“In der Weihnachtsbäckerei” (In the Christmas Bakery) is a very popular German children’s Christmas song. The song describes the fun (and sometimes messy!) experience of baking Christmas cookies—mixing dough and searching for missing ingredients. It’s cheerful, playful, and often sung in schools, kindergartens, and at family gatherings during the holiday season. Even if you don’t speak German fluently, the song’s catchy melody and playful rhythm make it easy to enjoy and sing along.

Here by the Local Worldwide team, we wanted to share a few of our favorite christmas recipes.  If you’re interested in making your own Glühwein, I’ve linked our favorite recipe here as well.

Sending well wishes to our clients and partners worldwide in the pre-Christmas season.

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Ingredients
To Soak the Day Before
– 225 g raisins or sultanas
– 50 g candied lemon peel, finely chopped
– 50 g candied orange peel, finely chopped
– 40 ml rum (or apple juice)

Yeast Starter (Vorteig)
– 30 g fresh yeast
– 90 ml lukewarm milk (30°C)
– 155 g all-purpose flour
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1/2 tsp salt

Butter Dough
– 140 g all-purpose flour
– 150 g butter, very soft
– 50 g ground blanched almonds
– 35 g sugar
– 3 drops bitter almond extract
– 1 pinch mace

Finishing
– 40 g clarified butter
– 40 g granulated sugar
– 40 g powdered sugar

Instructions
1. Soak the fruit
Combine raisins, lemon peel, and orange peel with rum. Cover and soak overnight.
2. Prepare the yeast starter
Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture and knead until smooth.
Let rise 1.5–2 hours until doubled.
3. Prepare the butter dough
Mix remaining flour with soft butter. Add risen starter dough, then almonds, sugar, almond extract,
mace. Finally add soaked fruit. Let rise 1 hour.
4. Shape and bake
Preheat oven to 220°C (430°F). Shape dough into a log, score lengthwise. Reduce oven to 160°C
(320°F) and bake 50–60 minutes.
5. Finish
Brush warm Stollen with hot clarified butter and coat with sugar. Wrap tightly and store for several
weeks. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

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Ingredients

Cupcakes
– 50 g dark chocolate (70%), grated
– 50 g milk chocolate, grated
– 125 g butter, soft
– 50 g sugar
– 2 eggs
– 125 g flour
– 2 tbsp cocoa powder
– 2 tsp baking powder
– 75 ml cold mulled wine
Cream Topping
– 275 ml mulled wine
– 10 g cornstarch
– 50 g white chocolate, chopped
– 125 g butter, soft
Optional
– Blueberry powder
– Dark chocolate shavings

Instructions
1. Bake the cupcakes
Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F). Prepare 8 muffin liners. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs.
Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder. Combine with wet ingredients. Add chocolate and mulled wine. Fill
liners 2/3 full. Bake 30 minutes and cool.
2. Prepare the mulled wine cream
Reduce mulled wine to 150 ml. Mix 3 tbsp with cornstarch and return to pot. Cook until thickened. Add
white chocolate to melt. Cool completely.
3. Whip the cream topping
Beat butter until creamy. Add cooled mulled wine mixture gradually until smooth.
4. Assemble

Pipe cream on cupcakes. Dust with blueberry powder and add chocolate shavings if desired.

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Prep Time: 40 minutes
Resting Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Very easy

Ingredients

(For approx. 40–50 cookies, depending on size)

• 150 g butter
• 125 g brown sugar
• 1 egg (size M)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 60 g ground almonds
• 300 g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt

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Preparation

1. Make the dough

Beat the butter, sugar, and egg with a hand mixer for at least 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
Mix in the spices, lemon zest, and ground almonds.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to the butter mixture and mix in.
Shape the dough into a ball with your hands, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for about 1 hour.

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2. Shape the cookies

Choose one of the following methods:

Using cookie cutters:

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 4 mm thickness.
Cut out shapes, then gather and re-roll dough scraps until all dough is used.

Using a Spekulatius roller:

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 4 mm.
Roll the patterned Spekulatius roller across the dough, then cut out the individual shapes with a knife.
Re-roll scraps as needed.

Using a Spekulatius mold:

Form small balls of dough and press them into the floured molds.
Trim excess dough with a sharp knife or thin wire.
Tap the cookies out of the mold firmly but carefully.

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3. Chill the cookies

Place the shaped cookies on baking sheets lined with baking paper and chill for about 2 hours.

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4. Bake

Bake each tray in a preheated oven at
200°C (top/bottom heat) or 175°C (fan) for 10–12 minutes.
Remove the cookies and let them cool on a wire rack.