Springerle (Molded Christmas Cookies)

Servings: 12
Ingredients:

4 ea Eggs; Large
2 c  Sugar
1 t  Anise Extract
4 1/2 c  Cake Flour; Sifted

* NOTE:
These cookies are made with a special rolling pin or cookie
cutters.

Beat eggs until very light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar; beat for 15
minutes. DO NOT underbeat. Fold in anise extract and flour. Roll dough
3/8-inch thick. Thoroughly flour springerle mold or rolling pin. Press
molds firmly to dough. Cut cookies apart and place on greased and floured
cookie sheet. Let dry overnight at room temperture, covered with paper
towels, or uncovered. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place cookies in
oven and immediately reduce temperature to 300 degrees F. Bake for 15
minutes. Cookies should not brown. Store cookies 2 to 3 weeks to mellow
flavor. These cookies are very hard and may be used for dunking in
coffee, tee or cocoa. For Christmas, paint designs with egg yolk colored
with food coloring.

Makes 6 dozen.

Schokoladenpretzel (Chocolate Pretzels)

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

1/2 c  Butter Or Margarine
1/4 c  Sugar
1 ea Egg; Large, Beaten
1 t  Vanilla Extract
1/4 c  Milk
1/4 c  Cocoa
2 c  Flour; Unbleached, Unsifted
-------------------------------COCOA FROSTING-------------------------------
2 T  Cocoa
1 1/4 c  Confectioners' Sugar
2 T  Butter Or Margarine; Melted
1/2 t  Vanilla Extract

Cream 1/2 cup butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the
egg, vanilla, and milk. Sift cocoa and flour. Mix into butter mixture
until thoroughly blended. Chill dough until firm enough to handle (about
30 minutes). Using 2 T dough, roll a rope about 12 inches long between
your hands. Shape into a pretzel as follows: Make a loop bout 1 1/2
inches in diameter by crossing the ends, leaving 1-inch tails. Flip the
loop down over the crossed ends. Press firmly into place. Place pretzels
on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 10 minutes.
Mak frosting in a small bowl. Mix cocoa and confectioners’ sugar.
Gradually stir in butter and vanilla. If frosting is too thick, thin with
milk. When pretzels are cool, spread with Cocoa Frosting.

Make 2 dozen.

Pretzels

Servings: 6
Ingredients:

1 pk Yeast; Active, Dry
1 1/2 c  ;Water, Warm,110-120 Degrees
1 t  Salt
1 T  Sugar
4 c  Flour; Unbleached
1 ea Egg; Large, Beaten
1 x  Salt; Coarse

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt and sugar to yeast mixture. Blend
in flour and knead dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Cover and
let dough rise until double in bulk. Punch down. Cut dough into small
pieces and roll into ropes. Twist ropes into pretzel shapes and place on
greased cookie sheet. Using a pastry brush, bursh pretzels with egg and
sprinkle with coarse salt. Allow pretzels to rise until almost double in
bulk. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned. Best
if eaten immediately. If not, store in airtight container.

Makes 12 6-inch pretzels.

Neujahrspretzel (New Year’s Pretzels)

Servings: 2
Ingredients:

2 c  Milk
1/2 c  Butter Or Margarine
2 pk Yeast; Active, Dry
2 t  Salt
1/2 c  Sugar
7 c  Flour; Unbleached
2 ea Eggs; Large
1 c  Confectioners' Sugar
1 x  ;Water
1 t  Vanilla Extract
1/4 c  Almonds; Chopped

Heat milk and butter until very warm (120-130 degrees F.). Mix yeast,
salt, sugar, and 1 cup flour. Slowly beat into warm milk. Beat for 2
minutes. Add eggs and 1 cup of flour. Beat for an additional 2 minutes.
Add enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic,
about 5 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl. Let rise in a warm place
until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and let rise again
until doubled. (1 hour more). Divide dough in half. Shape pretzel as
follows: Roll dough into a rope about 30 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in
diameter. Cross the ends leaving a large loop in the center. Flip loop
back onto crossed ends to form a pretzel. Repeat with remaining dough.
Place pretzels on greased baking sheets. Let rise 15 minutes more. Bake
at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire
racks. Mix confectioners’ sugar, water and vanilla to form a thin icing.
Spread icing on pretzels and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Makes 2 large pretzels.

