AUSTRIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Lebkuchen

This spiced biscuit that many akin to gingerbread, reminds me of the years I live in Austria, each year I would put aside at least an hour at Christmas to Lebkuchen and other cookies listed below.

560 g plain flour 360 g sugar 5 tbsp honey, liqui

4 eggs 4 pinches of baking soda Lemon zest Clove Cinnamon

Mix eggs and honey. Mix part of the flour with the baking soda and add it to the egg & honey mix. Knead in the rest of the flour, knead the dough. Put it into the fridge for 1 hour. Roll it flat (not too thin) and cut out the biscuits. Brush some egg yolk, put into the oven until they’re golden brown.

Vanillekipferl

These half-moon-shaped biscuits are Austrian originals, are buttery and sweet similar to shortbread, good ones will crumble in your hands before they reach your mouth.

200 g butter 100 g sugar 100 g grated hazelnuts ( you can buy hazelnuts already grated in most supermarkets, if your feeling lazy) 260 g plain flour) vanilla sugar (for coating the cookie)

Mix butter (at room temperature), sugar, nuts and flour until a smooth dough forms. Put the dough into the fridge for 1 hour, while preheating the oven. Form the Kipferl shape out of the dough by Rolling out the dough to a thickness of about 1 cm before cutting into small pieces and forming crescent-shaped biscuits and bake them for 15 minutes at 180°C. While still warm, roll them in vanilla sugar.

Rumkugeln

Rum balls are a brilliant addition to the Christmas biscuit spread.

140 g icing sugar 140 g grated nuts 1 egg white 2 coffee spoons of cocoa Rum

granulated sugar

Mix icing sugar, nuts, egg white and cocoa with a dash of rum (to dampen) together until the dough is smooth. Form small balls, roll them in the granulated sugar, and let them air dry.

Kokosbusserl

Kokosbusserl are delicate little puffs of coconut delight.

240 g castor sugar 140 g coconut flakes 4 egg whites juice from one lemon

Mix sugar, coconut flakes, lemon juice and egg white, and maybe add some flour if the mixture is too moist. Use a spoon to form small piles on a baking sheet, and let them rest for a few minutes. Bake for 10–15 minutes at 180°C.

Husarenkrapferl

140 g butter 210 g plain flour 2 egg yolks 70 g castor sugar) Marmalade or some other jam

Mix all ingredients together, except the marmalade/jam grease a baking sheet either with butter or spread with baking paper. Form a long roll from the dough, cut into even slices, shape them into balls and press a small indentation into each ball with the wooden spoon style. Bake at 180°C for a few minutes (not too long, they should still be light yellow, not brown), let them cool off, and put a dollop of jam in the middle. sprinkle a little icing sugar on top.

Florentiner

100 g butter

150 g sugar

50 g honey

130 g almond flakes, shaved

120 g single/cooking cream

150 g semisweet chocolate

Mix butter, sugar, honey and cream on the stove and let the mix simmer for a few minutes. Roast almonds in a pan, add to the mixture and let it all simmer again for a few minutes. spoon teaspoonfuls of the mixture on to prepared baking trays, leaving plenty of room for them to spread during cooking. bake for 10 minutes at 180°C, remove from oven, add a piece of glace cherry and leave to cool.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a bowl over some boiling hot water. Dip the cooled cookies into the chocolate on one side and leave to cool. and allow to set.

Linzer Stangerl

250 g butter

290 g plain flour 100 g icing sugar 3 tbsp. vanilla sugar

1 egg lemon zest salt jam chocolate

Mix butter, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla sugar and salt, and then add egg and flour. Put the mixture into a pastry bag and squeeze onto a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool. Glue two of the biscuits together by spreading jam in the middle. Dip one side into melted chocolate.