German-Style Kinder Cookie Pie (Cookiekuchen)
A modern evolution of traditional German 'kuchen', this fun and lighthearted celebration cookie ties in a variety of popular German snacks: salty pretzels and Kinder chocolate bars.
Even though ‘Kinder’ confections are Italian, the Ferrero empire had great success marketing their sweets to the German as well as the Italian market. When launched in the late 1990’s, the ‘Kinder’ brand was a literal call-out to German shoppers, particularly children (‘kinder’ in German means ‘children’). Unlike their more luxurious product lines (like the ‘ferrero rocher’), Kinder was designed for everybody and cleverly employed a pragmatic, stark packaging design that was reminiscent of East German communist-style branding. It appealed to the notion of ‘Ostalgie’, nostalgia that some Germans felt for their old life under the East German ‘DDR’. The marketing strategy of Ferrero is a study in itself. Fast forward to modern times, ‘Kinder’ is one of the top confectionary items in Germany, offering a unique creamy, condensed milk-like filling that no other chocolate bar is known for. Along with the international craze for the American cookie, the two were bound to collide, and the ‘cookiekuchen’ makes good use of a pizza pan or a traditional ‘kuchenblech’, which many German grandparents own for making ‘kuchen’ yeast cake with fruit in the summer. This essentially giant cookie is a great way to celebrate the unique magic of these chocolate bars, now a German culinary institution, along with the German love for sweet & salty snacks, with a shower of salty pretzels added into the mix too. Serve it as a hot, gooey pudding straight from the oven or bake it further to make a sliceable ‘kuchen’. Make this for a kids party or a birthday gathering - for adults and children - and it won’t be forgotten! Let’s go!
