies are baked in long “railroad” rails and cut into individual cookies. So you get a lot of cookies made quickly and with little effort. Great, right?!?

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“Railroad” Christmas cookies but my way.

Originally, railroaders were made with a light shortbread base and a fruity berry jam smeared on top. But…. I prefer something more chocolatey and love the combination of chocolate and orange. That’s why I have a chocolate shortcrust pastry and take an aromatic sweet-tart orange marmalade as a jam. Simply incredibly ingenious in taste

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Some thoughts and tips on this vintage Christmas cookie recipe

• Firstly, please use cold butter for the shortbread.
• I grease the work surface and the dough roller well to make it easier to move the dough strips.
• The jam must be warmed in the microwave and then stirred with a spoon until smooth.
• I pipe the almond mixture on immediately after the 1st baking of the dough strips.
• If you have shortbread left over just cut out a few cookies
• Instead of orange marmalade I love to use raspberry or currant jam both harmonizes with the chocolate shortbread also quite wonderful.
• The cookies can be stored in the refrigerator or in a cool place up to 3 weeks.

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Hopefully, I could convince you with my enthusiasm and rapture to try my recipe for “Railroad” Christmas cookies this year. It’s a unique holiday cookie flavor combination.

Lastly if you make these Railroad Christmas treats, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite .

Sweet hugs

Nina

Are you looking for more delicious and easy cookie recipes? Here are some more recipes to create the best holiday cookies plate ever.

• Fairy Kisses – a unique Christmas Cookie recipe
• Vanilla Crescents
• Speculoos Gingerbread Cookies
• Boozy Chocolate Cake Moon Cookies
• Baileys Hazelnut Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
• Nutty Triangles

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Railroad Christmas Cookies – a folksy Austrian Christmas Cookie Recipe

5 from 44 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: christmas cookies, DessertCuisine: austrian

Servings

80

cookies

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

57

kcal

resting time

15

minutes

These are delicious, easy Austrian Christmas cookies. These cookies are made of a crisp chocolate short pastry dough. The side tracks are made of a marzipan egg white sugar paste and filled in the middle with a tangy orange marmalade. One batch contain 80 cookies and the recipe is done in about 90 minutes.

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Ingredients

• Chocolate short pastry dough

• 240 g 240 flour all purpose

• 160 g 160 butter unsalted, cut into small cubes

• 80 g 80 sugar

• 2 tbsp 2 cocoa powder unsweetened ,for example bensdorp

• 1 pinch 1 salt

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 baking powder

• 1 1 egg yolk

• 1 tbsp 1 vanilla sugar

• 1 tbsp 1 water optional, if you feel that the dough is dry and crumbly add 1 or 2 tbsp to the dough .

• Almond paste tracks filling

• 200 g 200 almond paste also known as marzipan, cooled in the fridge for 1 hour

• 15 g 15 butter room temperature

• 1 1 egg white

• 20 g 20 powdered sugar

• 1 tbsp 1 ground almonds

• 400 g 400 orange jam fine cut, for the filling

Directions

• Chocolate short pastry dough
• In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on mix together the flour and butter until everything looks like ground nuts .
• Add all the other ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.
• If the dough is dry and crumbly add 1 tbsp and mix again . Add another if the dough still feels crumbly and won't come together.
• Form the dough into a ball and wrap it with cling fling and put it for 10 minutes into the fridge.
• Method 1
• After the resting time form a log.
• Dust your surface lightly with flour that the dough will not stick to the surface when rolled out. Dust your rolling pin as well.
• Now roll the lock into a rectangle 36cm x 35cm
• Cut 4 stripes lengths wise .
• Transfer the dough stripes with the help of a spatula or dough card carefully onto a backing tray prepared with baking paper.
• If the dough stripes tear don't worry just stick them together. Use a dough card to bring the stripes back into a rectangular form if necessary.
• You might need to use 2 baking trays to bake all 4 stripes.
• Bake the chocolate short pastry stripes for 10 minutes at 175C fan (350F)
• Method 2
• Take the chocolate dough out of the fridge and cut into 4 equal parts .
• Roll every part into a log about 30 cm long.
• Lightly dust a parchment paper with flour put 2-3 logs onto the parchment paper. Leave some space between the logs and roll them into rectangular stripes which are 35 cm long and 8cm wide.
• Repeat that process with the other logs.
• Bake the stripes for 10 minutes at 175C Fan (350F)
• Almond paste filling
• First crate the almond paste with a rough grater.

  • 

• Then mix in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached the egg white with the sugar until stiff and glossy .
• Now whisk in another bowl the grated almond paste, ground almonds and the butter together.
• Add half of the stiff egg white mixture and fold it into the almond butter batter .
• Add the rest of the egg white mixture and fold it in again.
• Fill the batter into a piping bag with a 1cm (0,25 inch) open star piping tip (Number 19 or 20)

  • 

• When the chocolate cookie dough stripes are baked for 10 minutes let them slightly cool and then start piping the tracks.
• Pipe two tracks on each side of every chocolate cookie stripe and bake again for 10 more minutes.

