3 Yummy Scrummy Christmas Treats That We Make Every Christmas

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Who doesn't love biting into a delicious cinnamon-y gingerbread, a sweet sugary shortbread or a rich, fruity Christmas cake?

Today I am going to share 3 traditional Swiss Christmas recipes. These are ones we make every year and they are so yummy.

So first up, Spitzbuben (sch-pits-bu-ben) or Scallywags.

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Spitzbuben are a shortbread-type cookie with a layer of jam sandwiched in between and dusted with icing sugar. Traditionally these cookies had three jam-filled holes to look like the face of a cheeky boy or scallywag, hence the name.

250g or 1 1/4 cups butter
                                          Stir the butter in a bowl until smooth.
125g or 1 cup icing sugar or granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar ( vanilla extract and sugar)
pinch of salt
                                         add these ingredients to the butter, then mix until the mixture is pale

1 egg white
                                        beat lightly and add to the mixture
350g or 3 cups flour
                                       fold the flour in and mix until it holds together as a dough, cover the bowl                                             and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Take the dough out of the fridge about 30 minutes before rolling it out. Put a portion of dough between two sheets of baking paper.
Now you will need two 'cookies for each cookie. One for the bottom with no hole through it and one with a hole cut in the centre. It doesn't matter what shape cookie cutter you use for the middle. A small circle, heart or moon shapes have worked for us.
Put the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper, chill for about 15 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 C / 400 F / Gas Mk 6 and bake for 6-8 minutes.

To assemble, spread a layer of jam (raspberry jam is best but any jam will do) onto the bottom halves of the cookies and place the tops gently on top. You should end up with a cookie jam sandwich. Dust with icing sugar.

Moving on to the Brunsli! My favourite ones!

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Brunsli, a speciality of Basel (where my Mother lived in Basel till her family moved to New Zealand), are chocolaty confections often described as Swiss brownies. Almonds, sugar, and chocolate are ground fine and bound together with egg whites to create a satisfyingly chewy texture, while cinnamon and cloves impart an unmistakable flavour of old-fashioned Christmas cheer.

150g or 3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt 
250g or 2 3/4 cups ground almonds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 knife point of ground cloves
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp flour
                                               mix all these dry ingredients together in a bowl
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
                                               add in and mix until blended
100g or 1/2 cup crumbled dark chocolate
                                               melt in a bain-marie stirring continuously
2 tsp Kirsch or Schnapps 
                                              add the Kirsch, or whatever you are using, to the chocolate, then mix                                                   with the other ingredients to form a dough.

Roll the dough out. Cut out the cookies in any shapes you have. Dip the cookie cutter in a bowl filled with icing sugar occasionally to be able to remove the cookies easily. We normally do Christmas trees and stars. Place all of them on a lined baking tray and leave out to dry for 5-6 hours or overnight.
Bake for 4-6 minutes at 250 C / 475 F / Gas Mk 9.

Lastly, Leckerli (lack-er-ly)....

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Leckerli were originally created by local spice merchants in Basel, Switzerland, over 700 years ago and is available all year round.

200g or 1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs
                                mix in a bowl until it looks pale
2 tsp ground ginger 
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp mace
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
60g or 1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel
60g 0r 1/2 cup chopped candied lemon peel
250g or 2 3/4 cups ground hazelnuts
60g 0r 1/4 cup butter, melted
                                leave the butter to cool slightly, then add and mix all the ingredients together
250g or 1 3/4 cups flour
                                fold in the flour until the dough comes together

Spread the mixture about 1 cm high on a baking tray covered with baking paper.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C / 350 F / Gas Mk 4.

To make the the icing:
150g or 1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp Kirsch or lemon juice
2 tbsp water
                              mix well, then spread on the Leckerli straight from the oven
                              scatter some chopped candied orange peel over the wet icing
                              cut into small squares. these will keep well and taste even better after 1-2 days.


I hope you enjoyed that. Let me know if you try making any of them!