[tommymick]

Hey wise cooks out there,

     I need help finding a recipe, or to be more specific, directions for a Christmas cookie (possibly German/Bavarian in origin) called Citron Almond.  I have my Mother's recipe card, but it has NO directions!  She knew what to do, just needed help with amounts, I guess.

     There are no spices listed, just eggs, sugar, flour, blanched/chopped almonds, candied citron and baking powder.

     Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[dreamerz12368]

If it were me I would make this a meringue type of cookie. Putting a new spin on an old recipe.

 

[flipflopgirl]

I ran a short search in my new fave recipe collection site (Yummly.com) and it claimed to have more than one hundred recipes for candied citron cookies.
Looked at a few and your noted ingredients were present along with various spices as well.

Maybe take a lookie loo....

mimi

 

[tommymick]

Thanks for the suggestions; unfortunately I'm trying to re-create a specific taste memory for my siblings (none of whom have a clue how to proceed).

 

[flipflopgirl]

What was the texture like?
Most cookies with the pedigree you mention are of the shortbread type and rely heavily on butter for the characteristic crumbly texture.

mimi

 

[tommymick]

I think it may have been closed to the meringue-type suggested by Dreamerz

 

[leahcaroll]

Oh sorry tommymick, I haven’t tried citron-almond cookies but I would like to. Our kids are very much fond of dark chocolates bars which are bought from Giddy Yo Yo, they are super yummy. It’s not just the bars, they would love anything that has choco taste. I have all these ingredients that you have mentioned so I think I can also try citron-almond cookies. So if you prepare it, please share how it is made. Thanks

 

[kitschb]

This sounds like a recipe for which I was looking and which I had originally found online after someone gave me a small tub of Paradise citron.

I think I finally found the recipe. It's on cooks.com and it's called Christmas coookies (German) and it does use a lot of eggs and no shortening! so it may be very similar to your mother's.

Here is the link. http://www.cooks.com/recipe/2v4742rl/christmas-cookies-german.html

Here is the recipe:

CHRISTMAS COOKIES (GERMAN)
Printed from COOKS.COM

8 eggs
4 cups sugar
4 oz. chopped citron
4 oz. blanched almonds
grated rind of 2 lemons
9 cups flour
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Beat 8 eggs. Add 4 cups sugar, beat until smooth, about 15 minutes. Add
4 ounces chopped citron, 4 ounces blanched almonds, (which have been
coarsely chopped) and the grated rind of 2 lemons.
Sift together 9 cups flour, add 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, 2 tsp. nutmeg, and
1/4 tsp. black pepper to flour and sift again. Add to the first mixture.
Roll out dough 3/4 inch thick. Cut into small rounds 1-inch in diameter.
Before baking, turn each cookie upside down, put a drop of water on
each and bake at 350°F. for 15 minutes.

Let me know if this is it? And how it works out! I might try it today myself, tho' .

 

[carsaniss303]

This recipe sounds very good. I think, I will also try them. Thank you!

 

[kenpittman]

My grandmother's recipe:

5 eggs

1 lb. granulated sugar

6 oz. citron (candied) -- grind coarse

grated rind of one large lemon

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 lb. almonds -- shell, blanch, remove skins and grind

3/4 lb. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Beat eggs and sugar to cream. Mix in the lemon rind, cinnamon, cloves, almonds and citron.  Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda and add to the egg mixture.  Mix, form into rolls and cut sideways.  Bake in a 400 degree oven. 

These cookies are great fresh.  They are also great stale, if you have good teeth and a strong jaw. 

 

[norcalbaker59]

I know I'm very late to the conversation here...I'm wondering if this is a lebkuchen recipe. Could be the reason why there's no instructions on the recipe card. Nuremberg lebkuchen is about ratio of nuts to flour since the stars of this much loved Christmas cookie are the nuts and candied fruit. The nut and fruit mixture is too soft to bake on its own, so a store bought wafer called an oblaten is used as the base. Given its unique structure (nut and fruit mixture baked on a commercially made wafer) an experienced baker could bake this cookie without a lot of written instructions.

The standard for lebkuchen is a minimum of 25% nuts, and very little flour, about 10%. The flour is just a binder to hold the nuts and fruit together. The baking powder gives the flour a little lift so it's not like a lead weight. The spices in lebkuchen are the typical holiday spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. The German government regulates the standards (Feine Backwaren) for lebkuchen to ensure quality and authenticity. But given the high regard of this cookie, every baker, both home and professional, guards their recipe. So the spices and amounts are unique to the baker.

 

[tommymick]

Thanks to all who have responded.  I plan to try the above recipes, when I get a chance.  I'll let you know how they compare to my taste memory.  As for the liebkuchen idea, my Mom used to make both, and they were distinctly different. 

 

[mom49]

Hey wise cooks out there,

I need help finding a recipe, or to be more specific, directions for a Christmas cookie (possibly German/Bavarian in origin) called Citron Almond. I have my Mother's recipe card, but it has NO directions! She knew what to do, just needed help with amounts, I guess.

There are no spices listed, just eggs, sugar, flour, blanched/chopped almonds, candied citron and baking powder.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I have a similar cookie recipe from my husband's Grandma who came from Germany. She made them every year for Christmas.
Grandma's Butter Cookies
4 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds flour (6 cups)
1/2 pound sugar (1 cup)
2 egg yolks
1/4 pound almonds, ground fine (1/2 cup shelled) or almond flour
1/4 cup citron, chopped fine*
1 TBS rum or brandy or arack

Mix butter, sugar, and flour. Then slowly add the rest until it gets heavy. Put on a board and knead. Roll out and cut into shapes. Bake until golden brown (she made them dark brown almost burned). Before baking, brush with egg white and top with cinnamon sugar.

325*

@ 1/2 inch thick

10 minutes for small shapes
10-15 minutes for larger shapes
*she used real candied citron from the German deli it looks like half of a candied lemon that is hollow in the middle, I foud it on amazon