These German Spice Cookies Are Perfect for the Holidays (2024)

Jennifer McGavin

Jennifer McGavin learned to cook German food while living in Germany for 11 years and has worked in the food industry for many years.

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Updated on 07/10/21

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Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
7 ounces (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baker's ammonia, or 1 1/2 teaspoons (single- or double-acting) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Gather the ingredients.
In a large bowl, cream granulated sugar and vanilla sugar with butter until well combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Sift or whisk together flour with baker's ammoniaorbaking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.
Stir into creamed mixture until it forms a stiff dough.
Shape dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 or more hours (overnight is best).

Oil and flour a spekulatius mold. Tap out all excess flour.
Roll a golf ball-size piece of dough between your lightly floured hands into an egg shape. Press the dough into the mold, filling all crevices.
Use a sharp knife or piece of kitchen twine to cut off excess dough, so the dough is flush with mold. Tap the mold on the counter to release the cookie, or use a sharp knife to start the release of cookie.
Carefully place the cookie on a cookie sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough.
If this process becomes too onerous, or you do not own any cookie molds, roll the dough 1/8 inch thick (2 to 3 ml) and cut out cookies using your favorite cookie cutters.
Bake in an oven heated to 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies brown slightly around the edges. These cookies can be decorated like conventional sugar cookies, but the old-fashioned mold imprints should not be overshadowed, nor should the delicate flavor of the dough be masked.
Serve and enjoy!

Store cooled cookies tightly covered. Because of the spices, they should keep for a long time.

See Also

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 96
Amount per serving
Calories	47
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g	2%
Saturated Fat 1g	5%
Cholesterol 8mg	3%
Sodium 12mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 7g	3%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 5mg	0%
Iron 0mg	2%
Potassium 8mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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