Nußschnecken - German nut sticky buns
Serves 10
105 mins prep
20 mins cook
125 mins total
Traditional German nut pastries just like the ones at the bakeries in Munich! A Nußschnecke (or a nut snail) is a traditional German yeasted spiraled breakfast pastry that is filled with nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts, as well as marzipan and raisins.
Shop ingredients
Scan QR-code to shop this recipe on Jupiter
Make the Nut filling
Finely chop the pecans (or your choice of nuts).
Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and stir together. Cover and let sit while you prepare the dough.
Dough
In a large stand mixing bowl, add flour, sugar and yeast, and whisk together.
Add lukewarm milk, butter, egg, salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and knead together with the dough hook on low speed for 15 min or until the dough is a smooth cohesive ball of dough.
Shape the dough into a ball and place, smooth side up, in a greased bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or proofing bag and set it somewhere warm to rest for 1 hour.
Assembling the Schnecken
Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
After the 1 hr has passed, roll the dough out into a rectangle that measures 30 x 60 cm.
Spread the marzipan over the dough - it should cover about 2/3 of the dough in a rectangle that is 28 cm x 40 cm. You want to leave a 1 inch border but the butter should take up 2/3 of the dough on one side of the rectangle.
Fold the dough into thirds. If necessary brush edges with a little water to help the dough stick together. Before sealing the edges, make sure the dough is laying flat on the butter and sugar and that there are no air bubbles.
Beginning gently, roll the dough out to a rectangle that is approximately 20 cm x 60 cm. Add flour to the dough and work surface as needed.
Spread the nut filling over the rectangle. Leave a 2" border at one of the short ends.
Roll up the dough starting with the one short side with the nut filling. As you roll, gently squeeze it to make sure the roll is nice and tight.
Usually I would slice off one end and then measure my cuts from the clean edge but because the filling is spread all the way to the edges that isn't necessary.
Measure out slices that are approximately 2 cm thick. Then cut at each 2 cm mark. Place the slices onto the prepared parchment, leaving at least 3 inches between each roll. There should be no more than 5 on a half size baking sheet.
Tuck the ends under each roll and gently press each one flat with the palm of your hand. Leave the schnecken to rest for 30 minutes
Baking and finishing
After the schnecken have rested for 30 minutes, bake them for 20 min until golden brown. Rotate and switch the baking sheets after the first 12 min to ensure even browning.
While the schecken are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar and water to create a thin glaze.
Once the schnecken are done baking, while still hot, brush with the glaze.
After you have glazed them all, they should be cool enough to gently move to cooling racks where they should be allowed to cool fully.