Weintraubentorte (Grape Torte)

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

-----------------------------------DOUGH-----------------------------------
2 c  Flour; Unbleached, Unsifted
2/3 c  Sugar
1/4 c  Butter Or Margarine
1 ea Egg; Large
1 ea Egg Yolk; Large
1 ea Lemon; Grated Rind Of
1/8 t  Salt
----------------------------------TOPPING----------------------------------
1 lb Grapes
3 ea Egg Whites; Large
6 T  Sugar
1/2 ea Lemon; Juice Of
4 oz Almonds; Ground

DOUGH:

Sift flour and sugar into a medium-size bowl. Cut in butter or margarine
until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg, egg yolk, lemon rind, and
salt; mix with a fork to form dough. Cover dough and let rest in
refrigerator 20 minutes. Roll out dough into a circle; place in an
ungreased springform pan. Form a 1-inch high rim. Bake in preheated 350
degree F. oven for 10 minutes.

FILLING:

Meanwhile, clean and halve grapes, and remove seeds if necessary. Beat
egg whites until stiff; blend in sugar, lemon juice, and ground almonds.
Carefully fold in the grapes. Remove cake from the oven. Fill baked
cake shell with grape mixture, return to the oven, and bake for another
30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack.

Obsttorte (Fruit Torte)

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

-----------------------------------PASTRY-----------------------------------
2 c  Flour; Unbleached
1/4 c  Sugar
1 c  Butter; NO Margarine, Unsalt
2 ea Egg Yolks
----------------------------------FILLING----------------------------------
4 c  Fruit; Fresh, Canned, Frozen
1/2 c  Sugar;If Fresh Fruit Is Used
1/4 c  ;Water, If Needed
2 T  Cornstarch
-------------------------------ALMOND COATING-------------------------------
1 ea Egg White
1 T  Sugar
1/2 c  Almonds; Toasted, Sliced
----------------------------------TOPPING----------------------------------
2 T  Sugar
1 t  Vanilla Extract
1 c  Cream; Heavy, Whipped

CAKE:

Mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add egg yolks; mix to form dough. Press dough into bottom and sides of a
10-inch springform pan. Dough should come 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Bake
in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until pastry is
firm and light brown.

FILLING:

Drain canned or frozen fruit, reserving juice. Crush 1 cup of fresh fruit
to make juice. Add sugar to fresh fruit and let stand 1/2 hour. Drain
juice and add water to make 1 cup. Mix cornstarch and fruit juice. Cook
over medium heat until thickened. Place whole fruit in baked pastry
shell. Pour thickened fruit juice over top. Chill thoroughly. Carefully
remove torte from springform pan.

ALMOND COATING:

Beat egg white until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar. beat until
stiff peakes are formed. Spread the meringue around the outside of the
pastry shell. Press in the almonds so that they completly cover the
sides.

TOPPING:

Gently fold sugar and vanilla into whipped cream. Spread over the fruit.
Garnish with sliced toasted almonds, if desired.

Haselnusstorte (Hazelnut Torte)

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

5 ea Eggs; Large, Separated
3/4 c  Sugar
6 T  ;Water
1 3/4 c  Cake Flour; Sifted
1 t  Baking Powder
1 1/2 c  Hazelnuts (Filberts);Ground*
1 t  Vanilla Extract
2 T  Confectioners' Sugar
1 c  Cream; Heavy, Whipped
1 x  Fresh Strawberries,If Desire

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until very light, about 5 minutes. Slowly
add the water. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Mix with 1
cup of nuts. Fold the flour mixture into the egg yolks. Beat the egg
whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the
batter. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch springform pan. Bake at
375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until cake is done. Cool cake on a wire
rack. When completely cooled, split the cake into 2 layers. Fold the
vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup of nuts into the
whipped cream. Spread whipped cream between the 2 cake layers and on top
of the cake. Chill until serving time. Garnish with fresh strawberries,
if desired.

