German Gingerbread Magenbrot — Soft, Spiced Holiday Candy
A soft, spiced German Christmas cookie made with cocoa, honey, and warm holiday spices, finished with a glossy spiced glaze. A festive treat that gets better with time.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus chill time)
- Cook Time: 12–14 minutes
- Total Time: 2.5 hours (includes chilling and glazing)
- Yield: 40–50 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the Dough:
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp each nutmeg, cloves, cardamom
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup milk
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
For the Glaze:
- ¾ cup sugar
- 6 tbsp water
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- Optional: ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In saucepan, heat sugar, honey, milk, and butter until melted. Cool slightly.
- Stir into dry ingredients. Mix to form sticky dough. Chill 2 hours.
- Roll into logs and cut into diagonal 1-inch pieces.
- Bake at 350°F for 12–14 minutes. Let cool.
- Simmer glaze ingredients until slightly thickened.
- Toss cookies in glaze and spread to dry.
- Store in airtight container up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Add orange zest or chocolate chips for variation. Great for gifting or make-ahead baking.