Christmas Shortbread Cookies (Spritzgelbaeck)
Ingredients:
- 375 g (13 oz) of soft butter
- 250 g (9 oz) of sugar
- 250 g (9 oz) of flour
- 250 g (9 oz) of potato starch
- 125 g (4.5 oz) of peeled and ground almonds
- 2 packages Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar (OR) 3-6 drops of vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of dark chocolate
Preparation:
Use your handheld electric mixer and beat the butter. Add sugar, vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract) and a pinch of salt to it. Mix flour with potato starch and sieve over the butter mixture. Add the almonds and knead it all with your hands until the dough is nice and smooth.
Fill your cookie press with the dough. Using the star insert, start to form letters or numbers. You also could use any other insert (with an opening in the center) to form other shapes.
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Place the cookies on a baking sheet on the middle rack and bake them between 7-9 minutes. Let them cool down a little on the sheet before placing them on the cooling rack.
Heat up your chocolate in a bain-marie (water bath) and then fill a decorating bag with the melted chocolate. Using the small open tip of the bag, decorate the cookies as you like. You could also use a brush to decorate the cookies with chocolate. DONE!
