Bavarian Butter Recipes

GERMAN BUTTER CAKE - BUTTERKUCHEN

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. (If you use a dark baking pan, reduce the heat to 375 F)
• Add all ingredient for the dough to a large bowl and mix until just combined. Make sure to don´t incorporated too much air. The air could cause a collapse during baking.
• Grease a baking pan or casserole dish. I use a clear casserole dish 9x13.
• Pour the dough into the pan and spread out evenly.
• Add butter and milk into a small sauce pan and melt on low heat.
• Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Add the vanilla extract and the almond slices to the sauce pan and combine well.
• Carefully top the dough with the mixture and spread out evenly.
• Bake for about 20 - 25 min. at 400 F. (If you use a dark baking pan, reduce the heat to 375 F)
• Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar. (optional)

GERMAN BUTTER COOKIES (BUTTERPLäTZCHEN)

Steps:

• Add the flour, butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and egg into a large bowl. Use your hands to knead the dough until the dough forms a ball (this takes around 5 minutes).
• Wrap the ball of dough in cling film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• After the 30 minutes are up, remove the dough from the fridge. Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sprinkle flour onto a smooth surface and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is approximately 3/8 inch thin. Use your cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and place them on the parchment paper. Once you've used up the rolled out dough, gather the leftovers, form another ball, roll it out again, and cut more cookies. Repeat the process until you have used up all the dough.
• Bake your cookies in the middle rack of your oven for around 10-12 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden brown along the edges. Depending on your oven and how thick your cookies are, your baking time might be slightly shorter or longer.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for around 5 minutes. Then remove the parchment paper with the cookies on it from the baking sheet and let the cookies cool fully.
• OPTIONAL: After the cookies have cooled sufficiently, you can prepare the topping by whisking powdered sugar and lemon juice or water together in a small bowl. This will be your "glue" for sprinkles and other decorations. Spread a small amount of the "glue" onto the cookie and then decorate as desired. You can get really creative here. If you decide to decorate your cookies with icing and/or sprinkles, let them sit until the glaze has hardened.

GERMAN BUTTER CAKE (BUTTERKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Warm up the milk in the microwave or on the stove. It should be slightly warm, not hot or boiling!
• Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the instant dry yeast (check packaging instructions to make sure it doesn't have to be dissolved in water or milk first). Sprinkle the sugar on top. Now add the lukewarm milk and knead everything using the spiral dough hooks of your mixer.
• Add the vanilla extract, soft butter, egg, and a pinch of salt. Keep kneading the dough for around 5 minutes until it forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky, add a little bit more flour. If it is too crumbly, add some more milk.
• Place a towel or lid over the bowl and let the ball of dough rise for at least one hour in a warm place without a draft.
• After about 55 minutes, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your baking pan by either greasing it or lining it with parchment paper.
• Once the whole hour is up and the ball of dough has significantly increased in size, give it another knead before lightly flouring your countertop and rolling out your dough to fit your baking sheet/pan. We use a baking pan with approx. dimensions of 13.5 x 9.5 inches. Place the dough into the baking pan.
• For the topping, take the butter out of the fridge and cut it into small cubes. Use your fingers - or the handle of a wooden spoon or butter knife, for example - to make small, evenly placed dents into the top of the rolled out dough. Make sure to not poke through to the baking pan! Place the pieces of cold butter into the holes. Now sprinkle the top of the dough with sugar and sliced almonds.
• Place the cake in the oven to bake for around 25 - 30 minutes until the almonds on top are slightly browned. Since every oven is different, your cook time might vary slightly.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. Cut it into slices before serving. Enjoy!

PAPA DREXLER'S BAVARIAN PRETZELS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 1/3 cup water. Let this mixture stand until bubble begin to form, about 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and gradually stir in the remaining flour until dough can be picked up and kneaded on the counter. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, adding more flour if needed.
• Divide the dough into 6 pieces and let them rest for a few minutes. Roll out one piece at a time into a rope about 15 inches long. Loop and twist into that cool pretzel shape. Set on a baking sheet while you roll out the remaining portions.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Remove from the heat. Dip pretzels into the water bath for about 45 seconds, flipping over about halfway through. Place the soaked pretzels on a greased baking sheet. Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.

BASIL BUTTER

Steps:

• Place garlic, basil, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the garlic is in small bits. Add the butter, and process just to mix together. Spoon into container, and refrigerate until firm.