My Austrian Christmas Cookie Tradition

As the holiday season unfolds I’m filled with gratitude and a touch of nostalgia. For years, I hesitated to share my mama’s beloved legay of Austrian Christmas cookies and love. As a functional nutrition therapist, it felt like a contradiction—celebrating rich, butter-laden treats while advocating for balance and health. But I’ve come to realize that food is so much more than calories and “eating healthy”. It’s about connection, tradition, and love. And these cookies? They are pure love, passed down from my mama’s kitchen to mine.

My Christmas Cookie Process

Step 1

Baking begins in November. My daughter and I prep our butter-based cookies: vanillekipferl, Linzer cookies, and a nod to Texas — pecan thumbprints. And a fourth variety that from year to year: Pistachio “coins”, cardamom orange or poppyseed cookies.

Step 2

I freeze the unbaked cookies. And put them in ziplock bags (with parchment paper in between the layers) until December.

The first weekend of December, we dive into gingerbread house-making with my daughter, cousins, nieces and nephews; it’s a chaotic, happy memory-making, friendship-bonding time with cousins and nieces and nephews

Cookie by cookie—a Hansel and Gretel story brought to life with authentic lebkuchen:

🌲 trees and 🍄‍🟫 mushrooms

🦌 deer, foxes and 🐇rabbits

🦆 duck pond and ☃️ snowman

🧙 the witch, Hansel, Gretel

🌟 big stars, ✨ little stars, lots of stars

It’s not just cookies – laughter, friendship and memories are also in the making!

I’m always astonished anew each when the house stands cemented only with icing. 😂

Step 3

In the days after the gingerbread forest is all set up, I bake our butter-based cookies. We fill them with raspberry preserves and dusting others with powdered sugar as the cookies require.

Step 4

Then come the meringue-based cookes: Hasselnuss Busserl (hazel nut macarons) and Pignoli

Step 5

Once ready, cookies go into festive tins, until they ready to be shared throughout December…

Step 6

Cookie boxes are made into gifts of appreciation for teachers, hostesses and friendship. Each bite is a way to spread holiday cheer, and share something meaningful with others. Little tokens of connection and care.

Step 7

I open the cookie tins to make platters that enhance my table for holiday brunches, tea time with friends and after-dinner-desserts.

Until needed the cookies stay safely out of sight. It’s part of my strategy of Prep Your Kitchen to Support your Brain Health this Holiday Season. If cookies are in the kitchen plain sight, no amount of will power will stop me from eating a cookie or two – or three! each time I pass by. Out of sight is out of mind.

If this all seems overwhelming, keep in mind that it is a process that’s evolved through trial and error over decades. 💪

A Tradition of Gratitude and Connection

The holiday season is about so much more than food. It’s about the people we cherish, the rituals that help us feel grounded, and the memories we create. These cookies—rich with love and history—are a part of our family’s way of expressing gratitude and spreading happy energy. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, or any other tradition, this season invites us all to connect, reflect, and share in being present in the moment.

Wishing you and yours Love 💕 and Light ✨ this holiday season!

What about you? What holiday tradition brings you joy this time of year?