Butter Bredele (Butterbredele)
October 21, 2026
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I’ve never been to Alsace yet, but I had to try their famous bredele alsatian cookies! Alsace is full of Christmas tradition and these are one of them. Families bake bredele all through Advent, often several kinds, and keep them in tins to nibble and give away until Christmas. Of all the Alsatian Christmas cookies, butterbredele (butter bredele) are the simplest to make. So if you have kids, this is the perfect thing to do together for the holidays. This bredele recipe makes about 40 small biscuits, so one or two trays, which you can easily double if you want to fill a few tins for guests or for gifts. Serve them with a mulled wine or a hot chocolate, next to a few other kinds of bredele and maybe some mendiants!
Table of Contents
Where bredele come from
Bredele is Alsatian for “little bread”, a diminutive of Brot. The name even changes with the accent: bredele in the Bas-Rhin, bredala in the Haut-Rhin and bredle in Strasbourg. So if an Alsatian corrects your spelling, don’t take it personally, there’s just simply more than one.
Nobody knows exactly when the first bredele were baked. What we do know is that they’ve been part of Christmas in Alsace and Moselle for generations. Each family has its own recipes, often handed down from a grandmother, and many bake five, ten or more kinds every Advent. Anisbredele with aniseed, schwowebredele with orange and cinnamon, spritzbredele piped into rings and, of course, butterbredele.
The tradition is about sharing. Bredele are kept in tins until Christmas, offered to visitors and given to neighbours as a little gift. In some families they were also hung on the Christmas tree as decorations. Fitting, really, in the region that gave us the oldest written mention of a Christmas tree, in Sélestat in 1521.
Ingredients
- Plain flour (all-purpose flour) — standard type 45 or 55 in France. Nothing fancy needed.
- Butter — soft, at room temperature. Butter is the whole flavour here, so use a good French one if you can, unsalted or lightly salted.
- Caster sugar — dissolves into the dough and keeps the texture fine.
- Vanilla sugar — the little sachets every French kitchen has. Outside France, use vanilla extract instead.
- Egg yolks — two yolks for the dough. Yolks only give colour, richness and a tender bite. Keep the whites for meringues.
- Salt — a pinch, only if your butter is unsalted.
How to make bredele
1. Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the soft butter with the sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Don’t rush it as this is where the texture starts.
2. Add the yolks, then the flour
Mix in the egg yolks, then the flour, just until you have a smooth dough. Stop as soon as it comes together, so the biscuits stay tender.
3. Rest the dough overnight
Flatten it into a disc, wrap it and chill it overnight, or at least 4 hours. Cold, rested dough is much easier to roll and holds its shape in the oven.
4. Roll it thin
On a lightly floured worktop, roll the dough to about 3 to 4mm. Work in batches and keep the rest in the fridge, because warm butter dough gets sticky fast.
5. Cut out your shapes
In stars, hearts, fir trees or any other Christmas shape you want! Small cutters, about 4 to 6cm, are the classic size.
5. Glaze and bake
Brush the tops with egg yolk and bake until the edges just start to turn golden. They firm up as they cool.
Tools for this recipe
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- Use a rolling pin, so you get an even thickness and every biscuit bakes at the same speed.
- Use Christmas cookie cutters, so you get the classic stars, hearts and fir trees.
- Use a silicone baking mat or baking paper (parchment paper), so the biscuits don’t stick and the bases colour evenly.
- Use a pastry brush, so the egg yolk goes on in a thin, even layer.
- Use a biscuit tin, so your bredele stay crisp until Christmas.
Tips for success
- Don’t skip the rest: an overnight rest makes the dough easier to roll and stops the biscuits spreading.
- Keep everything cold: if the dough gets soft while you cut, pop the tray in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking.
- Roll evenly: 3 to 4mm all over. Thin edges burn while thick middles stay pale.
- Bake one tray at a time: in the middle of the oven, so they colour evenly.
- Watch the colour, not the clock: take them out when the edges are barely golden. Overbaked bredele turn hard.
