We are two German/Austrian entrepreneurs in New York City running this Kekse und Kuchen venture which started back in 2009 as an additional business in Hamburg, Germany.

While Sandra was (and still is) working as an automotive engineer, Hans as an internet entrepreneur had to deal with websites and keywords every day. This is how we quickly figured out that people were searching the internet for Keywords like “Authentic German Cookies” the weeks before Christmas.

Grown up in Bavaria and Austria as kids we were used to get these delicious traditional Christmas cookies from our moms and grandmothers during Advent. But since we moved to Hamburg, Germany – far away from mom and grandma – nobody brought us holiday cookies during Christmas time. So we decided to learn this time consuming, laborious art of baking authentic Christmas cookies and Holiday pastries ourselves.

Combining that with the fact that others were searching the internet for "Zimtsterne" (cinnamon stars) and "Vanillekipferl" (vanilla crescents), it was obvious that we would not only bake for ourselves but also for those who don’t have the time or patience to bake these fine cookies at home.

We quickly teamed up with a baker to legally bake and ship them.
Meanwhile, after moving to New York City, we are not only doing Christmas cookies and Holiday pastries. Since 2013 we also have seasonal German & Austrian classics available for local NYC delivery. Like Franzbrötchen - a specialty of Hamburg, Apple Strudel and Gugelhupfi. Contact us for orders!

Our ecological approach

We focus on ecological ways to package our products and to bake. Here are some other things how we care about our planet:
- Don’t be surprised if you place an order with us and you receive a re-used shipping box. We don’t see a reason to buy and use a brand new shipping box when we can use one in which we have received our ingredients before.
- Using almost EVERY part of a product. When we make cherry strudels in summer. We save the cherry stems, let them dry and use them later in the year to decorate our Marzipan Apples with them.
- The “Dirndl Wrap®” is our invention how to re-use gift packaging. The gift wrapping of our gift boxes is actually a second gift. In addition to the delicious cookies you can use the Dirndl Wrap – as we call our gift wrap as a pocket square or handkerchief.
- Wherever we can, we use seasonal and local ingredients. Like for our strudels. Our Blueberry Strudel is only available in July and August. When we can use fresh local Blueberries.