Mixed soft printing

Assorted Soft Printen from the Klein Printen Bakery in Dark, Milk, and White Chocolate

Assorted Soft Printen from the Klein Printen Bakery is a bag containing three types of soft Aachen Printen, coated in dark, milk, and white chocolate. The same spiced gingerbread dough is found beneath all three coatings, allowing you to taste piece by piece how much the chocolate shapes the character of a Printen.

Assorted Soft Printen is a selection of Aachen soft Printen from the Klein Printen Bakery, simply called the "Klein Soft Printen Bag" by the manufacturer. Klein also offers the three varieties individually as dark, milk, and white chocolate soft Printen; they come together in this 200g bag. This lets you sample your way through all three types of chocolate while discovering your personal favorite.

Tart, creamy, and vanilla-infused, all on the same Printen dough

The dark Printen has a tart cocoa flavor, while the milk chocolate version wraps a creamy, mild coating around the spices. The white chocolate version brings real vanilla and milk to the mix. Because the same dough lies beneath all three coatings, each variety remains spicy, moist, and chocolatey, yet each tastes completely different.

This becomes especially apparent at the coffee table when the three varieties are laid out side by side on a plate. The dark chocolate allows the Printen spices to shine through strongly, the milk chocolate rounds them off, and the spices seem softest beneath the white chocolate. The dark Printen pairs well with a strong coffee, the white with a mild tea, and the milk chocolate variety goes perfectly with both.

Crispy from the oven, soft from the humidity chamber

Every soft Printen starts out as crispy as a hard one, as Klein bakes them using the same basic dough. Sweetness comes from sugar syrup, rock candy, and brown sugar, while the flavor comes from Printen spices; potash and baking soda are used to leaven the wheat flour dough instead of yeast. The Printen only becomes soft in the humidity chamber, where the sugar in the dough gradually absorbs moisture until it yields when bitten.

Afterward, each Printen receives its chocolate coating, and because it fully encloses them, the moisture remains in the dough, keeping the Printen soft and succulent. Stored in a cool, dry place away from heat and sunlight, the chocolate retains its sheen and the Printen its softness.

Since 1997, the EU has protected the name "Aachener Printen," and they may only be baked in Aachen and six neighboring towns. Klein bakes both the hard and soft varieties right in the city center, near the Marschiertor, one of the old city gates.

A bag for Santa boots and Advent coffee

With three types of chocolate-covered Printen, this bag is made for occasions where many people are helping themselves. It’s perfect for a Santa boot, Advent coffee with friends, or a plate in the living room from which everyone can take their favorite color. You can see the three varieties through the cellophane from the outside, making the bag a great small gift for a neighbor or for a Secret Santa at the office.

Those who want to supplement the plate with hard Printen can add the crispy herb Printen confection. Hard and soft side by side demonstrate what the same Aachen Printen dough can become.

The 200g are quickly shared over a pot of black tea in the afternoon, and no one has to choose between light, dark, or in-between. Thanks to their chocolate coating, the Printen remain soft for a long time, so you can safely keep the bag in the cupboard a few days before St. Nicholas Day. You can find more Aachen Printen from Klein right next to these.