![]() ![]() ![]() It’s essential that the dough is thoroughly chilled and that you work very quickly in slicing it before it warms up. ![]() I won’t lie, shortbread can be maddening to work with. Heidesand is a shortbread cookie so it uses no eggs. Hi Claire, I personally just use cups for measurements on this. Let the cookies sit for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.įor more traditional German Christmas goodies be sure to try our: In an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, bake them for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfways through to ensure even baking, until the edges are just barely starting to turn golden. I couldn’t find my stash while I was making these so had to make do with regular sugar. Traditionally the cookies are often rolled in Hagelzucker (in English, pearl sugar), very coarse and opaque chunks of sugar that don’t melt under baking temperatures. Wrap the logs up in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.Ĭut the chilled dough into 1/4 inch rounds. Don’t worry about that, once it’s chilled it will stay together. Again, the dough is dry and will take some squishing and re-squishing to get it to stay together. Transfer the door to a clean work surface and squish the dough together to form two logs about 1 inch in diameter. It is a bit challenging to work with but the crumbly dough is what ensures the best shortbread texture. It will just barely stick together, some parts of it breaking off. The dough will be very dry and crumbly and that’s how it should be. Use your hands to form the crumbs into a mass of dough. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.Īdd the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Once cooled, add the browned butter to a mixing bowl and beat until frothy.Īdd the sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat until combined. As soon as it becomes a rich brown, remove it from the heat to prevent it from burning. You want browned butter that is rich in color for the full flavor benefit. Browned specks will begin to form on the bottom of the pan, emitting a lovely nutty aroma. It’s very easy for browned butter to become burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on it. The butter will begin to foam and the foam will start to subside. Whisk the butter frequently as it begins to simmer. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Contemporary variations of Heidesand include the addition of candied ginger, orange, or rosemary.įirst let’s brown the butter. They’re simple in preparation and appearance but have a wonderful flavor and texture. “Hyde-shnook-eh”.Īnd so from this beautiful region of Germany we have Heidesand, a “sandy” shortbread cookie made with browned butter and enjoyed all over Germany during the Christmas season. I always got a kick out of saying the name as a kid. Indigenous to the area are the famous Heidschnucke, a north German breed of moorland sheep with big rounded horns. It also has historic significance, having been cultivated since 3000 BC with over a thousand Megalithic sites from the New Stone Age and early Bronze Age. Most of it is a nature reserve and it is a popular north German tourist site. In season it is covered in gorgeous purple heather. The terrain is sandy (the cookies’ namesake) and slightly hilly. Heidesand translates as “heath sand” and has its origins in the Lüneburger Heide, a beautiful heathland area in northern Germany that my family and I loved visiting. Pronounced “hi-deh-sund”, it’s an age-old classic German cookie, mostly eaten during the holiday season. A personal favorite, growing up in Germany we made these every Christmas and it has remained a family tradition ever since. Delicately crumbly with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, they have remained a favorite throughout Germany during the Christmas holidays for generations!Ī traditional German Christmas treat, Heidesand are delicious shortbread cookies that are made with browned butter, a feature that gives them their unique and distinguished flavor. A thoroughly authentic Heidesand recipe, these classic German shortbread cookies are made with browned butter that gives them their distinguishing flavor.
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