  • 

• Jam filling
• When the baking time is almost over pour the orange jam into a bowl and reheat it for 1-2 minutes in your microwave. The orange jam should be at body temperature . Stir the jam with a spoon until smooth.
• Take the baking trays out of the oven and fill the middle of every strip with the orange jam.

  • 

• Let the train track stripes sit for about 10 minutes and then cut them into train track cookie slices. Every cookie should be about 1,5cm large (thats about 0,6 inch).

  • 

• Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely .
• When the cookies are cooled you can store them into airtight cookie boxes but make sure to put a piece of baking parchment between the cookies before you add the cookies on top of each other.
• Store the cookies in your fridge. They will stay good and delicious for up to 3 weeks.
• Have a lovely christmas time with your family and I hope you love those cookies as much as we do.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 57kcal
• Carbohydrates: 8g
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 3g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 1g
• Trans Fat: 0.1g
• Cholesterol: 7mg
• Sodium: 18mg
• Potassium: 19mg
• Fiber: 0.3g
• Sugar: 5g
• Vitamin A: 61IU
• Vitamin C: 0.2mg
• Calcium: 9mg
• Iron: 0.2mg

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The post “Eisenbahner ” Railroad Cookies – a Folksy unique Christmas cookie recipe from Austria with almond paste and jam filling appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

What is Sauerkraut?

Sauerkraut is thinly sliced raw cabbage combined with many tablespoons of salt that get pressed down in a glass container to release juice and start to ferment over a couple of days. Through this fermentation process, the sauerkraut gets a distinctive sour taste, a bold flavor it only gets through fermentation.

Health benefits of sauerkraut.

• Fresh Sauerkraut is gut-friendly, rich in vitamin C, and has good probiotics.
• Especially the sauerkraut juice is extremely nutritious and contains lots of lactic acid bacteria. It can be made with either green or red cabbage, but green cabbage is the most common here in Austria.
• It’s very low in calories, especially fresh cabbage. One portion of sauerkraut has about 35 cal.

There are two kinds of Sauerkraut recipes: the German and Bavarian Sauerkraut recipe. In Austria, we cook the Bavarian version, which is a little bit sweeter and milder and contains caraway seeds. Once upon a time, Bavaria was part of the Austrian Monarchy. So it’s hard to say if the Bavarian Sauerkraut is an Austrian recipe or if we Austrians started cooking Sauerkraut like the Bavarians over the centuries.

Sauerkraut from a bag recipe – Ingredients.

Sauerkraut: For this recipe, you can either use sauerkraut from a plastic bag, canned sauerkraut which contains more salt, or homemade sauerkraut. Make sure to use an organic brand and that the Sauerkraut got fermented in a wooden barrel. These are indications that it’s a good quality sauerkraut.

Juniper Berries: These dried berries have a very strong flavor and aren’t only used for gin making. They have a slightly piney flavor with a touch of both fruitiness and pepperiness and therefore are a great addition to spice up sauerkraut. I use juniper berries instead of black pepper here in the recipe.

Dried bay leaves: Bay leaves are often used in stews, soups, and even béchamel sauces. They add a layer of subtle tea-like flavors.

Apples: The apples remove some of the tangy sour flavor and add some sweetness. I use finely grated peeled apples instead of brown sugar.

Pototoes: The starkness of the potato binds the juices and gives the sour cabbage a fine creaminess.

Caraway seeds: 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds are used in this recipe. These seeds are good for the gut and can’t be missed in any sauerkraut recipe.

Beef broth and apple juice: I use these 2 ingredients instead of a quart of water to add more flavor to the fermented cabbage, and you don’t need to use so much salt for seasoning. You can use vegetable broth instead of beef broth to make it veggie-friendly. The ratio here is 1:1

Honey: Most people use a little bit of sugar in their recipe, but I use a teaspoon of honey, which smooths out the tangy and acidic flavors.

Bacon: Bacon is just so good. The bacon drippings from the fried bacon cubes add another layer of flavor to the dish.

Thats it. You’ll get all these ingredients in every grocery store. I’m sure most of you already have most of them at home in your kitchen.

Do you have to wash the sauerkraut from a bag before cooking it?

I would say it depends. The best way to know is to just open the bag and taste a little bit of the sauerkraut. When it already has a nice taste (not too salty) that you like, you don’t have to wash it before using it. If it’s very salty, then rinse it to get rid of the saltiness.

The Recipe.

It’s a simple recipe, which is always a plus.

