One of the most famous and beloved of all German Christmas cookies, Bethmännchen have been a favorite for almost 200 years. With a firm exterior and delightfully chewy interior, these almond-studded marzipan cookies will win your heart – or at least your palate. No German Christmas is complete without them.
And if you’re thinking, *groan* “Marzipan is hard to find and it’s so expensive!”, don’t worry – I’ve got you fully covered!
Today’s recipe originated in the city of Frankfurt, two hours north of where I grew up in Stuttgart. Let me tell you a little story of long ago.
Once upon a time in the village of Frankfurt, Germany lived the affluent Bethmann family. They had hired a Parisian pastry chef Parisian pastry chef, Jean Jacques Gautenier, who held the position of head cook in their home. In 1838, their cook created a marzipan cookie with four almond halves decorating the sides of each cookie in honor of the family’s four sons, Karl, Moritz, Alexander and Heinrich (yes, very German names indeed), and named them Bethmännchen (“little Bethmann’s”). The legend goes that Heinrich died a few years later and ever since then the cookies have been made with three almonds. Whether factual or not, one thing is certain: These wonderful cookies have stood the test of time for a reason and have remained unaltered for nearly two centuries.
Of course Frankfurt has changed quite a lot since 1838. Today it’s one of the most modern cities in Germany and a European financial mecca.
But many of the beautiful centuries-old structures still stand, mingled with the new.
Frankfurt is also home to one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany and the stats show that two years ago over 4.3 million tourists spent their holidays there.
All Frankfurt images courtesy Wikipedia, except Christmas market picture courtesy ©Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main.
Bethmännchen marzipan cookies can be found in every bakery and in many homes throughout Frankfurt during the Christmas season and are popular throughout Germany. I grew up 2 hours south of Frankfurt in Stuttgart and every Christmas my mom and I would make these cookies. Simple, easy, delicious. Give them a try!
The central ingredient in Betmännchen is marzipan. It can be challenging to find and always comes with a hefty price tag, but you don’t have to worry about that because I’ll show you how to make your very own homemade marzipan that’s super easy and is much cheaper!
Check out my recipe for Easy Homemade Marzipan.
Okay, let’s get started!
How To Skin Almonds. First we’re going to blanch and skin the almonds.
In the meantime (or can be done well in advance), blanch the whole almonds. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the almonds. Boil for exactly one minute, no longer or the nuts will become soft.
Drain the nuts and rinse with cold water.
Remove the skins by squeezing the nuts – they’ll slip right out! Cut the almonds in half along their natural seam.
Okay, we’re ready to proceed with the cookies.
Break up the marzipan into small pieces and place them in a mixing bowl.
Sift the powdered sugar on top of the marzipan.
Separate the egg and add the egg white to the marzipan mixture and reserve the yolk for later.
Add the ground blanched almonds and rose water.
Use your fingers to combine the ingredients.
The cookie dough will be somewhat sticky. If it’s too sticky to work with add some more ground almonds and powdered sugar. Note: The dough will firm up after it’s been refrigerated so a little sticky is fine.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Form the dough into 3/4 to 1-inch balls and place them on a lined cookie sheet, spaced at least an inch apart. Rub your hands with a little powdered sugar if the dough is still a little too sticky.
Evenly spaced, press three almond halves around the sides of each cookie, pointed sides up.
Brush the cookies with the egg yolk that’s been mixed with 1 teaspoon water.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and bake the cookies on the middle rack for about 15 minutes until the egg wash begins to turn golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. These cookies will keep for at least 2 weeks.
Enjoy!
Hungry for more German Christmas cookies? Try these Traditional German Heidesand (Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies)!
