A traditional German Christmas treat, Heidesand are delicious shortbread cookies that are made with browned butter. A personal favorite, we made these every Christmas growing up along with several other German holiday classics, many of which I’ll be posting, so stay tuned!
Pronounced “hi-deh-sund”, it’s an age-old classic German cookie, mostly eaten during the holiday season. Heidesand translates as “heath sand” and has its origins in the Lüneburger Heide, a beautiful heathland area in northern Germany that my family and I always loved visiting. The terrain is sandy (the cookies’ namesake) and slightly hilly. In season it is covered in gorgeous purple heather. Most of it is a nature reserve and it is a popular north German tourist site.
Indigenous to the area are the famous Heidschnucke, a north German breed of moorland sheep with big rounded horns. I always got a kick out of saying the name as a kid. “Hyde-shnook-eh”.
On a side note, the Lüneburger Heide is also a famous historic cultural landscape. The land has been cultivated since 3000 BC and there are over a thousand Megalithic sites from the New Stone Age and early Bronze Age. Below are just a few examples. From left to right: Hannibal’s Grave, Sieben Steinhäuser (“Seven Stone Houses” – a cluster of ancient graves), and a stone grave interior.
And so from this beautiful region of Germany we have Heidesand, a “sandy” shortbread cookie made with browned butter and enjoyed all over Germany during the Christmas season.
I love Heidsand. They’re simple in preparation and appearance but have a wonderful flavor and texture. Contemporary variations of Heidesand include the addition of candied ginger, orange, or rosemary.
Let’s get started!
First let’s brown the butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk the butter frequently as it begins to simmer.
The butter will begin to foam and the foam will start to subside. Continue whisking. It’s very easy for browned butter to become burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on it. Browned specks will begin to form on the bottom of the pan, emitting a lovely nutty aroma.
You want browned butter that is rich in color for the full flavor benefit. As soon as it becomes a rich brown, remove it from the heat to prevent it from burning. Let the browned butter cool completely.
Once cooled, add the browned butter to a mixing bowl and beat until frothy.
Add the sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
The mixture will be very dry.
Use your hands to form the crumbs into a mass of dough.
The dough will be very dry and crumbly and that’s how it should be. It will just barely stick together, some parts of it breaking off.
Transfer the door to a clean work surface and squish the dough together to form two logs about 1 inch in diameter. Again, the dough is dry and will take some squishing and re-squishing to get it to stay together. Don’t worry about that, once it’s chilled it will stay together.
Wrap the logs up in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Cut the chilled dough into 1/4 inch rounds.
Traditionally the cookies are often rolled in Hagelzucker (in English, pearl sugar), very coarse and opaque chunks of sugar that don’t melt under baking temperatures. They add a nice decorative touch. I couldn’t find my stash while I was making these so had to make due with regular sugar.
Guess what I finally found once the cookies were already in the oven? Go figure. Below is the Hagelzucker. It’s pretty difficult to find in stores in the USA, but you can purchase pearl sugar online.
You can visualize how pretty the cookies would with their edges laced in these sugar crystals.
Time to bake them. In an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, bake them for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfways through to ensure even baking, until the edges are just barely starting to turn golden.
Let the cookies sit for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
Heidesand (Traditional German Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pearl sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking frequently as the butter comes to a simmer. Browned specks will appear at the bottom of the pan. Whisk constantly until the the butter reaches a rich brown color. Note: The butter will burn very quickly at this stage so be careful. Once the butter is a rich brown at the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and let cool completely.
- Once cooled, pour the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until frothy. Add the sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Use your hands to form the mixture into a mass. The dough will be very dry and brittle. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and squish the dough to form two logs about 1-inch in diameter. The dough will be crumbly, keep working at it to form the logs (see pictures in this post for reference). Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice the chilled dough into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Roll the edges of each cookie in pearl sugar and place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, turning the cookie sheet around halfway into it to ensure even baking. Bake until the edges of the cookies are just barely beginning to turn golden. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
All images of the Lüneburger Heide courtesy Wikipedia
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Delawonderful says
Oh, wow! These are so good. We have traced our family’s roots back to Germany and my husband was born there and lived there as a child while his father was in service. Surprisingly, neither of us had ever heard of them before until this weekend. They are so good and will become part of our Christmas for years to come. Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful! They really are delicious and taste even better the next day and beyond as the flavors have a chance to “ripen.” So glad you enjoyed them and am thrilled to hear you’ll be including them in your annual Christmas traditions!