• Start by frying the cut bacon in a medium-large heavy-bottom pan on medium-high heat until the bacon pieces are browned and cooked in their own bacon fat.
• Add the Sauerkraut and all the other ingredients but the potato and let it cook on medium heat for about 30-40 minutes. Don’t forget to stir occasionally.
• Make sure that there is enough liquid in the pan. Because if you rinsed the sauerkraut beforehand, you may have to add more beef broth and apple juice. There should be enough liquid that the sauerkraut doesn’t start to burn. It’s almost covered in liquid.
• When the sauerkraut is tender, add the finely grated potato and let it cook for another 10 minutes. The Sauerkraut should have gotten a creamy consistency.
• At last season, with salt to taste if necessary.

I’m a true sauerkraut fan. It’s a simple side dish but delights my taste buds immensely, and it’s a great alternative to potatoes or vegetables when serving pork roast or savory, comforting stews, It’s a perfect side dish for bratwurst, smoked sausage or as a topping for hotdogs, or a Reuben sandwich.

How to store Sauerkraut:

Sauerkraut is best served the next day when the flavors have time to develop. For that, let the sauerkraut cool to room temperature before transferring it into an airtight container. Store it in the fridge.

How long does sauerkraut last?

Normally Sauerkraut has a long shelf life, but since there is meat in the recipe, it will only keep good for about 5-7 days.

Signs that your sauerkraut has gone bad.

• the smell of sauerkraut: if it is emitting a strong odor, do not eat it; throw eat away.
• When the surface area has become a different color or texture, throw it away.
• When there is blue or green fluff, it means the sauerkraut has mold, and it’s not safe to consume.

There exist a lot of sauerkraut recipes here in Austria, like fried donuts filled with sauerkraut, szegediner goulash, sauerkraut soup or sauerkraut casserole, and many more. It seems like we are quite fond of sauerkraut here .

If you tried this Sauerkraut from a bag recipe and found the tips helpful, please give it a rating or leave me a kind comment. Nothing makes me more happy than hearing from you.

– Nina <3

If you’d like to stay up in the loop, follow me on Instagram.

You may be interested in these recipes, too! Have a look!

• Fancy pork tenderloin in puff pastry with caramelized onions and apple filling
• Roasted turkey roulade with mushrooms, prosciutto, and parmesan cheese
• Italian Asparagus quiche
• Easy oven-baked garlic rosemary potato stacks

How to cook the best sauerkraut from a bag.

4 from 14 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: Side DishCuisine: austrian, german

Servings

6

serviengs

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

120

kcal

Total time

50

minutes

This is an easy recipe for how to cook the best Sauerkraut from a bag and make it a delicious and flavorful side everyone will enjoy. It’s a healthy gut-friendly side and goes very well with any kind of roast and bratwurst and is a perfect topping for hotdogs and Reuben sandwiches.

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Ingredients

• 100 g 100 bacon cut into small cubes

• 2 bags 2 sauerkraut 500g each bag

• 250 ml 250 apple juice

• 250 ml 250 beef stock or vegetable stock

• 1 1 apple medium-sized, peeled, and then finely crated.

• 1 tbsp 1 caraway seeds

• 1 tsp 1 juniper berries

• 1 1 bay leave dried

• 1 tsp 1 vegetable oil

• 1 tsp 1 honey

• salt for seasoning

• 1 1 potato medium-sized, peeled. and the flesh finely crated .

Directions

• Start by frying the bacon pieces in a medium-sized bottom pan. on medium-high heat. Eventually, add 1 tsp of oil if the bacon contains more meat than fat.
• When the bacon is browned and the bacon fat is released, add the 2 bags of sauerkraut and all the other ingredients but the potato.
• Stir occasionally and let everything cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes. the sauerkraut should be tender now.
• After the 30 minutes, add the finely grated potato meat, stir, and cook for 10 more minutes.
• In the last season, the sauerkraut with salt and eventually a pinch of sugar to your liking.
• The sauerkraut is best served the day after cooking when all the flavors have developed.
• enjoy.

Equipment

• heavy bottom pan (1)
• grater (1)

Notes

• This recipe is for about 6-8 servings. Depending on whether it’s the only side or if there is a second side dish. Please keep that in mind. Happy Cooking. Nina

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 120kcal
• Carbohydrates: 12g
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 7g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
• Trans Fat: 0.02g
• Cholesterol: 11mg
• Sodium: 198mg
• Potassium: 203mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 9g
• Vitamin A: 28IU
• Vitamin C: 2mg
• Calcium: 17mg
• Iron: 0.4mg

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Red wine chocolate bundt cake with fine gingerbread chocolate ganache

What I especially love about this recipe is that the chocolate with the red wine makes an incredibly great pairing. It’s one of those additions where at first you don’t think it’s possible that it goes together, but in the aftermath, as I ate the first piece of cake, I couldn’t imagine that it would work without this unique combination of ingredients. Food orgasm just spontaneously comes to mind here.

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Secondly the bundt cake is made quickly Who doesn’t love a recipe that ist easy and quick ?!? I like to make recipes that require more effort but on Sundays when my family screams for cake, I’m just happy to be able to conjure up a super delicious juicy chocolate cake that tastes good to everyone.

