78 german cookie recipes

Super rich Black Forest cheesecake: a dense chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate-cookie crust, topped with kirsch-soaked cherries and kirsch whipped cream. The German classic reborn as a decadent cheesecake.

Pfeffernuesse are traditional German spice cookies made with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, rum, and candied lemon peel, finished with a white icing.

Traditional German Christmas butter cookies (Weihnachtsplätzchen) with vanilla and almond extract, rolled and cut into festive shapes. Decorated with colored sugar, nuts, and candied cherries.

German almond cookies with fresh lemon zest, ground unblanched almonds, and a buttery crumb that shatters at first bite. Overnight chilling builds flavor and makes rolling easy.

Rich chocolate drop cookies loaded with flaked coconut, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips, each topped with a pecan half. Melted unsweetened chocolate in the batter gives them a deep, fudgy flavor that tastes like a German chocolate cake in cookie form.

Lebkuchen German Christmas cookies blend honey, molasses, cardamom, and clove into a dense spiced dough rolled and cut into shapes. Family tradition, ages and keeps for months.

Haselnussmakronen, traditional German hazelnut macaroons: a cocoa meringue folded with crushed hazelnuts and lemon zest, baked low into chewy, flourless cookies. A naturally gluten-free holiday treat.

Rich cocoa-swirled cheesecake meets gooey coconut pecan frosting in this German chocolate cake hybrid. Crisp chocolate cookie crust, velvety filling, and sticky caramel topping loaded with toasted nuts.

Orangenplätzchen: German orange chocolate cookies with bright citrus zest, finely chopped chocolate folded into the dough, and a tart orange-lemon glaze brushed on warm. A traditional Weihnachtsplätzchen for Christmas tins.

Traditional German almond cookies shaped into hearts, with a tender flourless crumb made from ground almonds, egg yolks, and lemon extract, topped with a bright lemon icing. Naturally gluten-free and irresistible.

Pfefferneusse are traditional German pepper cookies with molasses, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, and black pepper, rolled in powdered sugar. This old-world recipe mellows for weeks in stoneware for the best flavor.

Chocolate caramel nut bars with a German chocolate cake-mix crust, melted caramel middle, and chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. A potluck-ready bar cookie you can shortcut with a boxed mix.

Chocolate icebox pudding layers a rich German chocolate filling between vanilla wafers, then chills until the cookies soften into a cake-like, no-bake dessert. A vintage make-ahead treat with just four ingredients.

Berlin Bread is a spiced German bar cookie loaded with grated chocolate, almonds, rum, apple preserves, and candied lemon peel. Iced while warm and sliced thin, these fragrant little bars belong on every holiday baking list.