Ninaloves says
Mine did not come out as well and continued to crumble when slicing them for baking. So I altered them to save them since the flavor was good. Just added 2 eggs and used a cookie scoop. Husband like them. If you know what I may have done wrong for them to be so crumbly when cutting them to cook would be helpful if I try them again.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Nina, yes, the dough will be quite crumbly. The essential steps are to squeeze the dough tightly into a compact roll (it will be a little difficult to manage, just be persistent), refrigerate the dough overnight, and slice it while it’s cold. This is a shortbread cookie and eggs will completely alter the texture. If you absolutely must add a little more liquid, just add a few extra drops of milk.
Joe says
Ii cooked them even only 15 minutes they were hardly brown and the are very very hard! They do smell good though
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Joe, it sounds like everything’s as it should be. They won’t get brown unless you over-bake them. “15 minutes or so” will get them to just barely begin to turn light golden on the edges. And yes, they will be hard (they’re shortbread) but after you’ve kept them stored in an airtight container for a while they won’t be quite as hard.
Pam says
I made these last nite tried to cut them this morning to bake and they fell apart completely. They won’t stay together at all. Help my daughter needs to bring these into school tomorrow morning . Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Pam, I’m sorry for the delayed response, we just got back from vacation. I’m also sorry these didn’t turn out for you! It sounds like they needed a bit more moisture. Be sure to also roll it firmly into the log so it’s very tight and compact.
Anonymous says
Same my cookies just fell apart at the touch
Deana says
I made these today!! Fantastic, thanks so much for the step by step directions. I rolled mine in Natural Cane Turbinado Sugar. I got it at Kroger for $3.99. Worked great.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Terrific, Deana, I’m so glad you enjoyed them – thank you!
Claire says
I don’t understand what is happening with these. I’m not an inexperienced baker, but it is like I’m trying to turn flour into a log. I don’t want to have to start over as I feel like this is just going to happen again.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Claire, it is very brittle dough and can be challenging to work with. The key is to scoop it all up and press it very compactly, using the plastic wrap to mold it into a log. If it’s brittle the point of impossible to work with, then just add tiny amounts of milk or melted butter to it at a time until you can work with it. Just keep in mind though that it needs to remain as brittle as possible to get the texture in the end.
Claire Fons says
I added a 1/4 cup less flour this time around. YUM!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome! So glad it turned out and that you enjoyed these cookies, Claire, thank you!
Sarah says
Hi there –
Delicious cookies! They did crumble even though I followed all the steps. I added two more TBS milk and it helped. Next time I’ll try less flour. Beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sarah, that’s wonderful, I’m so glad you enjoyed them, thank you!
Natalie Loftus says
These turned out WONDERFULLY! Delicious flavor and texture, thank you!
Natalie Loftus says
I just made my first batch of these and they are SO GOOD! Thank you for this wonderful recipe and excellent instructions!
Amy Culley says
I’m helping my son make these for German class for extra credit and I used almond flour 3/4 cup and the rest with all purpose. Can’t wait to see how they will end up tasting, they smell delicious
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Amy! These should certainly win him some extra credit :) I’ve never tried these with part almond flour and am now sure how well they will stay together without crumbling apart. Please let us know how they turned out.
Alisa Nordholt-Dean says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My first batch just came out of the oven and they are absolutely delicious! I added a little candied orange peel to mine and used 1/4 cup less flour and had no trouble with the dough crumbling. I look forward to trying other variations with the addition of rosemary or ginger.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Alisa, I’m so glad you enjoyed them and those flavor additions sound delicious!
Madeline says
This is a fantastic recipe and they turned out just so delicious with wonderful texture. I am making these for a farewell luncheon for a a German co-worker and I am so excited to see what she says about them!
For those struggling with the dough texture, I have a few recommendations:
1) use the metric measurements provided and weigh your flour – it is very easy to compact flour in a cup measure and use too much without ever knowing it!
2) use a silpat to manipulate your dough before transferring to plastic wrap – it is a more even surface than your hands and you will compact every crumb into that log, I promise!
3) make these on a humid day. The flour with absorb moisture from the air making it easier to roll the log without changing the recipe amounts.
