These soft and buttery Swiss strawberry jam cookies are called Spitzbuben, and they are popular throughout Germany. The jam adds a fruity, tart flavor that tastes amazing with the soft butter cookies spiced with lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. And a dusting of powdered sugar on top makes these sandwich cookies look festive for any special occasion.
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Spitzbuben are the Swiss equivalent of Austrian Linzer raspberry cookies or German Engelsaugen. And while they may look similar, my Spitzbuben have more flavor in the cookie dough, thanks to lemon zest and warm baking spices.
These delicious Swiss Christmas cookies are made from two soft, buttery shortbread biscuits usually shaped like stars, circles, or snowflakes. Then they're sandwiched together with a fruity strawberry jam filling and dusted with powdered sugar.
Spitzbuben cookies are especially popular around Christmas, and they taste great with coffee, homemade chai, or almond milk eggnog. And for more classic German Christmas desserts, try Lebkuchen Herzen and gingerbread cake called Gewürzkuchen.
Growing up in Germany, I learned that there’s a lot of crossover between German baking and Swiss baking. When we visited the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas markets) in Switzerland, I found myself drooling over all the familiar German Christmas cookies like Pfeffernüsse, Vanillekipferl, and these Spitzbuben.
And did you know that Spitzbuben translates to “rascals” or “a mischievous child” from German to English? Although I have no clue why!
Ingredients and Notes
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Almond extract
- Lemon zest
- All purpose flour
- Blanched almond flour
- Salt
- Spices - ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
- Strawberry jam
- Powdered sugar
How to Make this Recipe
Below is the process to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter until it’s light and fluffy.
2. Add the granulated sugar and beat again until it’s fluffy & pale yellow.
3. Add the egg, almond extract & lemon zest. Mix until it’s combined.
5. Press the dough into two discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
7. Use cookie cutters to cut out the cookie shapes. Use a smaller cookie cutter or a paring knife to cut out a small shape in the center of half of the circles of dough.
9. Dust the cookies with the centers cut out with powdered sugar. Spread strawberry jam on each of the cookies with the centers intact.
4. Mix in the all purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and baking spices.
6. Working in batches, roll out the dough discs on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛ inch thickness.
8. Transfer the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Bake at 350°F, for about 6 to 8 minutes.
10. Gently press the powdered sugar-covered cookies with the center cut out on top of the jam to form cookie sandwiches.
Carissa's Kitchen Tip
I highly recommend to bake your cookies in batches, to keep the dough cold and firm.
As I'm rolling out one disc of dough and cutting out the cookies, the other is chilling in the fridge.
And while the cut cookies are chilling a second time, I'll roll out the second dough disc.
Recipe Tips
- Keep the dough cold. This will help the cookies keep their shape, rather than spreading in the oven.
- Bake Spitzbuben just until they start to turn golden around the edges. Watch them closely because they bake quickly!
- You can also bake the cut-out pieces from the centers of the top cookies, rather than throwing that dough away. I usually bake them on a separate baking sheet for just 4 to 6 minutes.
- Use a thin spatula to gently scrape your shaped cookie dough off your floured surface and onto the prepared baking sheet.
- If your baking sheet doesn’t fit it your fridge, put your cookies on the parchment paper then place them in the fridge on something smaller and flat, like a cutting board.
Variations
- Jam: You can substitute any fruit jam like lingonberry, apricot, or raspberry jam. Just make sure it’s smooth without really big chunks, which would prevent the cookies from laying flat.
- Other Fillings: Instead of a fruit filling, you could fill your cookies with chocolate, lemon curd, or thick caramel sauce.
- Spices: Instead of the ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves you can substitute Lebkuchengewurz.
Storage
Store cooled, assembled cookies in a metal tin or airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Place a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper in between each layer of cookies. This will prevent them from sticking together or getting messed up.
How to Make These Cookies Ahead of Time
Cookie Dough: You can make the Spitzbuben cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then roll out the dough and cut out the shapes.
Baked Cookies: You can freeze baked, unassembled cookies. Allow them to cool fully then spread them out on a baking sheet.
Freeze for about 2 hours until they’re solid, then transfer them to a freezer safe bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then assemble with jam.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if my cookie dough gets sticky?
The dough can get soft and fragile pretty quickly if it gets warm. If it starts to get too sticky, stick it back in the fridge to firm up. The more intricate the design of your cookie cutters, the more fragile your cookie dough will be, so handle it with care.
What's the secret to soft butter cookies?
To make sure your cookies stay soft and tender, chill the dough in the fridge for at least one hour so you don’t have to use as much flour when rolling out the dough.
Can I make Spitzbuben without cookie cutters?
If you don’t have cookie cutters, you can use the rim of a drinking glass to cut out circle cookies. Then use the wide edge of a piping nozzle or a paring knife to cut out a circle in the center of half the cookies.
Related Recipes
Looking for more delicious German cookie recipes? Try these:
Spitzbuben | Swiss Strawberry Jam Cookies
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- mixing bowls
- Large Spoon or Spatula
- Rolling Pin
- sifter
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or substitute vanilla extract)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from one whole medium lemon)
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup blanched almond flour (or substitute hazelnut flour)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 ounces strawberry jam
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the softened butter until it’s light and fluffy, after about 1 minute.
- Add the granulated sugar and beat again until it’s fluffy and pale yellow, after about 1 minute.
- Add the egg, almond extract, and lemon zest and mix until it’s combined.
- Add the all purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and spices. Mix with a large spoon until it forms a thick cookie dough.
- Separate the dough in half and press it into two even-sized discs. Wrap each individually in plastic cling wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour until it's firm, or up to 3 days.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Working in batches, take one dough disc out of the fridge and unwrap it from the plastic wrap. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ⅛-inch thickness.
- Use a round, star, heart, or fluted cookie cutter to cut out the cookie shapes. Use a smaller cookie cutter or a paring knife to cut out a small shape in the center of half of the circles of dough.Transfer the cookies onto your prepared baking sheet spread out at least ½ inch apart.
- Chill the cookies in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, to ensure the butter is cold and firm before they go in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.Bake the cookies just until the edges turn golden, for about 6 to 8 minutes.While the first batch of cookies bakes, roll out and cut circles of the other disc of dough and chill them. Bake them once the first batch of cookies comes out of the oven.Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Dust the cookies with the centers cut out with powdered sugar. Spread about one tablespoon of strawberry jam on each of the cookies without the center cut out. Gently press the powdered sugar-covered cookies with the center cut out on top of the jam to form cookie sandwiches. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Keep the dough cold. This will help the cookies keep their shape, rather than spreading in the oven.
- Bake Spitzbuben just until they start to turn golden around the edges. Watch them closely because they bake quickly!
- You can also bake the cut-out pieces from the centers of the top cookies, rather than throwing that dough away. I usually bake them on a separate baking sheet for just 4 to 6 minutes.
- Use a thin spatula to gently scrape your shaped cookie dough off your floured surface and onto the prepared baking sheet.
- If your baking sheet doesn’t fit it your fridge, put your cookies on the parchment paper then place them in the fridge on something smaller and flat, like a cutting board.
- Store assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Separate layers of stacked cookies with parchment paper or wax paper.
Lina
Perfect for the holidays!!
Carissa Erzen
Thanks, Lina! I agree! 🙂
kaylah
I'm prepping my list of christmas cookies and am so happy I found these! These will be perfect for my cookie boxes!!
Carissa Erzen
Yay! These will be PERFECT for your christmas cookie box!!
Lina
These would be perfect for christmas, great photos!
Carissa Erzen
Thanks, Lina! I had a lot of fun shooting these photos 🙂