The gingerbread ganache is the cherry on top. The creamy chocolate icing refined with Christmas spices, is just the certain extra, which can not be missed at Christmas. But do not worry, the bundt cake recipe also tastes wonderful without the ganache. Especially if I want to make the cake sometimes during the year.

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Origin of the red wine chocolate spice bundt cake

At this point I’d like say thank you to my old school friend Herta. From her I got the great recipe for the red wine chocolate spice bundt cake and the permission that I may write a blog post about it.

My dear Herta runs together with her husband Stefan together a beautiful lovingly maintained farm . They run a mother cow husbandry, where they raise their own cattle on their pastures with organic feed and these, then also slaughter and process. The result is a maximum of regional quality meat which they sell with the quality seal *Styria Beef* among other things directly from the farm but also in retail.

In addition to keeping suckler cows, you can also book a farm vacation, which is a great experience for children and adults. You can either stay in light-flooded apartments or in the Zehna Hube, which Herta and Stefan have dismantled and rebuilt and lovingly renovated. If I have piqued your interest here are some images of Herta and Stefans farm and the link to their website www.zehenthof.at

Decorating the bundt cake

I love a festive decoration especially during the Christmas Season. Thats why I decorated my bundt cake with sugar coated cranberries and sugar coated rosemary twigs. These are very easy to make just wet the twigs and cranberries in a small bowl of water and then cover them in white sugar. Leave them to try on a baking paper and thats it. Super easy, right?

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Lastly if you make my heavenly tasting red wine chocolate spice cake with Lebkuchen chocolate ganache, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from yo guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite .

Warm Hugs Nina

If you are looking for some more great chocolate recipes you may have a look at these recipe :

• “Eisenbahner” – Railroad Cookies
• Fudgy sourdough chocolate cherry cake
• Chocolate orange bundt cake
• Banana chocolate chip pancakes
• No bake white chocolate berry tart

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Moist red wine chocolate spice bundt cake with Lebkuchen chocolate glaze

5 from 10 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: afternoon treat, christmas desserts, coffee cakeCuisine: austrian

Servings

10

slices

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Calories

543

kcal

This is a delicious recipe for an easy and moist chocolate bundt cake with added cinnamon in the cake and a divine chocolate Lebkuchen glaze which gives this recipe that special something that makes you crave for more . Of course that cake is solo without the glaze as good as topped with it. Just so you know.

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Ingredients

• Red wine chocolate spice bundt cake

• 250 g 250 butter unsalted, room temperature

• 250 g 250 powdered sugar you can use white or brown sugar as well

• 4 4 eggs room temperature

• 125 ml 125 red wine

• 1 tsp 1 baking powder

• 1 pinch 1 salt

• 100 g 100 dark chocolate 55-70%

• 1 tbsp 1 unsweetened cocoa powder

• 250 G 250 all purpose flour

• 1 tsp 1 cinnamon

• Lebkuchen chocolate glaze

• 70 g 70 dark chocolate 55-70%

• 1 tsp 1 honey

• 100 ml 100 cream

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius fan. (356F)
• Butter a bundt cake form and put 4 tbsp flour in the form. Shake the bundt cake so that the flour covers every nook and niche and wall of the bundt cake form.
• In a bowl of a stand mixer attached with the whisk attachment beat the sugar and butter until very creamy, yellow pale and fluffy . 6-10 min
• Add the eggs, one egg at the time and beat thoroughly after each addition.
• melt the chocolate either with less power in your microwave or over a water bath.
• Now add the dry ingredients and the red wine in 4 steps beginning with half of the wine than half of the dry ingredients, then again the rest of the wine and at last the other half of the dry ingredients . Beat for 10 seconds after each step.
• At last add the melted chocolate to the batter.
• Pour the batter evenly into the baking form . If necessary use a spoon.
• Now take the bund cake form and tap it with a little force onto a wooden board so that the enclosed bubbles in the batter get released .
• Bake the cake for 45 -50 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
• When the cake is ready take it out of the oven and let it slightly cool for 10 minutes.
• Take a large plate that is at least as large in diameter as the bund cake. Put the plate on the bundt cake and transfer the form onto the plate.
• Leave the baking form on top of the cake for 30 more minutes before taking it off. That way the cake gets even more moist.
• When the cake is only slightly warm pour the glaze over the cake.
• Lebkuchen Chocolate glaze
• Put all the ingredients into a glass bowl . Put the glass bowl into a fitting pot filled with a little bit of water (2cm). The glass bowl shouldn't touch the water. Now bring the water to a gentle boil and let everything melt.
• When the chocolate is melted take the glass bowl from the pot and stir everything together until its homogenous.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 543kcal
• Carbohydrates: 54g
• Protein: 7g
• Fat: 33g
• Saturated Fat: 20g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 9g
• Trans Fat: 1g
• Cholesterol: 131mg
• Sodium: 198mg
• Potassium: 254mg
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 30g
• Vitamin A: 875IU
• Vitamin C: 0.1mg
• Calcium: 60mg
• Iron: 4mg

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The post Divine Red Wine Chocolate Spice Bundt Cake appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

This recipe for boozy chocolate cake moon cookies belongs to my all-time favorite Christmas Cookie recipes. These cherry-rum slices are wonderfully juicy and have a really nice rum aroma.