4) when slicing, use a large, sharp, chef’s knife and cut straight down with one smooth motion. A knife that is too small, or serrated, or any ‘sawing’ motion may cause crumbling while slicing these up.
Sincerely,
A pastry chef
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Madeleline, I’m so glad you enjoyed these, thank you! Thanks also for these awesome tips!
Natasha says
Do they cookies need to be in the fridge overnight before they’re baked or will a few hours do?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Natasha, I strongly recommend chilling them overnight for the sake of both texture and flavor.
Lila says
This recipe is a winner! The dough was a little crumbly but overall was amazing. I have to say I will be making these in the near future!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Lila, I’m so glad to hear it, thank you!
Winston Welty says
The cookies are super delicious! I suspect that some of the problems people are having with crumbling has to do with how the flour is measured: dipped, scooped, spooned or weighed. Some say that a cup of flour weighs as much as 5 ounces, others say it’s as little as 4¼ ounces! So for the 2¾ cups called for in the recipe, if cooking by weight that means a range of 11.6875 to 13¾ ounces, a huge difference when it comes to baking. I’d be interested to know how the flour was measured in the recipe, and I think those who reduced the amount by a quarter cup are on the right path.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Winston, thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoyed them! You’re absolutely right. Most recipes are more forgiving if measurements are a little off but too much flour would make this dough – since it’s already supposed to be dry to begin with – even drier and harder to work with. Thanks for your feedback about cutting down the flour by about 1/4 cup.
Becky says
Thanks for this great recipe. My son is allergic to eggs so I’m always on the lookout for baked goods without them. My dough turned out great, by the way. Good directions!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Becky, I’m glad you enjoyed them, thank you!
Kathi says
These sound fantastic. I made several German Christmas cookies with my Gram years ago and I can’t wait to try to make these.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Kathi, I hope you enjoy them!
Indalu says
Wish I had read the comments before i actually tried this. LOL… The taste is definitely there but agree 1/2 C less flour and a little more milk or butter would help to hold the dough together and facilitate rolling. My first batch was a crumbly mess. But I’m going to try again. The taste is worth it. Reminds me of what I had in Germany. Good luck everyone!
Ricky L Swalm says
I had no luck with these. Made the dough and rolled just fine. Chilled over night but when I went to cut them they curved as I cut and then they broke in half making them impossible to use. I tried warming them a bit so maybe cutting them would go better but they still never really held together and then the pearl sugar would never stick. I am glad some of you got them to work but mine were a complete failure.
Chrissie Stevens says
I was thrilled when my butter browned perfectly. I rolled the dough into plastic wrap & continued to squeeze & roll once it was wrapped. This resulted in having to wrap it in fresh plastic but I was satisfied. The next day, as many others have commented, the dough was brittle when I cut it. No amount of squeezing was getting the crumbs to stick together. Also, the edges weren’t sticky enough to hold the sugar so I quickly rolled each through yolk wash & rolled in sugar. Voila!
Very tasty cookie but for all the extra work involved, I’ll stay with Scottish shortbread.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for the feedback, Chrissie!
Danielle says
I did these last year and had the same problem with crumbly dough, I actually just added a little water and it fixed it. Definitely going to use less flour this year though. I also didn’t edge them in sugar and I used salted butter, which definitely was too much salt. They still tasted ok though. But I will do better this year!
I might actually sharpen my knife right before I pull these out of the fridge… I’m also probably going to try for 1.75″ rounds instead of 1″.
I really appreciate the thoroughness of your description of how to brown the butter.
Marj says
I had no trouble forming the dough into logs. The dough sliced cleanly after chilling and letting come back to almost room temperature. But I could not get the pearl sugar to stick. I ended up putting each slice into the pearl sugar and pressing to adhere to the tops of the cookies. Not traditional maybe but I think they look good 😜 and taste good too. Thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Marj, thanks so much for the feedback!
Elizabeth Tauber says
HI! I noticed a lot of people are saying that their cookies were way too dry. The same happened to mine and I think I know why! When you brown butter, a lot of the moisture is evaporated out of it so you end up with less butter than what you started. In the recipe, it states that you need to brown one cup of butter, instead it should be to USE one cup of browned butter. This way you are actually using a full cup of butter instead of less than that. This should give better results to people and make a less dry cookie.