On the First Day of Christmas Blogs I Baked Traditional Swiss Chocolate Biscuits (in tune please)

My favourite time of the year starts around mid-November, when the weather starts cooling down  (When I'm in the northern hemisphere anyway), the air is filled with the homely smell of wood fires escaping from chimney tops, the dark streets get illuminated with festive lights and I can start getting excited about the upcoming festivities the season brings. As you may know, I was brought up in Switzerland from a Swiss mother, so around Christmas, I follow the Swiss traditions such as baking traditional treats and visiting the local Christmas market with a glass of warming Christmas tea.

In the next week, I will be sharing with you my favourite Christmas biscuits recipe, starting with the Basler Brunsli which are a delightful chocolate and almond gooey biscuit with a hint of cinnamon. I make them in two flavours: the traditional dark chocolate one and an alternative white chocolate version, which I will share tomorrow

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Now, I must warn you, These take a while to prepare and can not be rushed, they're very easy really but they require at least 6 hours of drying before they can be cooked.

For approximately 40 of the traditional Basler Brunsli you will neeed:

250g ground almonds

200g sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon of all purpose flour

a dash of vanilla sugar and/or cinnamon

100g of good quality 64% chocolate

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon of Kirsch

1. Combine the almonds, sugar, cocoa, flour and the spices in a bowl

2. Grate the dark chocolate and combine to dry mixture(1)

3. Beat the egg whites to a soft peak 

4. Fold the egg whites(3) and the kirsh in to the dry mix

5. Mix using your hands until it forms a dough. be carefull not to knead too long

6. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 1 hour

7. Roll out the dough on a flat surface covered in sugar, approximately 10mm thick.

 

8. Cut out the shapes and place them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper

9. Now let them rest at room temperature, in a dry place, for at least 6 hours or overnight

10. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes at 240c

11. Let them cool completely before serving

Enjoy!