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13 Recipes for Delicious German Cookies

German cookies are always a delight during the holiday season. These little bites of heaven come in all varieties from spiced to honey, dark chocolate, shortbread, and more. If you’re looking for a few new cookie recipes to spice things up this holiday, I have just the thing – lots of great german cookie recipes!

Mouthwatering Recipes for German Cookies

These tasty recipes have a wide variety of flavors and textures. With so many great options, you’ll find one that you and your family will love. Have a look at all these great German cookies and get ready to start baking!

German Spice Lebkuchen Cookies

These Lebkuchen cookies are a traditional German gingerbread cookie. Featuring cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, they have all the flavors of the holidays.

German Iced Spice Cookies

These German Iced Spice Cookies, also called Pfeffernusse, are fluffy little iced bites of Heaven. They have an interesting ingredient you might not think of when you think of cookies – white pepper!

Old German Honey Cookies

These Old German Honey Cookies are an extra sweet take on the classic German spice cookie. They have the ginger and nutmeg you’d expect from a recipe like this as well as a healthy 1 cup of honey to add to the sweetness.

Zimtsterne Cookies

These Zimtsterne Cookies have a nutty, heavy cinnamon flavor and a delicious icing glaze. They look almost like pieces of a gingerbread house, and their flavor is classic holiday season goodness.

Bethmannchen Cookies

These Bethmannchen Cookies are a sweetened marzipan cookie decorated with almond halves and finished with an egg yolk glaze. They’re surprisingly easy to make, and the flavor is simple but delicious.

Superfood Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

An extra-healthy take on one of the most classic German cookie recipes, these Superfood Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies are filled with healthy ingredients like flax, hemp, and plant-based margarine.

Gingersnaps

This classic Gingersnaps cookie recipe is made with molasses, cinnamon, and ground cloves for that classic gingersnap flavor. It also uses a bit of whole wheat flour to add a nice texture.

Proper Snickerdoodle Cookies

This Snickerdoodle recipe is called Proper Snickerdoodle because it focuses on the classic holiday Snickerdoodle flavor with no bells and whistles. It’s a simple, straightforward recipe that is so classic and so good.

Spicy Double Dark Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies

These Spicy Double Dark Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies take the classic holiday cookie and kicks it up several notches. Cayenne adds a bit of heat, while both Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips and Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder give these cookies a deep, deep chocolate flavor.

German Shortbread Cookies

These German Shortbread Cookies, called Heidsand Cookies, have a pretty, swirled look and a classic shortbread taste. They have a traditional holiday flavor we love and a lovely swirl that makes them as pretty as they are delicious.

Lebkuchen: German Christmas Cookies

Another Lebkuchen German Christmas Cookie, this variation has fennel and black pepper in addition to the classic flavors associated with this cookie. It’s a spicier spice cookie that will warm your tummy and your heart.

Hausfreunde Cookies with Caramelized Cashews

These Hausfreunde Cookies are little bites of shortcrust pastry covered in apricot jam and sweet almond paste. Dark chocolate and caramelized cashews complete the flavor profile. They are both delicious and beautiful and perfect for the holiday season.

Polish Kolaczki Cookies

These Polish Kolaczki Cookies may be from Poland, but they are enjoyed quite often in Germany. Because they are so delicious and festive, being enjoyed in Germany is enough for them to make this list. With only a few ingredients, these are easy to make, too, which is a huge bonus.

German Cookie Recipes are Holiday Magic

These German cookie recipes range from simply sweet to spiced and bold to a bit of both, and they’re all holiday magic. If you’re looking to mix things up this holiday season, give any of these German cookie recipes a try.

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Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut & Chocolate Chips

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  1. Lindsay A. says:

    I love marzipan, so the Bethmannchen cookies would be right up my alley! It’s also been a while since I last had snickerdoodles, so I’d love to make the Proper Snickerdoodle Cookies recipe soon.

  2. samantha says:

    My mother is a great cook. That is all she has done her entire life. She has never made these! This will be awesome to bring to her and be like … I found something new for you to try mom!

  3. Linda Fast says:

    My grandma made German Iced Spice Cookies all year round. These cookies are a traditional cookie made by Russian Mennonites as well as German Spice Lebkuchen Cookies and Old German Honey Cookies. Myself, being a Celiac would love to try the Superfood Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies. This post has brought a lot of old memories back, thank you.

  4. I don’t think I have tried German cookies before but it looks like they would be great. I think I would probably like the German shortbread cookies the best. Thanks so much for sharing!

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