I know that I have said before that it´s my favourite recipe, but this recipe for these Haselnussbrot biscuits is probably my absolute favourite German Christmas biscuit! A buttery biscuit with whole hazelnuts and dipped in some dark chocolate! Yum!
This recipe is for another one of my German Christmas biscuits, known as “Plätzchen” in Germany. Unlike some of my other recipes (for example, Vanilla Crescents/Vanillekipferl), I wouldn´t say these are necessarily a “Classic”, I don´t think I have seen anyone else make them. But my family has been making these particular biscuits for years – and I normally eat them all within a few days!
“Haselnussbrot” in German literally translates to “Hazelnut Bread”. Not sure why they have called it bread when it´s a biscuit, perhaps because you slice them as you would a loaf of bread before baking.
How to make Haselnussbrot:
This Haselnussbrot is extremely easy to make. The dough is made by piling all the ingredients onto your work surface and then mixing them together with your hands! Really easy and perfect for kids to help with. I used to love helping my mum with that part when I was younger (although she probably didn´t appreciate the mess I made…).
If you don´t have vanilla sugar, just use a tablespoon of caster sugar or try making your own.
The hazelnuts are kept whole and are kneaded into the dough at the end. You will cut through the hazelnuts revealing them on the surface of the biscuits once you slice the dough later.
Once the Haselnussbrot has been baked and cooled, you dip half of the biscuit in some melted chocolate. I always use dark chocolate because it´s my favourite. If you prefer milk chocolate, however, I´d use that. My flatmate, for example, who doesn´t really like dark chocolate said he would have preferred that. So, it´s up to you!
More Christmas Baking Inspiration
If you are looking for other Christmas biscuit recipes, why not try these crispy, nicely spiced Gingerbread Men, Christmas Light Cookies, or my other favourites: Chocolate Orange Crescents?
For something that lasts a little longer and can be enjoyed with a cup of tea in the afternoon, you could try making a German Christmas Stollen with Marzipan or these Classic British Mince Pies (no meat!!!)!
If you are looking for a Christmas dessert recipe, why not try making a Classic Trifle (one of my most popular recipes!) or my Festive Chocolate and Bailey´s Pavlova!
Haselnussbrot | Hazelnut Biscuits | German Christmas Baking
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE BISCUITS:
- 300g flour
- 100g icing sugar
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 200g cold butter
- 1 medium egg
- 100g whole hazelnuts
TO DECORATE:
- 250g dark or milk chocolate
Method:
- Weigh out the flour, icing sugar, vanilla sugar and salt and pile them onto your work surface, giving them a quick mix. Push the ingredients together into a pile and create a well in the middle.
- Crack the egg into the well. Break the butter into small pieces and scatter around the egg on top of the dry ingredients.
- Using your hands, mix and knead the mixture until all the ingredients are well combined and the mixture comes together into a nice, soft dough.
- Finally, flatten the dough and gently press the hazelnuts on top, before working them into the biscuit dough.
- Shape a long, rectangular sausage out of the dough, approximately 2.5 cm high and 4 cm wide. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least an hour until firm.
- Line 2-3 large baking trays with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and using a very sharp knife, slice the sausage into rectangular biscuits, about 8 mm thick. Make sure you get them all roughly the same size to ensure they cook at the same speed.
- Bake the Haselnuss Brot in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes until lightly golden. Place on a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Keep the baking paper to use for later.
- To decorate, melt the chocolate over a bain-marie. To read more about how to melt chocolate, read my post about How to Master Chocolate.
- Dip half of the biscuit into the melted chocolate, leaving the other half uncovered. Place the biscuits onto the reserved baking paper and leave until the chocolate has hardened.
