Last Updated on 27/06/2024 by Adina
Crispy German butter cookies or Butterplätzchen, a classic Christmas cookie recipe, are perfect for baking with children.
Germany has countless cookie recipes, but these German butter cookies, or Butterplätzchen, are among the most popular. Kids love cutting and decorating them.
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I bake these cookies first every season, starting at the end of November. Despite making many other types, we always bake at least one more batch before Christmas. Each time, it's a huge batch topped exclusively with sprinkles. And I make these Cornflake Cakes every season, too; they're my husband's favorites. And I love these Butterhorn Cookies like my grandma used to make.
If you are into German Christmas cookies, have a look at the Nussmakronen, Spitzbuben, or the Heidesand; these recipes are delicious and super easy to make.
Many cookies are known as German butter cookies around the world, like Spritzgebäck, Vanillekipferl, or even Linzer. But today's pastries are what we call butter cookies or Butterplätzchen in Germany, this simple recipe for nicely decorated biscuits made with only basic ingredients. All the other mentioned are just something else.
Butterplätzchen ingredients
The most basic cookie ingredients are flour, butter, sugar, salt, and egg.
For the decoration: one egg yolk, milk, and colorful sprinkles.
Vanilla sugar is a basic ingredient in Germany. It can be bought anywhere and is super cheap. It is used in most recipes for cookies or cakes. However, I know that vanilla sugar is not “a thing” worldwide. You can replace it with a small amount of vanilla extract or a few drops of vanilla aroma.
How to make German butter cookies?
- Place the flour, cold cubed butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, and egg into the food processor. Process shortly to form the dough. (1)
- Turn the dough onto the working surface and press the dough into a disc. Don't knead. (2)
- Wrap in plastic foil/cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.
- Preheat the oven and line the baking trays with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour the working surface and the rolling pin.
- Divide the dough into two parts.
- Roll the dough 5 mm/ 0.2 inches.
- Cut the cookies with any cutters you like. As I always bake these biscuits with the kids, we use cutter forms that kids like: bells, angels, Christmas trees, and so on. We have at least 40 different cutters...
- Place on a tray (1) and brush with a mixture of egg yolk and milk. (2)
- Sprinkle with the sprinkles. Don't overdo it, or they might look weird in the end. They also make the pastries even sweeter. My kids always overdo it, so the cookies might not always look so professional once baked... But they love them! (3)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until only lightly golden. (4)
- Let rest on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Roll the remaining dough and repeat. Roll all the scraps again and make more cookies.
Tips
The dough is great for working with kids. Even if you roll the dough scraps several times, the biscuits will still be delicious!
Prepare the cookies to fill a tray and place them in the oven. Once they are in the oven, use the time to prepare the second batch. It is always best to use two or three trays.
Don't place them on the hot tray, though. Wait until they are ready to go into the oven, and then place them on the tray. You will not have this problem when using several cold trays.
You can also leave them plain (without sprinkles) or decorate them with chocolate sprinkles or other stuff.
Plain German butter cookies can also be iced after baking and cooling. To make the icing, mix about 150 g/ 1 ½ cups icing sugar with about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or water to form a thick paste that will not run down the pastries' sides.
You can also decorate them with royal icing, which is beautiful but time-consuming.
Make in advance and store
You can make the dough in advance and keep it refrigerated (wrapped in plastic foil) for up to 3 days. The dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
The Butterplätzchen keep well in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.
German Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour 9 oz/ 2 cups
- 125 g granulated sugar 4.5 oz/ ⅔ cup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar Note 2
- pinch of salt
- 150 unsalted butter 5.5 oz/ ⅔ cup, cold
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- sprinkles Note 3
Instructions
- Dough: Place the flour, cold cubed butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, a pinch of salt, and egg in the food processor. Process shortly to form the dough.250 g all-purpose flour/ 2 cups + 150 unsalted butter/ ⅔ cup + 125 g granulated sugar/ ⅔ cups + 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar + pinch of salt + 1 egg
- Refrigerate: Turn the dough onto the working surface and press the dough into a disc. Don't knead. Wrap in plastic foil/cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C and line the baking trays with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough about 0.2 inches/ 5 mm on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut the cookies with any cutters you like. Place on trays (Note 4).
- Brush: Mix the egg yolk and the milk, brush the cookies with the mixture. Sprinkle with the sprinkles.1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk + sprinkles
- Bake for 7-10 minutes until only lightly golden. Let rest on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Repeat: Roll the remaining dough and repeat. Roll all the scraps again and make more cookies.
Notes
- A digital kitchen scale (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab) will give you the most precise measure, ensuring the best bake possible.
- Alternatively, use ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract or a few drops of vanilla aroma. See the blog post for instructions on how to make vanilla sugar.
- Alternatively, use chocolate sprinkles or leave the butter cookies plain. Plain cookies can be iced. To make the icing, mix 150 g/ 1 ½ cups powdered sugar with about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or water to form a thick paste that will not run down the pastries' sides. You can also decorate them with royal icing.
- Baking sheets: If using only one tray repeatedly, don't place the second/third batch of cookies on a hot tray. Cut them, decorate them with sprinkles, and only put them on the hot/warm tray when they are ready to go into the oven. You will not have this problem using several trays, but most people don't have more than 2 anyway. Use a plastic spatula to transfer the unbaked cookies to the tray.
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