German Recipes

German apple torte (apfeltorte): a butterless single-layer cake with diced apples and walnuts, golden and crunchy on top. Eight ingredients, 60 minutes, serves six.

Kartoffelklosse are traditional German potato dumplings stuffed with buttery croutons, seasoned with nutmeg and white pepper. Boiled until they float, these pillowy dumplings are the classic side for roasts and gravy.

Kartoffel Torte is a German chocolate potato cake with mashed potatoes, cocoa, pecans, and maraschino cherries baked in a tube pan and drizzled with powdered sugar icing.

Cake and yeast risen bread combined with apples and cream cheese. It's like apple strudel bread on steroids.

Dense, moist German apple cake loaded with four cups of sliced Pippin apples, cinnamon, and chopped nuts, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. A fall baking favorite.

Crispy breaded meatballs packed with ground pork, sauerkraut, and cream cheese, fried golden and served with a mustard-mayo dipping sauce. A bold German-style appetizer that makes 3 dozen.

Hot German potato salad tosses warm sliced potatoes with crispy bacon, onions, and a tangy bacon-fat vinegar dressing. The traditional warm potato salad, no mayo in sight.

Bavarian-style braised veal with tender asparagus, carrots, and a lemony beef broth sauce. Slow-braised in a Dutch oven until fork-tender. A classic German comfort dish.

A delicious and hearty chicken main dish of tender chicken pieces cooked in a creamy white wine sauce. Hühnerfrikassee is a beloved dish in Germany, and it's enjoyed by people of all ages.

Pfeffernuesse German pepper cookies with molasses, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper, rolled in powdered sugar. Small, spicy, and deeply aromatic holiday cookies from the old country.

Classic German yeast cake with a tender enriched dough and a buttery cinnamon-crumb topping, baked in pie pans. A traditional Streuselkuchen-style coffee cake from old-country German baking.

Pfeffernuesse are traditional German pepper nut cookies spiced with cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and allspice. Tiny rounds dried overnight and finished with a drop of brandy.

There are many versions of this one. The following has been a favorite for years. To be truly German, it should be served warm with whipped cream on top.

German sweet chocolate snack cake with coconut-pecan frosting: a buttermilk-tender chocolate sheet cake topped with the classic toasted coconut and pecan caramel frosting.

A recipe from grandmother's more thrifty times; rarely encountered today.

Lebkuchen (German honey cakes) blend honey, brown sugar, lemon, almonds, citron, and warm spices into a chewy spice cookie cut into fancy holiday shapes. Traditional Christmas cookie from Nuremberg.