If you are interested in other Christmas Cookie recipes visit our blog post Antonias favorite Christmas Cookies collection.

How to make my favorite boozy chocolate cake moon cookies:

In a bowl of an electric mixer beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pinch of salt and zested lemon light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one at the time. Now add the ground almonds, flour and cocoa and combine. 

Spread the dough evenly on the baking sheet and bake for about 12-14 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached.

After baking spread 70ml of the rum evenly on top of the warm cake. 

For the rum glaze, stir the confectioners sugar with the rum until smooth and then spread evenly over the still warm cake.

How to best cut the half moon cookies

Using a round cutter or a glas (with thin glas walls) ø4-5 cm. To do this, start in the corner of the baking sheet and cut out row by row – first cut out 1 circle. Put the cutter on the circle and cut out 1 crescent moon. Makes two half moons facing each other. Cut out the following crescent moons offset so that the outer edge of one moon forms the inner edge of the next moon.

Did you make this recipe? Great tag us on Instagram @twosisterslivinglife or use our hashtag #twosisterslivinglife so we can see. Make sure to pin our recipe for later and follow us on Pinterest

Love, Antonia

Boozy Chocolate Cake Moon Cookies

5 from 11 votes

Recipe by Antonia Course: christmas cookies, festive dessertsCuisine: austrian

Servings

100

pieces

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

Calories

40

kcal

This is a delicious recipe for boozy chocolate cake moon cookies! They have an addicting cake like texture with a cherry rum glaze! Dusted with edible glitter to sparkle!

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Ingredients

• 160 g 160 butter unsalted, soft

• 100 g 100 brown sugar

• 60 g 60 granulated sugar

• 1 pinch 1 salt

• 2 tsp 2 lemon zested

• 4 4 eggs

• 50 g 50 ground almonds

• 150 g 150 All Purpose flour

• 2 tbsp 2 dutch processed cocoa powder

• 140 ml 140 rum Mautner Kirschlikör Rum

• 250 g 250 confectioners sugar

• edible glitter powder

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
• In a bowl of an electric mixer beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pinch of salt and zested lemon light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one at the time. Now add the ground almonds, flour and cocoa and combine.
• Spread the dough evenly on the baking sheet and bake for about 12-14 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached.
• After baking spread 70ml of the rum evenly on top of the warm cake.
• For the rum glaze, stir the confectioners sugar with the rum until smooth and then spread evenly over the still warm cake.
• Cut out half moons with a round cutter or glas ø4-5 cm. To do this, start in the corner of the baking sheet and cut out row by row – first cut out 1 circle. Put the cutter on the circle and cut out 1 crescent moon. Makes two half moons facing each other. Cut out the following crescent moons offset so that the outer edge of one moon forms the inner edge of the next moon.
• Set aside to dry. Store rum crescents in airtight plastic boxes, so they will last a good two weeks.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 40kcal
• Carbohydrates: 5g
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 2g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Cholesterol: 11mg
• Sodium: 15mg
• Potassium: 12mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 4g
• Vitamin A: 49IU
• Vitamin C: 1mg
• Calcium: 4mg
• Iron: 1mg

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year with all the delicious treats and cookies!

If you are searching for more cookie recipes visit my blog post Antonias all time favorite Christmas cookie Collection.

If you are searching for really special and unique Christmas cookies visit our recipe for fairy kisses, they are truly magical.

Searching for a boozy Christmas Cookie recipe than these baileys hazelnut chocolate shortbread cookies or my boozy chocolate cake moon cookies made with cherry rum!

Speculoos gingerbread cookies with brown butter maple glaze

How to make these speculoos gingerbread cookies:

First you need to make the spice blend, consisting of ground ginger, ground cardamom, Spekulatius spice (from stayspiced.com; or see recipe notes for substitute), salt and pepper with a stone mortar and pestle until everything is extra fine.

Add flour, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder. In a measuring cup combine honey, maple syrup and oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients either by hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until dough holds together. If necessary add 1-2 tbsp water to bind the dough. Knead into a smooth ball. If it’s too sticky to touch add a small amount of flour. Press into a disc, wrap in cling foil and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. It’s easier to work with the dough after a longer resting time.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/3 inch (8mm) if you are using an embossed rolling bin and cookie stamps. If your are just using recular cookie cutter you can roll out the dough thinner. Put the cut out cookies onto prepared baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and leave between each a 1cm (1/2inch) gap.

If using an embossed rolling pin or a cookie stamp I would recommend drying the cookies for 12-24 hours (or freeze them for 1-2hours, I’ve read that should help too) It helps the pattern to stay while baking and not to melt away.

