The cinnamon stars from Daniela, Marketing Communication & PR

For the dough:
500 g almonds, ground
300 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 egg whites
2 tbsp. almond liqueur
icing sugar for the work surface

For the icing:
1 egg white
125 g icing sugar

Preparation:
Working time approx. 45 minutes Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes Total time approx. 1 hour

Mix the almonds, icing sugar and cinnamon. Add 2 egg whites and almond liqueur. Mix everything with the dough hook of the hand mixer. Then knead with your hands to a smooth dough.
Roll out the dough in portions on a work surface dusted with icing sugar to a thickness of approx. 1 cm. Cut out stars and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Dip the cutters in icing sugar repeatedly. Beat 1 egg white until very stiff. Gradually add the icing sugar, continuing to beat. Brush the stars with it. Bake in the preheated oven on the lowest shelf at 150°C for 10-15 minutes.

The very best shortbread by Anne, Inside Sales

For the dough:
500 g flour
250 g sugar
125 g butter
125 g margarine
½ pck. baking powder
2 pck. vanilla sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Preparation:
Knead all the ingredients into a firm dough and let it rest, covered, in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Then put the dough through a mincer with an attachment for piping biscuits and make any desired biscuits. Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C on the second shelf from the bottom for approx. 10-15 min.

Bejgli - Traditional Hungarian Christmas cake by Ines, Schmitz Cargobull Magyarország Kft.  
 
For the dough:
530 g flour
105 g lard
105 g butter
55 g icing sugar
3 egg yolks
12 g yeast
5 g salt
95 g milk

For the poppy seed filling:
550 g ground poppy seeds
240 g icing sugar
100 g honey
30 g sultanas
10 g grated lemon peel
110 g milk
100 g candied, chopped orange peel
candied orange peel cubes
10 g vanilla sugar

Preparation:

First, you need to make the filling for the Beigli. Pour the milk into a saucepan with the two orange peels and add all the spices together with the sugar and honey. When it starts to boil, stir in the poppy seeds. When the filling has cooled, weigh it into 340g pieces and store in a refrigerator covered with clingfilm.

For the dough, knead the ingredients in the recipe and then divide into 200g pieces and round. After a short rest, the dough should be stretched thin and the pre-measured filling spread evenly. The dough is rolled up with the filling and then spread on the baking tray and brushed with egg. Prick with a fork before placing in the oven. After drying again, bake at 180°C for approx. 40-50 minutes.

 Nussecken - Traditional Christmas biscuits by Nadine, Marketing Communication & PR

For the shortcrust pastry:
300 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
130 g sugar
1 pck.  vanilla sugar
2 eggs
130 g butter, soft

To coat:
6 tbsp apricot jam

For the topping:
200 g butter
5 tbsp water or rum
200 g sugar, brown
1 pck. vanilla sugar
400 g hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds, ground, to taste

For the icing:
200 g chocolate icing

Preparation:
Make a kneaded dough from the dough ingredients. The dough is relatively soft, so you can spread it nicely on the tray. Butter the bottom of a grease tray and dust with flour. Alternatively, place a baking frame in the tray. Press the dough in evenly (do this by hand, as it doesn't really work with a rolling pin). Spread a thin layer of jam on the dough. Melt the butter, water, sugar and vanilla sugar in a pan (do not boil) so that the sugar dissolves. Add the ground nuts or almonds and mix well.  Spread the nut mixture evenly over the jam. Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C top/bottom heat for approx. 30-35 min (on the middle shelf in my case). Leave to cool on the tray, preferably overnight, and cut into corners the next day. Dip either just the tops or the sides in the chocolate icing. The brown sugar in the nut mixture gives the nut wedges a light caramel flavour.

Roscón de Reyes - Spanish Kings’  Cake  by Raquel, Schmitz Cargobull Ibérica, S.A.

For the dough:
400g flour
20g fresh yeast
120ml milk
100g blanched and grated almonds
120g soft butter
2 eggs, warm
100g sugar
grated lemon and orange zest (one lemon and one orange)
1 tbsp brandy
1 pinch salt
1 egg to brush
Cherries, candied orange pieces or other fruits, peeled almond halves

Preparation:
Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well. Crumble the yeast and pour into the well. Warm the milk and pour 50-60ml over the yeast and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar. Mix the yeast with the milk and sugar in the flour bowl to form a pre-dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for approx. 20 minutes until the yeast has visibly increased in size. Then mix the pre-dough with the flour, the remaining milk and sugar, almonds, eggs, salt, lemon and orange zest, brandy and butter to a dough (in a food processor). Cover and leave in a bowl to rise for 1 -1½hours. Knead the dough again. Form a ring from the dough and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. To make the ring, press a hole into the top of the dough ball and pull it apart in the middle with your thumbs. To ensure that the ring keeps its shape, place a small oiled bowl in the middle and bake it later. Let the ring rise again (with the bowl in the middle) for approx. 20 minutes. Brush the pastry ring with a beaten egg. Decorate with the cherries, almonds, candied fruit and sugar. Bake the Roscón de Reyes in a preheated oven at 160°C for approx. 30 minutes until golden-yellow (keep an eye on the cake, the egg will make it brown quickly).

