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Pastries and Cookies

Eisenbahner (German Marzipan Jelly Cookie Bars)

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Eisenbahner cookies: shortbread strips with a piped marzipan frame filled with red jelly, cut into slices

4.6 (14)out of 5, 14 ratings

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Prep
5 min
Bake
20 min
Total
25 min
Makes
1 baking sheet

The Christmas season is knocking at the door, and with it comes Christmas baking and cookie making. By now I've shared quite a few Christmas cookies with you, but this recipe is still something very special, because it's the very first cookie recipe I ever shared with you!

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I absolutely love these Christmas cookies because they're made with a marzipan cream and red jam, which makes them extra moist and refined. But another reason I like them so much is that they make a big batch. You roll out one dough onto the baking sheet, then the marzipan goes on top, it all gets baked, and at the end you cut lots of little cookies out of this one big cookie! How big or small you cut the marzipan cookies is up to you, and that also decides how many cookies you end up with. I always divide the dough into 1 ½-inch (4 cm) wide strips and then cut the finished Christmas cookies about a finger's width wide.

Ingredients

Makes 1 baking sheet

Marzipan mixture

  • 14 oz400 galmond pasteGerman Marzipanrohmasse is raw marzipan with a high almond and low sugar content, used for baking. In the US use almond paste (not marzipan, which is sweeter); in the UK, almond paste, or the marzipan with the highest almond content you can find.
  • ⅔ cup80 gpowdered sugarVery finely ground sugar for icings and dusting. In the US use powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar); in the UK, icing sugar.
  • 2egg whites

Shortbread dough

  • 1 stick plus 5 tbsp180 gunsalted buttersoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter; European-style unsalted butter is closest. In the UK, unsalted butter.
  • 1 cup plus 1 tbsp130 gpowdered sugar
  • 2egg yolks
  • 2 ⅓ cups300 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 1 pinchChristmas cookie spiceor cinnamon. Christmas cookie spice is a warm spice blend for Christmas cookies, similar to speculoos spice. In the US use pumpkin pie spice with a pinch of cardamom; in the UK, mixed spice with a pinch of cardamom.

Also

  • 14 oz400 gfruit jelly (preserve)red. A clear, smooth fruit jelly without pieces or seeds, such as red currant jelly. In the US use red currant jelly or another clear fruit jelly (not Jell-O); in the UK, redcurrant jelly or another jelly preserve (not jelly dessert).
  • all-purpose flour for rolling outa little

Method

Marzipan mixture

  1. Coarsely grate the almond paste, add one egg white and let it sit for a few minutes. In the meantime, make the shortbread dough.

Shortbread dough

  1. Mix the butter, powdered sugar, salt and spice, then add the egg yolks one at a time.

  2. Add the flour and mix everything into a dough. Press it flat, cover it and put it in the fridge for at least 60 minutes.

  3. Patiently work the almond paste and the first egg white together until the mixture is completely even, then add the second egg white and work it in just as patiently.

  4. Finally, add the powdered sugar and mix it in. Cover the mixture and let it sit until you need it.

  5. Once the shortbread dough has chilled, knead it briefly again until it's smooth, then roll it out to the size of your baking sheet and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. A German baking sheet is a large baking sheet (about 16 × 14 inches / 40 × 35 cm); a US half sheet pan (18 × 13 inches) works too.

  6. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) convection (fan).

  7. Bake in the preheated oven until light golden.

  8. While the shortbread is still hot and on the baking sheet, cut it into 1 ½-inch (4 cm) wide strips.

  9. Put the marzipan mixture into a sturdy (!) piping bag with a star tip and pipe it onto the shortbread so that each strip gets a marzipan frame.

  10. Put the baking sheet back in the oven and bake for a few more minutes until the marzipan mixture is lightly golden. Then let everything cool completely on the baking sheet.

  11. While the baking sheet cools, bring the fruit jelly to a rolling boil for 2 minutes and pour it into the marzipan frames while it's still boiling hot.

  12. Cut the bars into cookies and store them in cookie tins.