If not using an embossed rolling pin or cookie stamp, you can bake the cookies right away.

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.

Important tips for working with embossed rolling pins and cookie stamps:

• You need you brush flour onto the embossed rolling pins before each roll.
• The cookies need to rest for at least 12 hours before baking. I’ve read that freezing them for 1-2 hours helps too, but haven’t tried it yet. This will help to harden the cookie and  helps the pattern to stay while baking and not to melt away. Cookie recipes which call for granulated sugar will need to dry because they expand more while baking than recipes which use confectioners sugar
• Be sure to press firmly to get a really defined design.

Next step making the brown butter maple glaze:

How to make brown butter? in a small pan melt the butter over medium heat. When melted turn the heat to medium high and cook until fragrant and golden. Be careful not to burn the butter, happens faster than you can think.

Speculoos gingerbread cookies with brown butter maple glaze

Combine the brown butter, icing sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk. I divided the glaze into two bowls to make one thinner for the cookies with the embossement and a thicker one. Brush or dab the speculoos gingerbread cookies with the glaze. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Speculoos gingerbread cookies with brown butter maple glaze

Did you make this recipe? Great tag us on Instagram @twosisterslivinglife or use our hashtag #twosisterslivinglife so we can see. Make sure to pin our recipe for later and follow us on Pinterest

Love, Antonia

Speculoos Gingerbread Cookies with brown butter maple glaze

5 from 35 votes

Recipe by Antonia Course: christmas cookies, cookiesCuisine: American, dutch, german

Servings

30

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

Calories

81

kcal

This is a simple and delicious recipe for speculoos gingerbread cookies! Topped with the most fingerlicking delicious brown butter maple glaze.

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Ingredients

• 1 tsp 1 ginger ground

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 cardamom ground

• 1 1/2 tsp 1 1/2 Spekulatius spice blend from stayspiced; for substitute read recipe notes

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 salt

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 five pepper blend ground

• 1 3/4 cup 1 3/4 all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup 1/4 white sugar

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 baking soda

• 1 tsp 1 cocoa powder

• 1/4 cup 1/4 vegetable oil

• 1/4 cup 1/4 maple syrup

• 1/4 cup 1/4 honey

• Brown butter glaze

• 1 tbsp 1 brown butter 15 g

• 2/3 cup 2/3 icing sugar 80 g (confectioners sugar)

• 1 tbsp 1 maple syrup

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 vanilla extract

• 1-3 tbsp 1-3 milk depends on the consistency

Directions

• Blend togehter ground ginger, cardamom, Spekulatius spice, salt and the pepper blend with a stone mortar and pestle, until everything is extra fine.
• Add flour, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder.
• In a measuring cup combine honey, maple syrup and oil.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients either by hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until dough holds together. If necessary add 1-2 tbsp water to bind the dough. Knead into a smooth ball. If it's too sticky to touch add a small amount of flour. Press into a disc, wrap in cling foil and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. It's easier to work with the dough after a longer resting time.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/3 inch (8mm) if you are using an embossed rolling bin and cookie stamps. If your are just using recular cookie cutter you can roll out the dough thinner. Put the cut out cookies onto prepared baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and leave between each a 1cm (1/2inch) gap.
• If using an embossed rolling pin or a cookie stamp I would recommend drying the cookies for 12-24 hours (or freeze them for 1-2hours, I’ve read that should help too) It helps the pattern to stay while baking and not to melt away.
• If not using an embossed rolling pin or cookie stamp than you can bake the cookies right away.
• Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.
• Brown butter glaze
• For the brown butter: in a sauce pan over medium heat place your butter to melt. Once melted, kick the heat up to medium high and cook until fragrant and golden brown. Remove from heat, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Be careful not to burn the butter.
• Combine the brown butter, icing sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk. I divided the glaze into two bowls to make one thinner for the cookies with the embossement and a thicker one. Brush or dab the cookies with the glaze.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
• Store the cookies in an airtight container

Notes

• Substitute for Spekulatius spice blend:
• 3/4tsp cinnamon, ground
  1/4tsp anise seeds, ground
  1/tsp cloves, ground
  1/8tsp nutmeg, ground

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 81kcal
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 2g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 1mg
• Sodium: 24mg
• Potassium: 21mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 9g
• Vitamin A: 12IU
• Calcium: 8mg
• Iron: 1mg

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The post Speculoos Gingerbread Cookies with Brown Butter Maple Glaze appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

What are “gebackene Mäuse” ?!?

“Gebackene Mäuse” means translated baked mice . My fried little balls got their name because of their unique form and are very popular during the carnival season in Austria. Baked mice / donut holes are a smaller variation of our famous Austrian donuts which are also called “Krapfen” and are filled with apricot jam. Baked mice are more common on the countryside.

Traditional Austrian Donuts (Krapfen) are made of a soft yeast dough which is slightly sweetened.They then get formed into balls and afterwards fried in lard.

We have 2 dough variations in Austria on how baked mice( Austrian donut holes) get made.

