Berliner Brot (German Christmas Cookie)

3 generations of Omas have passed down this recipe to me. We make and look forward to it every Christmas. Hazelnut chocolate bars with a lemony icing. They never last long.

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 10 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• 0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 ⅓ cups ground hazelnuts
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 medium lemon, juiced

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 1/2 x 13-inch baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Cream together sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until just blended.
3. Mix together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and cloves in a separate bowl.
4. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture, and mix until just blended. Add hazelnuts and mix again until just blended. The mixture should have the consistency of a smooth dough.
5. Transfer dough onto the prepared baking sheet and smooth with a rolling pin into all the corners.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until cookie sheet has set, about 20 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm.
7. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and brush icing over the cooling bars.