Catholic Recipe: Nikolaussteifel
INGREDIENTS
- 1 teaspoon dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 cup milk, lukewarm
- 4 cups flour
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 5 tablespoonds sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Sesame and poppy seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, or nuts; powdered sugar, licorice, sweets, etc.
Details
Prep Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: ★★★☆
Cost: ★★★☆
For Ages: 11+
Origin: Germany
showFood Categories (2)
showSimilar Recipes (2)
showLinked Prayers (1)
showFeasts (1)
Also Called: German Boots of St. Nicholas
This recipe makes a gift for the children; it used to be handed to them on St. Nicholas Day in Germany.
DIRECTIONS
Mix yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl until yeast is dissolved and let it stand for 15 minutes.
Add the flour to the bowl, melt the butter. Add sugar, vanilla, egg, salt, and melted butter to the flour. Work to a smooth dough first by stirring, then kneading. Put in a warm place until doubled in bulk.
In the meantime take some cardboard and cut a template for a boot about 14 inches (40 cm) high. Roll out the dough about 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick in the shape of an L. Put the template on top and cut the dough into the shape of the boot. Transfer the boot to a greased baking sheet.
Make the egg wash by mixing the egg yolk and milk. Brush the boot with the egg wash. Shape the rest of the dough into the rim and heel of a boot and put on top. Brush again with egg wash and put on the seeds, almonds or nuts.
Preheat oven to 400º F. and bake the boot about 25 minutes until golden brown.
After it is cool, you may want to decorate the boot further by mixing some powdered sugar with water and sticking on extra sweets.
Recipe Source: Cooking With the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf, Ignatius Press, 2001Tue18 FebruaryOrdinary TimeTuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Subscribe to Insights...free!News, analysis & spirituality by email twice-weekly from CatholicCulture.org.Free eBook:
Free eBook: Making Sense of Society Copyright © 2025 Trinity Communications. All rights reserved.

Egg Wash
Decoration