"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." goes the famous Christmas song, and who could argue that's not true? Festive ornaments and sparkly Christmas lights are everywhere, the festive spirit is in full swing, and the city squares are dotted with stalls offering warm drinks and delicious foods, from sausages and potato pancakes to gingerbread cookies and sweet fritters.
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But if having these delicious treats only a few times during the Christmas season does not satisfy you and you'd like to replicate some of the smells and flavors of the world's Christmas markets at home, here are some recipes to help you do that. And since German-speaking countries are the birthplace of Christmas markets, it's no surprise they're the most represented on this list.
Nürnberger Lebkuchen - Germany
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Exclusive to the city of Nürnberg and rich with nuts and spices, Nürnberger lebkuchen is one of the classics at German Christmas markets. And although it can’t bear this name if produced outside of Nürnberg (outside of the city limits, it’s referred to only as lebkuchen!), who says you can’t make it at home? So check out our traditional recipe for detailed instructions on preparing the famed gingerbread cookie.
Germknödel - Austria
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A large, steamed dumpling filled with plum jam powdl is an Austrian classic that you will find at most Christmas markets in Austria. We have two recipes for you to choose from — the traditional germknödel recipe that says to serve the powdl-filled yeast dumplings doused in melted butter and sprinkled with a mixture of ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar; and the germknödel in vanilla sauce recipe, which is a modern-day take on the traditional version.
Fritule - Croatia
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The Croatian festive treat, fritule are round, sweet fritters typically consumed during Christmas and carnival season. The basic version is made with yeasted dough, the recipe for which you can find here. But, if you want fritule fast, go for this recipe as the batter is leavened with baking powder and does not require proofing time.
But, surprise, surprise! There are some other fritule recipes on the site for you to try — if you’re interested in fritule from the island Brač, check out this recipe for fritule with apples and semolina; and if you’re interested in different textures, go for this fritule with choux pastry recipe.
Tarte Flambée - Germany/France
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Germany and France both share this delicious pizza/not pizza tart that you will find at many Christmas markets in both France and Germany. The traditional tarte flambée calls for bread dough, fromage blanc, crème fraîche, smoked bacon, and onions seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and here’s the recipe just for you. Scale the amounts to your liking.
Lángos - Hungary
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A Hungarian Christmas market is not complete without a stall offering lángos, a popular street food snack often dubbed the Hungarian pizza. It’s basically a piece of deep-fried bread dough, but that doesn’t mean it’s plain or bland, quite the opposite! You only have to eat it when it’s freshly made.
The bread is typically topped with something before serving, whether just sprinkled with salt, rubbed with garlic, spread with garlic butter, sprinkled with garlic water, or topped with sour cream and grated cheese. It can also have other toppings, such as ham, sausage, cabbage, and more. You can choose between three recipes here at TasteAtlas — the traditional recipe, the recipe for extra-soft lángos with milk and kefir, and the potato lángos recipe.
Kartoffelpuffer - Germany
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These potato pancakes are a staple at most Christmas markets and are quite simple to prepare. You only need potatoes, onions, eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. And oil for frying, of course. You can make them as small or as big as you’d like and maybe even add some additional ingredients to the basic recipe, like apples, sauerkraut, seasonings, and bacon.
Here is the recipe for the traditional kartoffelpuffer pancakes. Serve them the traditional way, sprinkled with cinnamon and granulated sugar, and with a side of applesauce. But if you want them savory, pair them with sauerkraut or sour cream.
Glühwein - Germany
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Probably the best-known kind of mulled wine, glühwein is likely the mother of all mulled wines in the world. The typical glühwein is made with red wine, citrus fruits, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, and sugar, and if you’d like to make this traditional version, click here to find out the recipe.
However, luckily, there is more than one recipe here at TasteAtlas. Besides the traditional recipe, you can opt for the white wine glühwein recipe, the alcohol-free glühwein recipe, and the oldest-known recipe for glühwein dating from 1834. No matter which recipe you choose to make, serve the drink in some festive mugs.
Stollen - Germany
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Although traditionally prepared for Christmas, you can find stollen during the entire Christmas season. It is a rich fruit bread made with buttery, egg-rich, and sweet yeasted dough, enriched with dried fruits and nuts, and usually heavily spiced. Typically oblong, stollen is also usually covered with melted butter and powdered sugar.
You can choose between the traditional Dresdner stollen recipe, the marzipan stollen with yeasted dough recipe, the marzipan stollen with quark dough recipe, and the recipe for mohnstollen, which has a filling of ground poppy seeds.
Waffles/Gaufres - Belgium
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What most of the world knows as waffles, in Belgium, the home of waffles, it goes by the name gaufres. There are many kinds of gaufres in Belgium, but two distinct types are best known - the light Brussels gaufres and the thick Liège gaufres, the recipes for which you can find here and here. However, Belgium has some other gaufre varieties as well.
So, we invite you to also check out these other waffles recipes: the Flemish gaufres, the rum raisins waffles, and the pumpkin waffles with cinnamon caramel syrup. Still, whichever recipe you go for, don’t forget that you need to equip yourself with a waffle iron.