Lussekatter - Swedish yeast pastry by  Tomas, Schmitz Cargobull Sverige AB 

For the dough: 
150 ml milk  
25 g fresh yeast  
a little ground saffron  
350 g flour  
50 g sugar
50 g salt  
1 egg 
1 egg yolk 
50 g soft butter  
25 g sultanas  

Preparation:
Heat the milk, crumble in the yeast and dissolve. Stir in the saffron. Sieve 350g flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Mix the yeast milk, sugar and 1 pinch of salt in the well.
Add the egg and butter in flakes to the flour. Knead everything with the dough hook of the hand mixer to a smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise for approx. 1 hour.
Line two baking trays with baking paper. Knead the dough well with floured hands, form into a roll (2-3cm) and cut into approx. 24 equally sized slices. Roll into finger-thick, approx. 18 cm long strands.
Shape each strand into an S, twisting the ends in a little more. Place on the trays and leave to rise for approx. 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Whisk the egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water. Brush the cakes with the mixture. Press 1 sultana onto each end. Bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes.
Leave to cool

Linzer cookies by Gabi, Schmitz Cargobull Austria GmbH

For the dough:
300g  flour
200g  cold butter 
100g  sugar (fine or icing sugar)
100g  grated nuts (almonds or hazelnuts with or without shell)
1  egg
1 pck. vanilla sugar

This is what you need for the finish:
Marmalade the sourer the better the result.
Kriachal - jam from your own garden
Icing sugar

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients as quickly as possible, the butter should not become too soft. Form the dough into a roll – the diameter determines the size of the biscuits.
Wrap the roll in clingfilm and chill for at least 2 hours. Remove the foil and cut approx. 4mm thick slices from the roll. Make a hole in every second slice with an apple corer. Place the slices on the baking trays, always alternating with/without the hole. Put them in the oven for 8-12 minutes (be careful, you don't want the biscuits to get too dark). Put half a teaspoon of jam on the baked biscuits without a hole and put a biscuit with a hole on top – press down carefully until you can see jam on the side and let them cool down – now the jam is firm again and holds the biscuits together. Sprinkle with icing sugar just before eating.

Vanilla crescents by Marcel, Sales Germany

For the dough: 
560 g flour
160 g sugar
400 g butter or margarine
200 g hazelnuts, ground or peanuts

Also:
100 g sugar
4 pts. vanilla sugar

Preparation:
Knead the flour, sugar and butter cut into small pieces and the nuts into a dough, chill for 1 hour.
Form a roll, cut off pieces and shape into croissants. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake on the second shelf from the bottom in a hot oven at 175°C top/bottom heat for approx. 15 minutes until golden brown.
Mix the sugar and vanilla sugar, turn the just baked croissants in it and leave to cool.

Mailänderli - Swiss Christmas cookies by Susanne from Switzerland

For the dough:
250 g butter, soft
250 g sugar
½ pck. vanilla sugar
1 lemon, grated zest
2 eggs
500 g flour
2 egg yolks to coat

Preparation:
Stir the butter until peaks form. Add sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, stir until the mixture is pale. Sift in the flour, bring together to form a dough, wrap in foil and chill for approx.  1 hour.
Roll out the dough in portions on a little flour to a thickness of 6-8 mm. Cut out different shapes from the dough. Place on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Brush with egg yolk, leave to dry slightly in the cold and repeat the process.
Bake in the middle of the oven preheated to 200°C top/bottom heat (180°C hot air/fan) for approx. 10 minutes.
Tip: Instead of brushing the Mailänderli with egg yolk, glaze the Guetzli after baking: Mix 100g icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice, divide the mixture in half. Mix 1 letter saffron into one half. Glaze the Mailänderli with the help of a brush or toothpick.

Christmas log with chocolate filling from Belgium

Ingredients for the sponge cake dough
4 eggs
60 g corn starch
60 g flour
125 g fine sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch  salt

Ingredients for the filling
200 ml cream
150 g chocolate

Sponge dough 
Preheat the oven to 180° C.
Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with the fine sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes with a mixer). Sift the flour and cornstarch over the batter. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and gently fold into the batter until homogeneous.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the dough on it. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the surface is golden brown.
Remove the pastry from the oven and place it on a clean, slightly damp tea towel sprinkled with sugar. Carefully remove the baking paper. Roll up the pastry with the tea towel and let rest for a few minutes.