The first is a classic soft yeast dough and the second is a batter made with curd cheese, flour, eggs and baking powder. Formed with 2 spoons into little dumplings and fried in oil.

Since my recipe takes only 30 minutes , my mice are made of the baking powder, curd cheese batter variation.

Austrian Donut holes with pumpkin and cardamom

Whenever we visited my grandma during the winter month she always welcomed us with baked mice. It was a tradition that we could only leave her when all the fried donut holes were gone. I mean the first batch was gone in under 15 minutes. Somehow she always managed to serve us a second batch at the end of our visit ?.

In honor of our grandma I wanted to recreate her baked mice but liked to add my personal touch to the recipe.

Lets get to the important part – the RECIPE

“Baked mice” – fried Austrian Donut holes with pumpkin and cardamom

The ingredients

• 150g cream cheese – for all Austrian people you can use curd cheese too of course
• 40g milk
• 90 g brown sugar – I just love that caramel flavor
• 80g pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
• 1 egg
• 300g all purpose flour
• 2cl cointreau
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8g baking powder
• oil for frying
• Powdered sugar for sprinkling

The Instruction

• Firstly I’m starting with creaming the cream cheese, milk and sugar until pale and fluffy in a bowl of my kitchen aid with a whisk attached.
• Secondly I’m adding the egg, the cointreau and pumpkin puree and beat for 2 more minutes until homogenous.
• In a small bowl I’m mixing together the dry ingredients.
• I’m adding these to the wet batter and mix them in with a spatula. I don’t want to over beat it.
• I let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
• After the batter has rested start with heating the oil in a deep frying pan to 185 degrees Celsius or about 365 degree Fahrenheit. Use a thermometer to control the heat of the oil.
• When the oil has the right temperature start forming little round dumplings with the help of 2 spoons. the spoon is about half full .
• Drop the formed dumplings into the hot oil and fry them for a couple of minutes on both sides until golden brown.
• Put the fried donut holes on paper kitchen towels and sprinkle them with powdered sugar before serving

Why you should give this delicious donut holes recipe a try

• Firstly I love easy recipes that don’t need many ingredients.
• Secondly everybody should try from time to time recipes from other cultures. Especially sweet ones right?!??
• I love treats that can be shared with many people therefore this baked mice recipe is perfect for that.
• My family loves it when our house is smelling of sugar and freshly baked good.
• They are whipped up in no time and if there are to many just freeze them for later.
• I like that they aren’t super sweet but crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside.
• And lastly I think that cardamom is an underrated spice and you’ll be surprised how tasty and full of flavor the donut holes are because of the cardamom and pumpkin.
• There can never be enough pumpkin recipes for me during fall season .

These Austrian “gebackene Mäuse” (donut holes) can be enjoyed for breakfast as well as to a cup of coffee in the afternoon or bring them to a friends party. They will be the first thing gone at the cake buffet. ?

Sweet warm cardamom hugs Nina

Maybe you would like to check out these delicious recipes too:

• Soft brioche babka with blueberry vanilla filling
• Fairy Kisses – the most airy cookies ever
• Antonia’s favorite apple pie

Did you make this recipe? Great tag us on Instagram @twosisterslivinglife or use our hashtag #twosisterslivinglife so we can see. Make sure to pin our recipe for later and follow us on Pinterest

The post Baked Mice – fried Austrian no yeast donut holes with pumpkin and cardamom made in under 30 minutes appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

I’m presenting you a perfect comfort food recipe for the colder seasons. My apple cider cheese soup with pretzel chips and finished Bad Ischler Salzzart Gourmet Salt flakes is an easy recipe and made under 30 minutes. The soup has a slight sweetness because of the hard apple cider which gets beautifully outbalanced by the 2 savory ripe cheeses. It’s a delicious fall recipe for sure.

Bad Ischler Salzzart – the gourmet salt from our home country Austria

This special salt is not for everyday cooking and seasoning. It’s the perfect touch to finishing any sweet or savory dish and we loved using it to create this fabulous soup. The locally produced gourmet salt has a melt-in your mouth texture and even has an extraordinary look, it’s pyramid-shaped!

Ever wondered how they produce pyramid-shaped salt flakes?

Bad Ischler combined thousand year old technique of salt boiling with todays knowledge and experience to harvest the finest Austrian gourmet salt directly in our Austrian alps. To produce it, only the purest natural brine, from the century old Dürrnberg salt mine in the Austrian alps, is getting heated to boiling temperature. This leads to the production of tiny salt crystals which join together to form pyramid-shaped flakes. Bad Ischler Salzzart gourmet salt is definitely one of a kind.

There are so may ways to use Bad Ischler Salzzart gourmet salt for example to add the finishing touch to a perfectly medium cooked steak or grilled vegetables. We love using it in the morning for avocado toast or chocolate cookies and for so much more!

What is important for that Autumnly Apple cider cheese soup?