- 8 oz marzipan (check out Easy Homemade Marzipan recipe)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup ground blanched almonds/almond meal
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons rose water
- 1 medium egg yolk, mixed with 1 teaspoon water
- 1 medium egg white
- ¾ cup blanched whole almonds split in half (see post for pictured instructions on how to blanch and skin almonds)
- Preheat to 300 degrees F
- Break marzipan into small pieces in a mixing bowl. Sift the powdered sugar over the marzipan and add the ground almonds, flour, rose water and egg white. Use your hands to combine the ingredients in to a dough. The dough will be somewhat sticky but it will get firm after it's sat in the fridge. If too sticky, add some more ground almonds and powdered sugar.
- Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Roll the dough into small balls, no more than 1-inch in diameter. Sprinkle your hands with a little flour or powdered sugar if the dough is too sticky. Place the balls on a lined cookie sheet and press 3 almond halves evenly around each cookie, pointed side up. Brush each cookie with the egg yolk mixture and bake for about 15 minutes until the egg wash turns golden in color.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to several weeks.
Ah…marzipan…now that’s something I can get in abundance here in munich:)
These were a total hit! They look pretty unassuming in appearance but once you bite into them, oh my! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Fantastic, Candace! So glad they were a hit!
OMG – I just joined your website… I will be revisiting regularly – today I am going to make the Marzipan and then the cookies. Thank you so much for the lovely excursion via pictures.
Hi, Carol, and welcome! Once you’ve tried the homemade marzipan you won’t be able to stop making it 🙂 Happy baking!
Great site, recipes and wonderful pictures! Thank you so much
Thank you very much! 🙂
You’re an amazing chef, and the coolest teacher ever! Marzipan is my all time favorite. Tastes like heaven 🙂
Thank you, Vega 🙂 I agree, marzipan is thoroughly heavenly!
Oh my gosh! I am praying these turn out amazing!! In the oven right now!!
Eadlyn, awesome, let us know what you think! It’s recommended to store them in an airtight container and to wait at least a day or two before eating them, they develop a better texture and flavor.
How many cookies does this make? We have a large family, and a very large extended family that always gathers for Christmas. This year we are having “Christmas Around The World” and I chose to represent Germany, since about 98% of my ancestors are German.
Hi Rachel, this recipe makes about 35 cookies. Your tradition sounds wonderful and I’m glad you chose Germany for your Christmas theme this year! 🙂
Hey, I wanted to make these cookies, but I really don’t need 34. Do I still have to bake it for the same amount of time, and at the same temperature, if I cut it down to around 11 cookies. (A third of the recipe)
Hi Hadara, yes, the oven temperature and baking time will remain the same.
Is the baking temperature 300 or 325? In the pictures it said 325 but the recipe said 300…
Hi Sherri, thanks for catching that. It’s 300 F. Happy baking!
Mine baked a little flatter than yours in the picture (they’re about 1cm high in the middle). Do you think I might need to add more ground almonds / icing sugar / flour for a firmer mixture?
(They’re still amazingly delicious though.)
Hi Alison, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! are you at a very high altitude? Chilling the dough first for at least one hour (and if your fridge is not at a high chill setting you’ll need to refrigerate longer) and then working quickly with the dough after you remove it from the fridge is key so that it’s baked while still cold.
DELICIOUS! loved them!
WHAT SUPER RECIPES!
Do you have a recipe for a real STOLLEN with marizapan? FOR A FAMILY OF 10 !
YOUR RECIPES ARE SOOOOO REAL! THANKS A MILLION
Thanks, Marina! I’m planning on publishing my recipe for Marzipan Stollen as we approach the holidays so stay tuned 🙂
My cookies turned out amazing!! Working with the cold dough must be key they came out perfect its 80 degrees here. My Husband loves marzipan!! Thank you so much for sharing! Merry Christmas from Florida! Ann
I’m so happy to hear that, Ann, thank you so much and Merry Christmas!
I followed the recipe to the letter, put the dough in the fridge for about 5 hours, put them in the oven within 10 minutes of removing them from the fridge and they just went completely flat and sticky and took around half an hour to brown. Tasted good though.
