German Cookies

These German cookies are an adaptation of a festive and easy bar cookie that my mom has made at Christmas for years. These flavorful spiced bars are made with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest and are packed with chopped pecans. They are magically both light and slightly meringue-like, and yet have a good structure with nice chew. A bit of whole wheat flour in the batter provides body without feeling heavy. The bars are blanketed with an orange glaze that resembles patches of snow as it dries. Cut into a star pattern (or cut into squares), these are a simple and straightforward spice cookie that keeps very well.

The original recipe for these cookies is from a 1960s edition of a Sunset Magazine "favorite recipes" compendium that my mom still has. Her handwritten notes say 1976 was the first year she baked them, and the fact that we make them still is a testament to their ease, reliability, and great taste.

The star shape (or snowflake, depending on your eye) of the bars was inspired by an Instagram post by Joanne of The Olive and Mango. She baked a cake that featured this pretty design, and I've been wanting to try something similar ever since. It's a beautiful way to dress up a simple bar cookie recipe or cake. I shared a stop motion video on Instagram Reels demonstrating how to slice the bars into this star shape. You can see it here.

With holiday cookie season upon us, you might also consider these caramel pecan shortbread bars, or these triple ginger molasses cookies. You can find all of my cookie and bar recipes here.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Recipe Tips
• Are these Lebkuchen?
• 📖 Recipe
• More cookies
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

FOR THE GERMAN SPICE COOKIES:

• Large eggs - Eggs provide fat and serve as a binder in these bar cookies.

• Brown sugar - brown sugar helps keep these bars moist and chewy and gives them a deeper caramel taste.

• All purpose flour - Flour binds the batter together and provides structure. If you have a scale, I encourage you to weigh your flour for best results. Feel free to substitute all purpose flour with a cup for cup style gluten free flour if desired.

• Whole wheat flour - A bit of whole wheat flour adds a nutty, complex taste. It does absorb a bit of extra moisture, which creates a fairly thick batter. If you don't have whole wheat flour, feel free to replace it with the same amount of all purpose flour (or gluten free).

• Cinnamon - A warming spice that adds a lovely holiday feel to these cookies.

• Cloves - Ground cloves are the pulverized dried flower buds of the clove tree. They impart an intense and pungent flavor that always reminds me of winter baking.

• Kosher salt - for enhanced flavor.

• Pecans, chopped - I recommend toasting the pecans in order to bring out their nutty flavor.

• Orange zest - Wash your orange and use a microplane or fine toothed grater to zest the orange. Avoid grating the white pith as it adds a bitter taste.

FOR THE ORANGE GLAZE:

• Powdered sugar - Sift your powdered sugar to ensure there are no lumps in the glaze.

• Orange juice - Freshly squeezed orange juice will provide the best, brightest citrus flavor for the glaze. Juice the orange that you zested for the cookie batter.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

• Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Centigrade, Gas Mark 5). Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper, extending the paper over the sides to use as a handle for lifting the bars out of the pan after baking.

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the eggs and brown sugar. Beat until airy, light and creamy, 2-3 minutes.

• Add flours, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Mix until flour is fully incorporated and no dry streaks remain.

• Mix in the chopped pecans and orange zest.

• Pour the batter into the pan. It will be quite thick, and won't look like there's enough. It's OK! Carefully spread the batter to the edges of the pan, making sure there are no areas of the pan left bare.

• Bake for 15-17 minutes, until bars are just beginning to turn golden and the top has turned dull. Your finger should only leave a slight indentation.

• While bars are baking, mix up the orange glaze. In a 1 cup (250 mL) glass measuring cup (or similar container, ideally with a pour spout), combine the powdered sugar and orange juice. Whisk until you achieve a smooth, thin glaze. Immediately upon removing the bars from the oven, pour the glaze over the bars and spread with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to cover the entire top.

Hint: Make the orange glaze while the bars are baking so that it's ready to pour on the bars as soon as they come out of the oven. As the bars cool, the glaze will solidify. Before cutting, it's best to let the bars rest for a few hours until the glaze is firm.

Substitutions

• Whole wheat flour- the original recipe was written with all purpose flour, and along the way, my mom adapted it to include a bit of whole wheat flour. I've made it both ways, and both are great. Feel free to substitute all purpose flour for the whole wheat if you don't have it in your pantry.

• Pecans - You can certainly substitute other nuts for the pecans (walnuts, chopped almonds, or hazelnuts come to mind). I wouldn't recommend omitting nuts completely as it will reduce the total quantity of batter by too much.

Variations

• Spices - I enjoy the simplicity of the cinnamon and cloves here, but you can certainly add a bit of additional spice flavor if you desire. You might try adding ¼ to ½ teaspoon of ginger, allspice, nutmeg and/or cardamom for a choose your own spice adventure.

• Add-ins - You could add a few tablespoons of chopped candied ginger for a bit of zing, or additional texture and chew with ¼ to ⅓ cup dried cranberries.

Equipment

Glass and metal pans conduct heat differently. Glass bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and retains heat for longer once hot. Using a glass pan without adjusting this recipe might result in overbaked edges, as the batter will take longer to cook, and then might bake too quickly towards the sides. If you only have a glass pan, you may need to experiment with lowering the heat by 25 degrees Fahrenheit and baking for an additional 10 minutes. King Arthur Baking has visual examples of recipes tested using different pans here.

I also like using a metal pan because it results in more well defined, 90 degree edges rather than a curved, slightly slanted edge from glass. Straight edges are particularly helpful if you want to cut the bar cookies into a decorative shape.

Use small or medium binder clips from the office supply store to keep the parchment paper lining the pan from falling into the wet batter. I also use them as bag clips to keep my pantry ingredients sealed.

Storage

These bars store well in an airtight container for up to a week. For longer storage, they freeze beautifully in an airtight container as well. Place parchment paper between the layers to ensure they don't stick.

Recipe Tips

Make sure your ground spices are fresh, especially if it's been a good while since you used them. Fresh spices make a world of difference. Store your spices in a well sealed container in a cool, dry location. Whole spices are usually fresh for around 2 years, while ground spices have a much shorter shelf life of around 6 months.

If you have the option to buy spices in bulk at your local grocery store, I encourage you to do so. Buying spices in bulk just means purchasing the amount you need from a larger container that the grocery store restocks frequently. (You won't go home with 3 pounds of cinnamon unless you really want to).

Are these Lebkuchen?

The original recipe from which these are adapted calls these bars "German Cookies." I realize it's a vague, broad name (can you imagine assuming a country only has one cookie?) but I wanted to stay true to the original in my post. These bars share similarities with Lebkuchen, which is a general term for gingerbread cookie in Germany. However, Lebkuchen are traditionally made with honey and almond paste and include a longer list of spices.

I don't know the origin of the recipe I've adapted, but I'm guessing it's an American rendition. For all kinds of traditional German baking, I'd recommend looking at this excellent cookbook, Classic German Baking, from Luisa Weiss.

📖 Recipe

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More cookies

If you liked these chewy spice cookies, you might also enjoy baking these other holiday cookies!