Hedden Family Recipes

German Butter Cookies (Aussstecherle)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. plus 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter (550 g):
• 2 cups sugar
• 7 cups flour (1,000 g)
• 3 eggs
• Grated peel of 3 lemons
• Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Sugar sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut up cold butter and combine with flour as you would for pie crust.
2. In a separate bowl, crack eggs. Set aside one egg yolk in a small bowl. Beat remaining egg yolks and whites, then add grated lemon peel, vanilla extract, and salt. Once mixed, add to flour mixture. Do so quickly, so as not to warm the dough. Work everything together until smoothe.
3. Allow dough to rest 20 minutes in refrigerator.
4. work in batches, roll out first batch until 5 mm thick. cut different shapes with cookie cutters
5. Place cutout cookies on a baking sheet
6. Mix egg yolk that was set aside with a small amount of flour.
7. Brush each cookie with egg yolk/flour mixture
8. While egg yolk mixture is still moist, decorate with sugar sprinkles
9. Bake at 375° until golden, about 10 minutes