Hi Ash, I don’t know how I missed your comment and I apologize for my delayed response. 30 minutes is way too long, baking time is only about 15 minutes. The cookies shouldn’t be brown, they turn just barely a golden color. Egg cooks very fast so after 15 minutes the cookies will be done. I’ve never heard of these cookies going flat and sticky before, that is so odd. Did you buy marzipan or use my homemade recipe? I suppose it could be some odd variation with the brand of marzipan, I don’t know. Two other possibilities are that the dough didn’t chill long enough or you used too large of an egg for the egg white. In any case, even despite being flat, I’m glad to hear they tasted good!
I grew up in Rhinebach which is not far from Frankfurt. My school and church are still standing . But there are changes. Love your recipes doris
Thanks so much, Doris! That’s wonderful that those buildings are still intact and that you can go back and visit them.
I have just made these with left over marzipan from the Christmas cake and they are probably the best biscuits I’ve ever made
A huge hit
I am so thrilled to hear that, Gerri, thanks so much!
Hi there, these look delicious and I’m looking forward to trying them. Are these soft cookies or hard? Also, have you ever tried replacing the rose water with orange blossom water? Do you think it would taste ok?
Hi Sarina, they’re firm cookies but definitely not crunchy-hard, and towards the center they’re more on the chewy side. I use orange blossom water regularly in Middle Eastern cooking and am very familiar with it – I would not recommend it for these cookies. The flavor of rose water is the traditional – and best – flavor profile for marzipan.
I can’t get the cookies to stay as a ball. I have tried a few times and the balls flatten out to cookies. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Cindy, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that happening and I’m really not sure why it did. Provided the marzipan was made correctly, the only thing I can think of is that the dough wasn’t chilled long enough.
Just an FYI, my husband loves these cookies and has made multiple batches with the same result. I thought I would show him up and use your recipe. But, same result. I also chilled the dough overnight and after rolling into balls, chilled again. Guess this just us not our cookie to make ourselves. 😂 They flattened out in the oven.
I’ve made these three times already (once last year, twice this year) and they’ve turned out great each time, not flat at all. Maybe try adding more ground almonds? I followed the recipe exactly though.
That’s awesome, Cori, so glad you enjoyed them, thank you!
Hi Cindy, your husband used this recipe with the same results or another recipe?
I can’t get Rose Water in time to make these before Christmas. Is there any substitute for this?
Hi Jen, no there’s no substitute for that flavor. That said, these cookies will taste great even without it. For a little extra flavor you can add 1/2 teaspoon or so of almond extract.
Hi Kimberly. I so enjoyed your intro. wife of one, mother of 2, cook to many… I’m from South Africa. I’ve just Googled for a easy marzipan recipe as its quite expensive to buy. (I’m a young 64 yr old granny of 5 who loves baking)
Where can I get your Stollen recipe. I do have another in an Anchor yeast recipe book, but yet to try it.
Thanks and Blessings this CHRISTmas. Jeanne (pronounced French way)
Hi Jeanne, thanks so much for your note. I was really hoping to get my Stollen recipe posted and finish the photo shoot in time for this Christmas but time slipped away from me so it’s going to have to wait a while now. Merry CHRISTmas to you and your family, too! 🙂
This recipe looks really delicious. I love German (and all European) baking, but have a big lemon allergy…. and many of the German baking recipes today have lemon and lemon peel in it. I feel like there must be older recipes out there, before the arrival of the lemon (1800’s) to northern Europe… but I haven’t been able to find them. Anyways, this recipe is a real keeper for me! In all honesty I am going to make it tomorrow… a little Christmas flavour in May is okay I think 🙂
ps. I loved the bit of history you included with this recipe, somehow knowing the story behind a recipe adds a little bit of magic and makes it more delicious. Thank you!
Thanks, Kathryn, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂 Yes, lemon zest is commonly added to a lot of German baked goods but you can simply omit it, no need to find another version of the recipe. Omitting it won’t change the texture of the baked good and in most cases nor will omitting a tablespoon or two of lemon juice if it’s called for. Happy baking! 🙂