These German Almond Cookies are perfect for Christmas! Tender shortcrust pastry meets marzipan and meringue. No cookie cutters needed for making this traditional German Christmas Cookie recipe!
Knead all of the dough ingredients/ pastry ingredients together into a smooth dough. You can do this by hand or using a kitchen aid with paddle attachment. Shape the pastry into a ball and leave it to rest wrapped in cling film in the fridge for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the marzipan. To do this, combine the marzipan mixture with the powdered sugar (just knead it together) and roll out. I rolled out the marzipan between 2 pieces of cling film.
Now roll out the chilled dough on a floured work surface 3 mm thick and place the piece of marzipan on the dough.
You can now cut any shape you like with a pastry wheel. I chose the diamond shape. A cookie cutter would work too but then you have leftover dough.
Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill while you proceed with the recipe.
Separate the eggs and whip the egg whites until frothy - soft peaks are fine, we don't want it too be stiff, as this will make it harder to distribute the whites on the dough. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar into the whites while mixing. Use a teaspoon to spread the a layer of egg foam over the cookies.
Marzipan biscuits made from shortcrust pastry soften quickly in plastic containers as they contain moisture. For storing, I prefer metal cookie tins, where they stay crispy when stored at a cool place.