How to store it
- At room temperature: in an airtight tin, once completely cool. They keep about 2 to 3 weeks, which is why Alsatians start baking in early December.
- In the fridge: not needed, and the damp makes them soft. Keep the tin somewhere cool and dry instead.
- In the freezer: the raw dough freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then roll and bake. Baked bredele freeze too, in a sealed box.
- Making ahead: the dough keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge, well wrapped.
Variations
- Lemon: add the finely grated zest of an unwaxed lemon to the dough.
- Cinnamon: a teaspoon of ground cinnamon gives a warmer, spicier biscuit.
- Iced instead of glazed: skip the egg yolk, bake them plain and ice them once cool with icing sugar (powdered sugar) and a few drops of water or kirsch. Add sprinkles while the icing is wet.
- Chocolate dipped: dip half of each cooled biscuit in melted dark chocolate.
- Jam sandwiches: cut pairs of shapes, cut a small hole in the top one, and sandwich them with redcurrant or raspberry jam once baked.
FAQ
What are bredele?
Bredele are small Alsatian Christmas cookies, baked during Advent and shared with family, friends and neighbours. There are dozens of kinds, from butter and aniseed to cinnamon and almond. The name means “little bread” in Alsatian, and you’ll also see it spelled bredala or bredle.
Are bredele the same as Christmas butter cookies?
Butterbredele are. They’re Alsace’s classic Christmas butter cookies: a simple dough of flour, butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla, rested overnight, rolled thin, cut into shapes and glazed with egg yolk. Other bredele use spices, aniseed, nuts or egg whites instead, so not every bredele is a butter cookie.
Why do you rest bredele dough overnight?
Resting lets the flour absorb the moisture and the butter firm up again. The dough becomes much easier to roll without sticking, and the biscuits keep their shape in the oven instead of spreading. If you’re short on time, 4 hours in the fridge is the minimum.
How long do bredele keep?
In an airtight tin in a cool, dry place, butter bredele keep about 2 to 3 weeks. Wait until they’re completely cool before you put them away, or they’ll soften. Keep each kind in its own tin, so the crisp ones stay crisp.
Can you freeze bredele dough?
Yes. Wrap the dough well and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then roll, cut and bake as usual. Baked bredele freeze well too, in a sealed box.
Why did my bredele spread in the oven?
Usually the dough was too warm. Rest it overnight, work in small batches and chill the cut-out biscuits on the tray for 10 minutes before baking. Rolling too thin can also make them spread and burn at the edges.
Butter Bredele (Butterbredele)
Prep Time 45 minutes 
Cook Time 10 minutes 
Servings 40 biscuitsDescription
Ingredients
- 250 gr plain flour
- 125 gr unsalted butter
- 100 gr caster sugar
- 2 eggs yolk
- vanilla extract optional
For the eggwash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp whole milk
Equipment
Instructions
1. Cream the butter and sugar
- Beat the softened butter with the caster sugar, vanilla sugar and salt until pale and creamy.
2. Add the yolks
- Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time.
3. Add the flour
- Add the flour and mix just until the dough comes together into a smooth ball. Don't overwork it.
4. Rest the dough
- Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it and chill overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
5. Heat the oven
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking paper.
6. Roll and cut
- On a lightly floured worktop, roll half the dough to 3 to 4mm thick. Keep the rest in the fridge. Cut out shapes and place them on the tray, about 1cm apart.
7. Glaze
- Whisk the egg yolk with the milk and brush a thin layer over the top of each biscuit.
8. Bake
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 8 to 12 minutes, until the edges just turn golden. Leave on the tray for 2 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough and the scraps.
Notes
- Chill if it softens. If the cut biscuits feel soft, put the tray in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking, so they don’t spread.
- Watch the colour. Baking time depends on size and thickness. Overbaked bredele turn hard.
- Storage. Keep in an airtight tin in a cool, dry place for about 2 to 3 weeks.
- Leftover egg whites. Use them for meringues or financiers!
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