Follow this classic bredele recipe to make traditional Alsatian Christmas cookies specifically made for Christmas in France. Differently shaped, bredele cookies make a beautiful edible gift for your family and friends.

The middle of November is the right time of the year to start thinking of Christmas gifts, and edible gifts are not an exception.
Jump to:
- What are bredele?
- History of bredele
- Bredele recipe
- The best cookie cutters to make bredele
- Ingredients
- How to make bredele cookies
- Expert Tips
- When and how to serve bredele
- How to store bredele
- How to pack bredele as a gift
- Love Christmas cookies? Try these next!
- Need to adjust your baking pan size?
- Recipe card
- Comments
At the beginning of December, in Alsace and other France regions, Christmas markets full of festive goodies open their doors.
This is the time of the year when families in Alsace bake these cute cookies - bredele. And yes, they keep them fresh in tin boxes until Christmas Eve.
What are bredele?
Bredele (also known as Bredala and Bredle) are traditional Christmas biscuits in the French region of Alsace. These bite-sized treats come in different shapes and flavors.
The basic bredele, known as butterbredle, are classic butter biscuits. Other variations include scented with aniseed anisbredela, flavored with orange and cinnamon schwowebredle, diamond-shaped Leckerlis, lemon shortbread spritzbredle, etc.
During Christmas time, every Alsatian family bakes up to 10 to 12 variations of these small biscuits, packs them in decorated cookie tins, and shares them with friends.
In every Christmas market of Alsace, you will definitely find bredele sold in different shapes, decorations, and flavors.
If you travel to Alsace around other holidays, you will also be able to find bredele in bakeries that sell differently-themed cookies throughout the year.
History of bredele
According to food historians, the first recipes for bredele go back to the 14th century. At that time, cookies were cut with a knife into triangles, squares, and diamonds.
Bredele became more popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries due to the introduction of cookie cutters in France.
Bredele recipe
- The basic recipe for bredele calls for only four ingredients, such as butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. This classic bredele is called butterbredle.
- You will make a batch of 50 small cookies.
- These prettiest cookies make a great edible Christmas gift.
- The make-ahead option is perfect for saving time during the busy holiday time.
- Making bredele is a fun baking project with kids.
- Using different shapes and the absence of decoration make these cookies loved by beginner bakers.
- To make different types of bredele, add coconut, almonds, hazelnuts, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest, or cocoa. Nowadays, even pecans and pistachio are added to the bredele recipes.
The best cookie cutters to make bredele
These Alsatian Christmas cookies are made in different shapes: from traditional Christmas tree to pretzel, from gingerbread man to headdress, from snowman to Kouglof cookie-cutter.
In Alsace, the most popular cookie cutters are those with shapes of the Alsatian stork, Alsatian couple, or Bretzel, which are symbols of that region.
To keep the tradition, choose small, preferably mini-cookie cutters, to make bredele. A Christmas tree cookie cutter puzzle by Lekue does an amazing job: it allows cutting 19 cookies in a single cutting.
Nowadays, engraved rolling pins also become popular for making patterns in cookie dough.
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Find the recipe card below for exact amounts and detailed instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.
- Flour: This basic recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
- Butter: Use unsalted softened butter. Take butter out of the fridge one to two hours before you start.
- Sugar: Use granulated or caster sugar.
- Eggs: The recipe calls for a whole large egg and egg yolk to glaze the biscuits.
- Icing sugar: Make it yourself with a coffee grinder or use powdered sugar. It is optional to sprinkle biscuits with icing sugar.
How to make bredele cookies
Step 1. To make the dough, place softened butter, sugar, whole egg, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer (photo 1) and mix (photo 2).
Step 2. Wrap the dough with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Step 3. Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness of ⅕-inch (4 mm) and cut out into desired shapes using Christmas cookie cutters (photo 3).
Step 4. Arrange cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (photo 4).
Step 5. Brush each cookie with the beaten egg yolk and bake for 10 minutes (photo 5).
Step 6. Let cookies cool down on a wire rack and sprinkle with icing (powdered) sugar (photo 6).
Expert Tips
- Chill the dough overnight if it works with your baking schedule.
- Brush cookies with Royal icing and use Christmas sprinkles instead of using icing sugar if you prefer.
When and how to serve bredele
Traditionally, bredele cookies are not eaten until Christmas Eve. Then they are usually served as a dessert or a snack with tea or coffee throughout the holidays.
Another perfect way to serve these cookies is to accompany Alsatian wines such as Crémant d’Alsace, Muscat, and Gewurztraminer.
What time of the day to serve bredele? As per Bredele.fr,
Whether it is to start the day or to end it with a treat, the Bredele are always popular!
How to store bredele
In Alsace, bredele cookies baked in November are stored in metal tin boxes to keep them fresh until Christmas.
Different types of cookies are kept in their own tin box to eliminate the "moisture exchange" between cookies.
How to pack bredele as a gift
Traditionally, Alsatians pack bredele in rectangular Christmas gift boxes or round decorative tins.
You can also use Christmas cellophane bags or cardboard Christmas cookie boxes to pack your bredele cookies, but you should store cookies in metal tins until you pack them as gifts.
Love Christmas cookies? Try these next!
- Gingerbread Christmas ornaments
- Zimsterne (German cinnamon star cookies)
- French vanilla cookies
- Mini Gingerbread men cookies
- Or browse all the Christmas recipes
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Recipe card
Bredele – Alsatian Christmas Cookies
Follow this classic bredele recipe to make traditional Alsatian Christmas cookies specifically made for Christmas in France. Differently shaped, bredele cookies make a beautiful edible gift for your family and friends.
- Total Time: 40 minutes (plus chilling time)
- Yield: 50 1x
- Category: cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened
- 125 g granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk for glazing
- 1 tablespoon icing (powdered) sugar for dusting (optional)
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
- To make the dough, place softened butter, sugar, whole egg, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix. Wrap the dough with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a thickness of ⅕-inch/4 mm and cut out into desired shapes using a Christmas tree cookie cutter puzzle. Arrange cookies on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Brush each cookie with the beaten egg yolk and bake for 10 minutes. Let cookies cool down on a wire rack and sprinkle with icing (powdered) sugar.
Notes
- Chill the dough overnight if it works with your baking schedule.
- Brush cookies with Royal icing and use Christmas sprinkles instead of using icing sugar if you prefer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 47
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 16 mg
- Fat: 2.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.3 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 0.7 g
- Cholesterol: 9 mg
Keywords: bredele, bredele cookies, Alsatian Christmas cookies, bredele recipe
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
Michelle says
How pretty! I love trying new cuisine, so I'm excited to try these little French cookies. I'm surprised how simple the recipe is with just a few ingredients!
★★★★★
Lisa says
Simple butter cookies like this are my favorite during the holidays. I want to try the anise-flavored version.
★★★★★
Irina says
Lisa, thanks for your interest in the recipe. This is the basic bredele recipe, the anisbredele is quite different. I hope to post the anise version of bredele in the future.
Beth says
My family is going to love this recipe! I can't wait to give this a try! Perfect for the Christmas season!
★★★★★
Katie says
Looks delicious. I know my family would go crazy for this!
★★★★★
Irina says
So, please, make it and enjoy it, Katie! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Mahy says
This would be such a great gift to get, and even more - a fantastic gift to give. I love the shape - so festive!
★★★★★
Irina says
I agree with you, Mahy. Thanks for your comment. 🙂