Make holiday magic with Teekuchen Cut-Out Cookies! My grandfather's treasured recipe is perfect for creating memories and delicious treats.
Growing up, Christmas wasn’t complete without my grandfather’s Teekuchen Cut-Out Cookies. He made them every year, and they are my hands-down favorite. We always just called them "teekuchens" (pronounced "tee-kook-ens", German for shortbread), which must mean that this recipe came from my German ancestors. The buttery, sweet cookies were more than dessert—they were a symbol of our family’s love and traditions, carefully passed down through generations.
Baking these cookies still fills me with joy, and I hope they become part of your celebrations, too. Pair them with other holiday favorites like Peppermint Pretzel Bark, Kolachy Cookies, or Spiked Eggnog for a festive spread everyone will love.
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Ingredients
- FLOUR: AP Flour (All Purpose Flour)
- SALT: sea salt or kosher salt
- POWDERED SUGAR: confectioners' sugar
- BUTTER: unsalted butter, softened (at room temperature)
- EGG: large egg or extra large egg
- VANILLA: pure vanilla extract
*see recipe card for quantities.
🔪Top tip
Let It Chill: be sure to cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours before rolling it out. This helps the cookies retain their shape while baking.
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- With electric or stand mixer, mix flour, salt and powdered sugar together.
- Mix in butter.
- Beat egg, but only use 2 teaspoons of egg in batter
- Add vanilla and blend well.
- Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Roll out chilled dough on floured surface to ⅛" thickness
- Cut out using cookie cutters
- Use balance of egg mixture to brush tops of each cookie.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar (and chopped nuts if you choose).
- Bake for 5 to 7 minutes
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Featured review
❝ This recipe you have shared has already become an instant classic in my Family. I've made a "double" batch because I had to give them to friends and my boss. Thank you again for posting this absolutely perfect recipe/formula. ❞
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Storage
- STORE baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- FREEZE baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- FREEZE unbaked dough portions wrapped in plastic wrap to bake fresh cookies later.
🎄More Christmas Cookie Recipes
FAQ
A sturdy sugar cookie dough or shortbread dough works best as it holds its shape. My grandfather's recipe is time-tested and perfect.
Roll the dough to about ⅛" to ¼" thick for a perfect balance of structure and softness. My grandfather always made them closer to ⅛ inch, so I follow that rule of thumb.
Basic tools include cookie cutters, a rolling pin, parchment paper, and a baking sheet.
Dip the cutter in flour or powdered sugar before each use.
Yes, chilling helps the cookies retain their shape during baking.
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Cut Out Cookie recipe
Make holiday magic with Teekuchen Cut-Out cookies! My grandfather's treasured recipe is perfect for creating memories and delicious treats.
- Total Time: 2 hours 37 mins
- Yield: 3 dozen cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ pound unsalted butter (at room temp)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- With electric or stand mixer, mix flour, salt and powdered sugar together.
- Mix in butter.
- Beat egg, but only use 2 teaspoons of egg in batter
- Add vanilla and blend well.
- Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Roll out chilled dough on floured surface to ⅛" thickness
- Cut out using cookie cutters
- Use balance of egg mixture to brush tops of each cookie.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar (and chopped nuts if you choose).
- Bake for 5 to 7 minutes
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: German American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 cookies
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 11.9 g
- Sodium: 68.6 mg
- Fat: 19.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.5 g
- Protein: 3.7 g
- Cholesterol: 67.4 mg
Gretchen says
They look beautiful!
Jackie says
Thanks Gretch!! I'm bringing them home... hope they are as good as yours!!!
Please spread the word.
Jackie
Lowell says
On the 3rd try the cookies turned out absolutely scrumptious, even delectable. Such simplicity yet that is the genius of this recipe. My first time ever baking; I wanted to see if I had the German baking gene and by golly I do. My ancestors came over from Germany in the 1880’s and opened up Koenig’s Bakery in Baltimore. They lost them all in the depression. I’m sure they probably used a formula similar to this one back in the day. They baked in large batches so they didn’t cLl it a recipe, but a formula. Thanks for sharing yours.
Jackie says
Lowell, this is AMAZING!! I agree, these cookies are so hard to get right, but I am so happy you found success! thank you so much for sharing this with us. What a wonderful story about your family's bakery... I wonder if they were the same? Thanks again for stopping by! This made our day.
Lowell says
This recipe you have shared has already become an instant classic in my Family. I've made a "double" batch because I had to give them to friends and my boss. They disappear quickly and are just a delicate, balanced and perfect cookie. I made some with sprinkled sugar and some with the pecan dusting; next I'm going to try coconut flakes. I found success in rolling out 1/2 of the dough while placing the remaining 1/2 back in the fridge so that I had time to cut out the cookies before the dough gets too soft which would then cause it to stick to the rolling pin etc. I found that with very minimal flour [I used the Robin Hood w/3 grams protein] and using a parchment paper rather than a floured apron cloth worked best for cutting the best cookies. I am so into this, that I bought like 24 tin cookie cutter shapes and taught my son how to make them using the secret I mentioned above when rolling out the dough. Parchment paper worked best.
I imagine my Great Grandfather, Edward Koenig would've been very familiar with this type of cookie. Thank you again for posting this absolutely perfect recipe/formula. Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!