German Dumplings (Spaetzle or Kniffles) for Soup or Saute

"When our church decided to host a "German Reformation Night" dinner, I went hunting for authentic German recipes. Here is one that fits the bill. There are two ways to make the dumplings (explained below). Serving ideas suggested below too. Gushundheit--!"
 
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photo by ICookwtlc photo by ICookwtlc
photo by ICookwtlc
photo by Divaconviva photo by Divaconviva
photo by Debber photo by Debber
Ready In:
20mins
Ingredients:
4
Yields:
3 cups???
Serves:
5-7
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ingredients

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directions

  • Mix these together until sticky.
  • Drop into bubbling soup or stew, broth or water. (see below for ideas).
  • Dumplings will rise to the surface as they cook; remove from liquid with a slotted spoon (if sautéing in another pan); set aside in a bowl (keep warm).
  • MAKE THE DUMPLINGS #1: This method results in very small, stringy-ish dumplings and is great for soups or stews. Spoon several tablespoons of batter into a colander, then with the back of the spoon--press the batter through the holes into the bubbling liquid.
  • METHOD #2: This method forms larger dumpling pieces (dime & quarter size) and is great for soups or stews, too -- but especially good if you want to saute the dumplings afterwards (more on that in a minute). Using a teaspoon and butter knife, scoop up a spoonful of batter, then use the knife to cut off little dibs and dabs, using the knife to also push the dibs into the hot liquid. If the knife or spoon gets messy, just dip into the hot liquid.
  • SERVING IDEAS: We love these in chicken-dumpling soup (use your regular chicken soup recipe -- skip the egg noodles and make these dumplings instead). OR scoop out the larger dumplings (Method #2), and saute in butter or olive oil along with kielbasa or other sausage and LOTS of onion ring slices. OR saute some fresh veggies, then add the dumplings -- heaven!
  • VARIATIONS: Add several pinches of your favorite herbs along with the flour to enhance the soup, stew or saute dish.
  • Chef's Note: Altho' this is kind of putzy, it is well worth the effort and SO different from regular pasta-noodles.

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Reviews

  1. VERY nice - quick and easy. I elected to make the larger ones, adding a little sweet paprika into the flour. Then sauteed them with kielbasa & Vidalia onions, and served all with a nice, grainy mustard! DH & I enjoyed them very much. Made for ZWT 4. Good one, Debber - Thanks!
     
  2. This is something I've wanted to make for a long time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity - during Zaar World Tour! Easy to make and nice flavor. Thanks for sharing!
     
  3. This is a perfectly simple recipe for i
     
  4. spent 4yrs in germany in 1970's, used to eat these as a side with schnitzel, they were fried with bacon, onions, and herbs, so good. been looking for this recipe for years but didn't remember what they were called, thanks for the memories
     
  5. I added 1/4 t garlic powder, onion powder, salt and thyme to the doughg and used the drop method for bigger pieces and then fried in butter with more thyme. Was my side for final in my culinary class and couldn't be more pleased.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I didn't get to finish my last review so as I was saying .. it's a perfectly simple recipe for perfect hard dumplings. I like to serve them with browned butter poured over them like my grandmother used to do. Very good!
     

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<p><img src=http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage21/10.gif alt=/ /> &lt;&gt;&lt; wife &amp; mother of seven (four adopted foster children grown up now &amp; three biologicals)--my baby(!!!) is a 12th grader! ... plus five grandkids (ages 5 - 21 y.o.); been married 34 years now to the *same wonderful &lt;&gt;&lt; man.* .....</p> <p>Love cooking and being the happy little home-maker. .....</p> <p>Enjoy writing my own blogs and maintaining their FB pages:</p> <p>Blog, Facebook, Pinterest: &nbsp;TitusTwoFriends.blogspot.com (Twitter handle @Titus2Friends )<br />Blog, Facebook, Pinterest: &nbsp;NatureStudyLessons.blogspot.com (Twitter handle @NatureLessons )&nbsp;</p> <p>Pinterest: &nbsp;<a href=http://pinterest.com/debberlynn></a>http://pinterest.com/debberlynn/ &nbsp;</p> <p>Instagram: &nbsp;<a href=http://instagram.com/debberlynn>http://instagram.com/debberlynn</a></p> <p>..... as well as quilting, writing, flower-gardening, and home-organizing, ...and very active in our &lt;&gt;&lt; church, Bible study, teaching, and singing alto in choir. Plan to get back to writing and earning money at it!&nbsp;&nbsp; AND I work as a virtual assistant--check out www.elance.com for more info on VA-ing.</p> <p>&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;***God is good!***&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;<br /> <br /><strong><em>. . . C O N T E S T S . . . </em></strong><br /> <br />My little Rosebud Cottage was a winner in the Basic Category in the 2009 Gingerbread House-Making Contest. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>.&nbsp;</p> <p>. <br /><strong>B A R B E C U E ... S A U C E</strong></p> <p>I entered my mother-in-law's excellent recipe in the contest (Recipe #241146) and won the Family Friendly category! &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><img src=http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/ruemke/ff.jpg alt=/ /></p> <p><br /><span>. . . E V E N T S . . .&nbsp;</span><br /> <br /><strong>Z A A R . . W O R L D . . . 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