Austrian Tradition: Christmas Cookies!

The Christmas time is always a magical time in Austria. It’s getting colder outside and people love to spend more time at home. Baking cookies is one of the big traditions in this season and families get together and spend a weekend creating delicious cookies from scratch. Recipes are handed down from one generation to the next and many have their own “secret recipe” or at least tips that already grandma used to make the perfect cookie! Kids are getting involved at a very young age too and are finding delight in getting their hands dirty while kneading dough or using cookie cutters for precious creations. It’s a fun family activity!

Some cookies are more common then others, but here we want to focus on maybe the three most famous ones:

Vanillekipferln

 Known as “Crescent almond cookies”, it is a favorite of most people in Austria. Delicious, crunchy with an almond taste and – of course – lots of sugar! It’s make out of short pastry.

Image Credit: Copyright Österreich Werbung Harald Eisenberger

Linzeraugen

Loosely translated as “Linzer Eyes” – referring to a town in Austria called “Linz”. Some legends say that it is actually not connected to the town but rather to a Viennese baker named “Linzer”. Whatever the origin, it dates back to the 17th century! It’s two pieces of chewy cookies, with the upper piece have a whole in the middle – the “eye” Some prefer even 3 wholes and a special Linzeraugen cookie cutter tool is available to make this easier! They are “glued together with jam – usually black current.

Image Credit: Copyright Tirol Werbung Janine Hofmann

Kokosbusserln

The name is incredibly sweet and means “coconut kisses”. It’s a super simple recipe that you can finish in 10 minutes! Main ingredients are egg whites, sugar and coconut flakes, flour & butter.