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.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

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.

This year I started early with my Christmas bakery in the middle of November. Did you know that baking cookies is the perfect idea for a date with your significant other? Well me neither but that’s how I got together with my lovely boyfriend and shared our first kiss while baking and eating christmas cookies. Romantic isn’t it?

Now back to my Christmas cookie collection ?

• First off I start with my own recipe for Austrian Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescents). These are made with whole grain flour and part brown sugar. My whole family loves them and they are my favorite for the christmas time. If you want to try an Austrian Christmas Cookie recipe, than I recommend you Vanillekipferl, because they are easy to make and you don‘t need a lot pf ingredients. You will find my delicious recipe here!
  

• Bailey‘s Hazelnut Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
  These Baileys Hazelnut Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are holiday perfection. The baileys liquor and vanilla extract give these cookies such a great deep flavor and dipped in chocolate are they just pure deliciousness. You can find my recipe here.
  

• Ninas Fairy Kisses – unique Christmas Cookie recipe
  This is a delicious Christmas cookie recipe for amazing light and airy Fairy Kisses Cookies. Sugar cookie base – Candy – Meringue on top. Most perfect for that special holiday season of the year and gone before you can count to 10?
  

• Brown Butter Hawaij-Spiced Snickerdoodle
  I found this recipe while scrolling through my instagram feed one day and I instantly fell in love with Taylors Blog allpurposeflourchild. It‘s really hard to find a good recipe for snickerdoodles and these are my favorites. I just changed it a bit instead of 1/2 tsp cinnamon I added 1tsp. And for the hawaij spiced sugar I used 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 2tsp ginger, 2tsp cardamon, 2tsp cinnamon, 1/4 nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves and pinch salt.

• Chocolate Chip Cookies from hummingbird high
  I could eat chocolate chip cookies all year round. And there are a lot of really great recipes which make the perfect round crispy on the edges soft in the middle chocolate chip cookies. This recipe is one of those great ones and always have on hand.

• Linzer Augen – an Austrian Classic
  I found this recipe years ago in an Austrian baking magazine and ever since I have used this recipe.
  
  Ingredients: 300g whole grain flour, 100g powdered sugar, 1 pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste, 150g butter cold, 1 zests of one organic lemon, 1 egg yolk, 150g your favorite jam
  For the dough combine flour and powdered sugar, salt, vanilla paste and cold butter with your fingertips to a crumb like texture. Add lemon zests and egg yolk until dough forms. Chill in the fridge for 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 2-3mm. Using Linzer Augen cookie cutters or an empty glass, cut into matching pairs. Cut a ¾ inch diameter hole from one of each pair. Bake on the middle rack for 8-10 minutes until golden. Let cool completely before spreading the jam on the hole–less side of the pair. Place matching half on top of the jam-covered one. Dust them all with powdered Sugar.

• Easy Cornflake-Chocolate Cookies
  These are one of my boyfriends favorites and for on of our dates before we’ve become girlfriend and boyfriend we’ve made this cookies. They are very easy to make and only need two ingredients.
  200g milk chocolate and 300g cornflakes
  Carefully melt the milk chocolate and carefully stir in the cornflakes until everything is coated. Use two teaspoons to make little heaps on the baking sheet until you used up all the mixture. Chill in the fridge.

• Gluten-free Peanut Butter blossom cookies from the toasted pine nut.
  I love everything peanut butter and these are just perfect, even my dad likes them and he. is. very. picky! They are easy to make and you only need a few ingredients, but make sure you use high quality smooth peanut butter.. Try them and tell me what you think.

Lots of <3 Antonia

If you enjoyed those delicious cookies maybe you’d like to have a look at our Cranberry Cointreau Glühwein.

Say HELLO to us on social media <3 ! You can connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook andInstagram ! We would to see you there!

The post Antonias all-time favorite Christmas Cookies Collection appeared first on Two Sisters Living Life.

These Austrian Vanillekipferl are my all-time favorite Christmas cookies! They are traditional cookies from Austria. Everybody makes them for the Christmas season. And they only consists of few ingredients.

This recipe is kinda special since the crescents are made with whole grain flour and part brown sugar. The brown sugar is for the taste and gives them kinda caramel flavor and the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar.

This recipe will give you at least 100 pieces of vanilla crescents.

What means „Kipferl“?

The word Kipferl refers to anything which is crescent shaped. You will definitely find in every austrian bakery a pastry which is crescent shaped, like Brioche-Kipferl or Mohn-Kipferl.

But Vanillekipferl are only available during christmas time.

The word “Kipferl” can also be used as an endearment and stands for endearing fool. My lovely boyfriend always calls me Kipferl, which always makes me smile. Most of the time when I was “patschert”, Austrian word for clumsy, or when I forgot to do something?.

I hope you’ll enjoy these delicious “Vanille Kipferl” as much as my family and I do! They can’t be mist on any Christmas cookie plate!

Lots of <3 Antonia

If you enjoyed those delicious cookies maybe you’d like to have a look at our beautiful fairy kisses cookies .

Say HELLO to us on social media <3 ! You can connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram ! We would to see you there!

Austrian Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Crescents)

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Antonia Course: austrian recipe, christmas cookes, cookiesCuisine: austrian

Servings

100

pieces

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

Calories

67

kcal

This cookie recipe is an austrian classic and everybody prepares them for christmas! This is a bit healthier version made with whole grain flour and brown sugar. These cookies are simple to made and only made with few ingredients.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 400 g 400 butter unsalted, cubed

• 200 g 200 almonds ground

• 500 g 500 whole grain flour

• 100 g 100 brown sugar

• 60 g 60 powdered sugar

• 2 tsp 2 vanilla extract

Directions

• Combine flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, ground almonds with the butter and form to a dough. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 175°C.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll level tablespoons of the dough into 3-inch ropes. Taper the ends slightly and form the ropes into crescents. Carefully transfer the crescents to the baking sheets, about 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.
• In a small bowl mix together 100g powdered sugar and vanilla from 2 vanilla beans. Roll the still warm cookies in the sugar and let cool completely.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 67kcal
• Carbohydrates: 5g
• Protein: 1g
• Fat: 5g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 9mg
• Sodium: 30mg
• Potassium: 35mg
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 2g
• Vitamin A: 100IU
• Calcium: 10mg
• Iron: 1mg

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