Belsnickel Sugar Cookies
The lore of the Belsnickel
Did you hear that clanging of bells in the distance, the rustle of branches through the woods, or a tap on the window after dark? Can you see who’s coming?? Beware, it could mean the Belsnickel is on his way to your door!
What’s a Belsnickel?
If this were 1830 and not 2022, it’s very likely it would’ve been the Belsnickel making his way through Pigeon Forge this time of year. What’s a Belsnickel you ask? Well, he was a wretched creature with furs covering his back, antlers tied to his head, and a mask made of burlap (perhaps even an old grain sack from The Old Mill), and he would visit the homes of children throughout the region in the weeks before Christmas.
Carrying a handful of hickory switches in one hand and a whip tied to his side, in his pockets you might find a piece of two of candy, unless you pick the wrong pocket, where you might find a lump of coal.
Why did he stop by?
Why did he stop by? Santa sent him ahead in the weeks before Christmas to find out which kids had been good, and which had been raising cane or sassing their parents. All the kids in the house would line up to be questioned by the Belsnickel and if he believed their answers, he would give them a piece of candy, but if he thought they were telling fibs, they might feel the swipe of his switches!
To make sure the Belsnickel was happy when he left, so he could give Santa a good report, mom would make sure she had some treats on hand, like cookies, to give to the Belsnickel, and daddy might pull out a jar of moonshine to share a drink or two from. By the time the kids went to bed, the Belsnickel was hopefully singing carols on his way out.
A German tradition
The lore of the Belsnickel was a tradition brought by German immigrants in the 1800’s and continued until the 1930’s or longer, all through Appalachia. You may recognize remnants of the Belsnickel tradition today when kids go from house to house with a mask on and you give them treats on All Hallows Eve!
The traditional Belsnickel cookie recipe
Here is the traditional Belsnickel Cookie recipe, found in the Shenandoah Valley Cooking, Recipes and Kitchen Lore, as it was originally written. This is a recipe that we would be familiar with today as a traditional sugar cookie, but it is a very soft dough that intricate shapes would be hard to cut, so originally the shape would simply be round or a basic shape.
Recipe Notes:
These cookies were commonly offered to groups of belsnicklers when they visited during the Christmas holiday season.
Original Belsnickel Sugar Cookies
Melt a cup of butter, pour it over two cups of sugar in a bowl and cream. Add four eggs and beat into the mixture. Sift a teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt into three cups of flour, then combine into the other mixture and allow it to stand for an hour or more in a cool place.
This dough should be rolled out very thin on a floured board. If necessary, add more flour so it will roll. Place the shaped cookies on banking pans, then sprinkle white sugar over them. Bake in a moderately hot oven.
Tester’s notes:
In recreating the recipe, we tried to use methods thought to be followed during the time period in which these would have been made, which was the mid 1800’s and up into the 1930’s. That meant refrigeration would not have been likely, so the dough was covered and set to rest outdoors in a safe cool place. The dough does set up so that it can be rolled, but it is a very soft dough. If it is too soft, more flour may be needed to hold the dough together. Baking in a moderate oven was determined to be around 350 degrees, and the cookies were baked for 12-14 minutes in a conventional oven. These cookies will rise up, then fall, and you know they are done when you can smell them. They should be very light in color. It can be easy to over-bake these, so it’s important to keep an eye and nose on the oven.
The recipe below as interpreted and updated.
Belsnickel Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup of butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cups of white granulated sugar
- 4 whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/16th of a teaspoon of salt
- 3 cups of Miller’s Choice Unbleached Flour
- Additional sugar for sprinkling over cookies
Instructions
- Melt the butter and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add in one egg at a time and beat well. The mixture should be fluffy and airy at this stage. In a separate bowl, sift together the baking soda, salt, and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold in until all the flour is incorporated. The batter will be very soft. Cover and chill for 1 hour to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 for a conventional oven and 325 for a convection oven.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter or round cutter. Using a spatula, gently lift the cut cookie and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, allowing 2 inches between cookies. Sprinkle additional white sugar on top of each cookie. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a conventional oven or 8-9 minutes in a convection oven. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes or until cookies begin to set. Move to a wire cooling rack until completely cooled. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
