Favourite food and delicacies in winter
During wintertime the air in Munich smells like cinnamon, freshly baked cookies and cakes, mulled wine and roasted almonds!
There are a lot of typical sweet delights, but also savoury dishes that you should definitely try when visiting Munich during those months.
Weihnachtsplätzchen - Christmas biscuits
In Bavaria most families are traditionally baking the cookies themselves - In the first days of Advent they bake a large abundance of different varieties, so that there are enough cookies for the rest of the time until Christmas. You can even buy the typical cookies at one of the Christmas markets or in the bakeries.
Spekulatius – Shortcrust biscuits
Very famous is the "Gewürzspekulatius" (spiced Spekulatius) which receives its flavor from the spices cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Also popular is the "Mandelspekulatius" (Almond biscuits) and the "Butterspekulatius" (biscuits that contain a significant proportion of butter).
Lebkuchen - Ginger bread
One of the most popular pastries is the ginger bread. You will find it in form of ginger bread houses, ginger bread men as well as a wide variety of different ginger bread figures and cookies.
Krapfen
Especially during carnivals time in February - you can find Krapfen in every bakery in Munich, The delicous sweet pastry is typically filled with marmelade, but nowadays you can find it filled with chocolate, vainilla or cream.
Gebrannte Mandeln - Roasted almonds
Roasted Almonds are never missing during the cold period of the year. You can buy them at little stands in the city center and the lovely scent makes it difficult to resist.
Heisse Maroni – Hot chestnuts
As soon as it is getting colder the hot chestnut sellers can be found in the streets as well as at most of the Christmas markets.
Christstollen – German Christmas cake
The Christstollen will not be missing in a German household. It is a sweet yeast loaf with raisins, almonds and candied orange and citron.
Kartoffelpuffer – potato pancakes
Potato pancakes contain potato, flour and eggs and are shallow fried. It is a traditional German dish that is eaten with sweet or savory condiments.
Bratapfel - Baked apples
This sweet, warm and delicious desert is very typical during winter time. According to your taste, the apples can be filled with raisins, cinnamon, nuts, marmalade and/or marzipan and served with vanilla sauce or ice-cream.
Typical drinks
In Germany it is popular to drink hot punch during winter time as a variation to hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
Glühwein – mulled wine
The classical Glühwein consists of heated red wine, spiced with cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, cloves, orange and sugar. It someone asks you if you want to have it with "Schuss", it means that a lacing of rum or liqueur will be added.
Meanwhile, there are other variants e.g. instead of red wine it is served with white wine or fruit wines.
Feuerzangenbowle - flaming redwine punch
Feuerzangenbowle is similar to Glühwein, but the preparation is different. In a suitable vessel the red wine is heated with cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, lemon and orange peels. A Sugar loaf is put on a forceps and placed over the vessel. Brown rum is dribbled over the Sugarloaf until it is completely soaked up. Then it will be lighted. The sugar melts and drips into the caramelized red wine, giving it a special taste.
Non alcoholic Hot Punches
Of course you can also find alcohol free hot punches everywhere. They are prepared with fruit juices instead of wine. We recommend you to try the hot spiced apple punch.