Apple Cider

• If you don’t have hard Apple Cider (called Apfelmost in Austria) at hand mix together apple juice and wine – ratio 1:1

The choices of cheese

In Austria we have a large variety of different cheeses. The majority of these cheeses have a very strong flavor with a bite and of course they are smelly ?.

These strong flavored cheeses are the ones you need to get for that comforting soup recipe.

I used a younger cheese with a more smoother but still strong flavor with a softer consistency and an aged cheese with a very distinctive strong flavor and a harder consistency. For Austrian people it was an Erzherzog Johann and a Bergkäse.

For American folks: If you are not very versatile in the world of cheese I would go for a Muenster and a sharp cheddar. If you know your way around in the world of cheese then you already know what to use or what you prefer ?.

Pretzel Chips

I used as an add-in Pretzel slices which I baked in the oven until cross. I just love the slightly malted and sweet flavour. Of course you can use any bread you have at home. ?

It’s a fantastic comforting soup to surprise your family and friends with. Don’t forget to sprinkle the melt in your mouth Bad Ischler gourmet salt flakes over the pretzel chips as a finish. They perfectly enhance the taste of the dish.

Warm hugs Nina & Antonia

Did you make this recipe? Great tag us on Instagram @twosisterslivinglife or use our hashtag #twosisterslivinglife so we can see. Make sure to pin our recipe for later and follow us on Pinterest 

Are you craving more delicious comforting dishes? How about these:

• Vegetarian Cauliflower Bolognese
• Easy yellow thai curry with sweet potatoes, asparagus and shrimps
• Smoky Vegan Mac and Cheese with sun dried tomatoes and spinach

Savory Autumn Apple Cider and cheese soup served with bread chips seasoned with Bad Ischler Gourmet Salt

4 from 9 votes

Recipe by Nina Course: Appetizer, austrian recipe, lunch, SoupCuisine: austrian

Servings

8

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

401

kcal

This is the perfect comforting soup for the cold weather season and to use up all that delicious fresh apple cider only available in autumn. The soup has a slightly sweet flavour from the apple cider which gets beautifully outbalanced by the savory ripe cheeses.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Baked pretzel chips

• 200 g 200 pretzels fresh or stale bread will do the trick too

• 1 tbsp 1 butter melted or olive oil

• 1 tbsp 1 Bad Ischler Salzzart Gourmet salt or sea salt flakes

• 2 tbsp 2 parsley fried

• Apple cider and cheese soup

• 1 1 shallot finely minced

• 25 g 25 butter for the shallot

• 1/2 tbsp 1/2 salt

• 1/4 tbsp 1/4 garlic powder

• 50 g 50 butter

• 50 g 50 flour

• 200 ml 200 apple cider you can also use 100ml white wine and 100ml apple juice

• 1,2 l 1,2 chicken broth

• 230 g 230 grated cheese use 2 different aged and smelly cheeses with a sharper taste for this soup like sharp cheddar cheese and swiss cheese for example. The ratio is 150g aged cheese and 80g a more softer cheese. For Austrian People: Bergkäse, St. Johann or Weinkäse

• 150 ml 150 cream

• 1 pinch 1 Bad Ischler Salzzart Gourmet salt The Salt is the finishing touch when served along with some freschly grinted black pepper

Directions

• Baked Pretzel Chips
• Slice the Pretzel in thin Slices (1/2cm or 1/4 inch) and arange on a baking tray .
• Drizzle with the meldted butter amd sprinkle lightly with some salt flakes

  • 

• Bake at 180 degree Celsius fan for about 10min or until golden brown.
• Fry the Parsely leaves in hot oil until cross. This will take about 30 seconds. Put the leaves on a kitchen roll paper after the frying for cooling.
• Savory Apple Cider and cheese soup
• Start with melting the 25g of butter in a medium sized pot and add the minced shallot.

  • 

• Cook over medium heat the shallots without out browning until tender.
• Add the 50g butter.
• When melted add the flour and whisk until a roux is forming. Looks like a cake batter.

  • 

• Deglace with the apple cider and keep on whisking for about 5 minutes.

  • 

• Add the chicken Broth and keep whisking until a kind of soup/Cream is forming.
• Now while whisking add the cheeses and the cream. When everything is homogenous let everything bubble on low heat for about 10 minutes.

  • 

• Season with some with freshly ground black pepper and eventually some more salt.
• Serve the soup with the pretzel chips some fried parsely and a pinch of Bad Ischler Gourmet Salt as a finishing.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 401kcal
• Carbohydrates: 30g
• Protein: 12g
• Fat: 27g
• Saturated Fat: 16g
• Cholesterol: 80mg
• Sodium: 2446mg
• Potassium: 244mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 4g
• Vitamin A: 927IU
• Vitamin C: 12mg
• Calcium: 238mg
• Iron: 2mg

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Tag @twosisterslivinglife on Instagram and hashtag it with

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The post Autumnly Apple cider and cheese soup with pretzel chips and salt flakes appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.