Poppy Seed & Marzipan Sandwich Cookies with Plum Jam | A German Christmas Recipe
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These dainty Poppy Seed & Marzipan Sandwich Cookies are filled with tart plum jam and an extra layer of marzipan! Marzipan-lovers will be all over this traditional German Christmas Cookie recipe!
A note about affiliate links in this post: some of these links will take you to Amazon where I may receive a small percentage of sales, at no extra cost to you.
Looking for traditional German Christmas Cookies? You gotta try these Poppy Seed Cookies with Marzipan and Plum Jam!
You might have heard it before, and it is true: Germans go a bit cookie crazy around Christmas! Whoever takes their Christmas baking seriously, starts somewhere in November and bakes one kind about every other day right until Christmas.
And this is the crazy part: We don’t really eat them ourselves. They get stored in the basement and hidden from greedy fingers until the occasion is special enough to sacrifice a couple of these precious little gems.
Most Christmas Cookies are off-limits as they are gonna be sent away to your work colleagues, neighbors, hair-dresser, doctor, piano teacher – the list is long. And then there is the big cookie party on Christmas Eve.
Having up to 20 different kinds on Christmas Eve is quite normal – and that’s not counting the ones that were given to you. The more cookies you end up having, the more popular you are, obviously.
The point being, you cannot bathe in all that Christmas Cookie Glory if you eat them all straight out of the oven. Which is hard. Especially with today’s recipe!
These Poppy Seed Sandwich Cookies with Marzipan and Plum Jam look elegant but are easy to make!
I am in a couple of German Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap Groups on Facebook and every day I see people showing off their “weekend bakes” – which makes me wonder how much sleep those people are getting in the weeks before Christmas!
Because German Christmas Baking is time-consuming and involves several steps and a bit of fiddling. But honestly, it is my favorite way of spending the weekends leading to Christmas Eve.
Cutting out all those little shapes, waiting next to the oven to get the cookies out at the perfect moment, rolling out marzipan, whisking rum into jam, then sandwiching, sandwiching, sandwiching…I find it quite therapeutic.
If that sounds fun to you, you will love this recipe for Poppy Seed & Marzipan Sandwich Cookies.
Why this German poppy seed cookie recipe works:
Today I have a rather uncomplicated, traditional German Christmas Cookie recipe for you! Dainty little Poppy Seed & Marzipan Sandwich Cookies, filled with marzipan and boozy plum jam!
These little sandwich cookies come with a warning, as they are incredibly delicious! If you are into all things marzipan, then this cookie recipe must go straight on your Christmas-baking list!
These get better with time and in Germany, we make them at least 2-3 weeks before Christmas and store them in cookie tins. During that time, they get better with every day as the moisture of the plum jam tenderized the poppy seed shortbread cookie.
How to make German Poppy Seed Cookies with Marzipan & Plum Jam:
The poppy seed shortbread cookie dough starts by creaming together butter and marzipan, which is where all the magic starts.
The dry ingredients, including the ground poppy seeds, are all going in at once and then everything is quickly kneaded until it all comes together. Easy!
Do make sure to give the dough at least 1-2 hours of resting time in the fridge. We are working with the creaming method, so the dough will be quite sticky.
I just scrape the dough directly onto a piece of cling film and cover it with another layer of cling film. Then, I pat it into a disc and put it in the fridge for 2 hours or so.
You can make the poppy seed & marzipan cookie dough up to 2 days ahead of time. Better too much resting, than too little. The chilling of the dough is crucial to a perfect result!
To bring out the almond flavour of my Poppy Seed & Marzipan Cookies, I also added a couple of drops of bitter almond essence. I like to use this brand
, as it tastes really marzipan-y.
A little goes a very long way so you might need as little as 4 drops for the whole batch. For less strong brands, use up to 1/4 tsp (see recipe).
The baking time for the little poppy seed and marzipan sandwich cookies is quite short. I usually take them out after 8 minutes, then let them rest on the cookie tray for another 2 minutes, before I transfer them to a cooling rack.
It is better to take them out too early, then too late. They will not brown a whole lot during those 8 minutes. The bottoms should be slightly golden when lifted.
Lovers of all things marzipan will be all over these pretty German Christmas Cookies!
Tips for making this German poppy seed sandwich cookie recipe:
- Make sure to store the poppy seed and marzipan sandwich cookies in a cookie tin with a tight lid and put them in a cool place.
- These are getting better after a bit of resting time, as the plum jam, rum and marzipan are gonna make the poppy seed cookie extra soft and tender. All in all, I’d say that they are best about 1-2 weeks after baking.
- Do make sure to give the dough at least 1-2 hours of resting time in the fridge.
- Be careful when adding the almond extract. A little goes a very long way.
If you want more German Christmas Recipes, check out my Linzer Cookies or my Macadamia & Black Forest Spitzbuben Cookies
My product recommendations:
 Spicely Organic Poppy Seeds...Shop on Amazon |
 Scott's Cakes 1/2 Pound Mar...Shop on Amazon |
A note about affiliate links in this post: some of these links will take you to Amazon where I may receive a small percentage of sales, at no extra cost to you.
German Poppy Seed & Marzipan Sandwich Cookies with Plum Jam
These pretty Poppy Seed & Marzipan Sandwich Cookies are filled with marzipan and plum jam. Try this traditional German Christmas Cookie recipe this winter!
Ingredients
- 350 g marzipan
- 150 g softened butter
- 75 g powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp bitter almond essence
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 200 g flour
- 50 g cornstarch
- 50 g ground poppy seeds
- 200 g plum jam
- 2 tbsp rum optional
Instructions
-
Grate 50 g of the marzipan. In your stand mixer, cream butter with grated marzipan for about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a couple of drops of bitter almond aroma, and the salt. Whisk for about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined.
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Combine flour, cornstarch and poppy seeds. Add dry mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Dump the batter on a large piece of cling film. Cover with another piece of cling film and shape dough into a disc. Let the cookie dough rest for about 2 hours.
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Preheat the oven to 350 F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to about 3-4 mm and cut out using a round cookie cutter. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
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Stir rum into the plum jam until smooth. Roll out marzipan on a powdered sugar-dusted surface and cut out rounds using the same cookie cutter, you used for the cookie dough. Spread a bit of jam on one cookie, put a marzipan-round on top, spread a tiny bit more plum jam on the marzipan and top with another cookie. Press together very gently and store in cookie tins.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure to store the poppy seed and marzipan sandwich cookies in a cookie tin with a tight lid and put them in a cool place.
- These are getting better after a bit of resting time, as the plum jam, rum and marzipan are gonna make the poppy seed cookie extra soft and tender. All in all, I'd say that they are best about 1-2 weeks after baking.
- Do make sure to give the dough at least 1-2 hours of resting time in the fridge.
- Be careful when adding the almond extract. A little goes a very long way.
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I was with you until you said you said your cookies just get stored in the basement away from greedy fingers…THAT IS A CRIME!!!
A crime!
Criminal, I tell you!!! Cookies as lovely as these deserve to be eaten fresh!
What a decadent treat! Love poppy seeds in pastries!
Can theses cookies be frozen.