Go Back
German tea biscuits with heart cut-out centres, lightly golden and stacked together

German Tea Biscuits (Teegebäck)

Teegebäck are traditional German butter cookies, perfect for enjoying with tea or coffee.
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Course Cookies
Cuisine German

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g 17.6 oz / 4 cups cake flour
  • 6 g 0.2 oz / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 150 g 5.3 oz / ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons homemade vanilla sugar or 1 packet Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 250 g 8.8 oz / 1 cup or 2 sticks cold salted butter, cubed
  • 1 Tbsp Apricot Jam
  • Orange Food Colouring

Instructions
 

Prepare the Dough:

  • On a clean work surface, combine the flour and baking powder.
    Flour placed on a kitchen work surface for making German tea biscuit dough
  • Create a well in the centre and add the granulated sugar, homemade vanilla sugar, and eggs.
    Eggs placed in a well of flour for German tea biscuit dough
  • Mix these with some of the surrounding flour to form a paste.
  • Distribute the cold butter cubes over the mixture and cover with some of the remaining flour. Quickly knead everything together to form a smooth dough.
    Cubed butter added to flour mixture for German tea biscuits

Chill:

  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Roll Out:

  • On a floured surface, roll out the dough using dowels for uniform thickness.
    Rolling out German tea biscuit dough between wooden guides

Shaping the Cookies

    Cut Rounds:

    • Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circles from the dough.

    Create the Design:

    • Using a small carrot-shaped cutter (or any preferred shape), cut out the centre of the cookies.
    • Take a scalloped cutter and lightly press it around the edge to create a decorative indentation.
    • Using a toothpick, prick small holes along the outer edge of each scallop for added detail.
      Rolled German tea biscuit dough ready to be cut into shapes

    Assemble the Cookie Layers:

    • Carefully transfer the cut-out centre shape onto a separate sheet of dough.
    • Lightly brush the dough with a little milk to help it stick.
    • Gently press the cut-out shape onto the brushed area.
    • Lightly pat it with a rolling pin, ensuring it adheres without distorting the design.

    Final Cut:

    • Using the same round cookie cutter, carefully cut the cookie again to maintain a clean shape.
      Rolling out biscuit dough and cutting German tea biscuits with a decorative cookie cutter

    Fill with Apricot Jam:

    • Mix 1 tbsp apricot jam with a small amount of orange food colouring.
      Apricot jam prepared for filling German tea biscuits
    • Carefully fill the cut-out holes with apricot jam, ensuring not to overfill.
      Unbaked German tea biscuits arranged on a baking tray with decorative cut-outs

    Bake:

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake single-layer cookies for 8-10 minutes and double-layer cookies for approximately 16 minutes until lightly golden.

    Add extra Jam and Dust with Sugar:

    • Before serving, add extra apricot jam in the centre and tilt the cookies to allow it to spread naturally into the corners. Lightly dust the cookies with powdered sugar.