* Hazelnuts are available at most stores under the name of Filberts.
They should be blanched. To blanch, boil the nuts for 5 minutes and when
they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins. To grind, place about
1/4 cup at a time in a blender, or chop as finely as you can with a sharp
knife.

Apfelquarkkuchen (Apple And Cream Kuchen)

Servings: 4
Ingredients:

------------------------------------CAKE------------------------------------
1 pk Yeast; Dry, Active
1/2 t  Salt
4 T  Sugar
2 c  Flour; Unbleached, Unsifted
1/4 c  Butter or Margarine
1/2 c  Milk
1 ea Egg; Large
----------------------------------FILLING----------------------------------
3 c  Apples; Tart, Sliced
1 T  Lemon Juice
1 t  Cinnamon
3/4 c  Sugar
2 T  Flour; Unbleached
8 oz Cream Cheese; Softened
1 ea Egg; Large

CAKE:

Mix yeast, salt, 4 T sugar, and 3/4 cup flour. Add butter to milk. Heat
until very warm (120-130 degrees F.). Gradually add milk to flour
mixture. Beat for 2 minutes. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour. Beat with an
electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Mix in enough flour to form a
soft dough. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough is shiny and elastic.
Place in greased bowl and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
Pat dough into well-greased 10-inch springform pan pressing the dough 1
1/2 inches up the sides of the pan.

FILLING:

Toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 T of flour.
Arrange in rows on top of the dough. Beat together cream cheese, 1/2 cup
sugar, and egg. Spread over apples. Let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Best when served warm.

Gugelhupf

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

1 pk Yeast; Dry Active
1 c  Milk; Scalded Then Cooled
1 c  Sugar
1 c  Butter Or Margarine
5 ea Eggs; Large
1 t  Vanilla Extract
1 x  Lemon; Rind Of, Grated
3/4 c  Raisins
1/3 c  Almonds; Ground (2 oz Pk)
1/2 t  Salt
4 c  Flour; Unbleached, Unsifted

Sprinkle yeast into milk to dissolve. In a large bowl beat sugar and
butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in
vanilla, lemon rind, raisins, and almonds. Mix salt and flour. Add milk
and flour mixtures, alternately, ending with the flour mixture. Grease a
gugelhopf mold*, budt pan, or tube pan. Pour batter into pan. Cover and
let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Bake in preheated 375
degree F. Oven for 40 minutes or until browned and done. Serve warm with
butter.

* The gugelhopf mold is know also as a turban-head pan. If this is not
availiable, you can use the others with the same results.

Rahmapfelkuchen (Apple And Rum Custard Cake)

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

-----------------------------------CRUST-----------------------------------
1 1/2 c  Flour; Unbleached, Unsifted
5 T  Sugar
1 T  Lemon Rind; Grated
2/3 c  Butter Or Margarine
1 ea Egg Yolk; Large
1 T  Milk
----------------------------------FILLING----------------------------------
1/2 c  Soft Bread Crumbs
2 T  Butter Or Margarine; Melted
4 c  Apples; Tart, Sliced
1 T  Lemon Juice
1/4 c  Sugar
1/4 c  Raisins; *
1/4 c  Rum
3 ea Eggs; Large, Beaten
1/3 c  Sugar
1 3/4 c  Milk

* Soak raisins in 1/4 cup rum for 1/2 hour before using.

CRUST:

To make crust, mix flour, sugar, and lemon rind. Cut in butter or
margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk and 1 T of
milk; mix gently to form a dough. Pat into bottom of a 10-inch Springform
pan that has sides only greased. Press dough up sides of pan for 1 inch.

FILLING:

Toss together bread crumbs and melted butter. Spread evenly over pastry
crust. Toss apple slices, lemon juice, and 1/4 c of sugar. Spread apples
over crumbs. Drain raisins, reserving rum, and sprinkle raisins over
apples. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 15 minutes. Beat eggs
and sugar until thick and lemon-colored. Stir in milk and reserved rum.
Pour custard over apples and bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees F.
until custard is set. Cool completely before serving. Do NOT remove
springform pan until cool.