Chocolate filling
Melt chocolate, whip cream to make whipped cream, then mix.
Spread the pastry with the chocolate filling and roll up. (Jam or buttercream can also be used if desired).
Then cover the roll with chocolate filling and finish the hull. (buttercream can also be used if desired).

Honey cookies – “Medenki” from Kristina, Schmitz Cargobull Bulgaria EOOD  

For the dough:
250 g plain flour
90 g  powdered sugar
2 tbsp soft honey
125 g cold butter
1 large egg

Preparation:
At first the flour needs to be shifted. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until smooth dought. Place in the fridge to rest for at least one hour. Get the dought out of the fridge and roll it about 6 mm thick with rolling pin. Dust the pin with flour to prevent it from sticking.
Cut out the cookies and put them on a lined baking tray. Bake at 200ºC for 6-8 minutes and leave the cookies to rest on a cooling rack. Decorate them with your imagination.

Speculoos from Ann, Belgium

Ingredients for 20 to 30 cookies:
100 g unsalted butter at room temperature
175 g cane sugar
20 g water
30 g egg
250 g wheat flour
3 g baking powder
3 g cinnamon (or Spekulatius spice)

Preparation:

Mix the sugar with the cinnamon, baking powder, water and egg in a bowl and beat until the sugar is completely melted. Then mix in the butter and then the flour.
Put the dough on a work surface and knead well for about five minutes. Kneading is important for subsequent processing. If you knead too little, the dough will tear too quickly when shaped. 
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. It will stiffen and the cinnamon flavor will be stronger.
Grease a baking sheet with butter and preheat the oven to 175 °C.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and work it with your hands until it is not so hard, but more malleable.
Roll out the dough (the thinner, the crispier) and cut out cookies. 
Bake the cookies in the oven at 175 °C for 10 to 15 minutes. Baking time depends on the thickness of the dough. 

TIP: Work the dough at a fresh workstation so that it does not sag too quickly.

Gluten-free Frangipane Tart, Christmas morning edition by Ekaterina, IOOO Schmitz Cargobull Bel

Ingredients: 
275 g goat butter
235 g light brown sugar
5 eggs
550 g pistachios, chopped
105 g almond flour
500 g caramelised raspberries
Preparation:
1. To make the sweet pastry, place the butter and sugar in a mixer and cream together. Mix in the egg, then slowly add almond flour and pistachio nuts, mixing slowly until it comes together into a thick crumb – do not over mix (125g of goat butter, 85g of dark muscovado sugar, 1 egg, 250g of pistachio nuts, chopped and 75g of almond flour)

2. Tip out onto a work surface and lightly bring together into a dough with your hands. Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, make the pistachio frangipane. Beat the butter and sugar together until light in colour, then beat in the eggs. Add the pistachios and almond flour and mix until incorporated. Refrigerate until needed, but allow to come up to room temperature before using or the mixture will be too thick to work with (150g of goat butter, 150g of light brown sugar, 4 eggs, 250g of pistachio nuts, chopped, 30g of almond flour)

4. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out until big enough to line the tart case. Carefully lay the rolled-out pastry over the tart ring and gently press into the edges, leaving a slight overhang of pastry all the way around.

5. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, line with a sheet of baking parchment. Blind bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove the parchment and place back in the oven for a further 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Decrease the oven temperature to 160°C/gas mark 3.

6. Add the pistachio frangipane, spreading out evenly with a palette knife or spatula.

7. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, then press the caramelized raspberries evenly into the semi-cooked frangipane (500g of caramelized raspberries)

8. Return to the oven for a further 25 minutes until just cooked, slightly puffed up and lightly browned on top. Remove and allow to cool before removing from the tin. 

9. Use chopped pistachios to decorate the top of the tart (50g of pistachio nuts, chopped)

Elephant biscuits by Anna, Marketing Communication & PR

For the dough:
250 g flour
125 g butter
75 g sugar
1 egg (size M)

Decoration:
60 g icing sugar
2,5 tsp water
Blue food colouring 

Preparation: 
I knead a dough from flour, butter, sugar and egg by hand (can also be done with a mixer, of course) - I press it into a disc, wrap it in cling film and then put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Then roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of approx. 4 mm, cut out elephants, place on a baking tray and bake at 170°C top/bottom heat for approx. 12 minutes on the middle shelf.