November 27th
2008
The upside in working for a cookbook publishing house is the higher affinity people have concerning food, that's at least what my experience tells me and probably not really unexpected. Our semi-regular meetings are usually held in different places. When we meet at a restaurant or coffee bar for instance, the choice is typically led by discussions around the quality of its menu and such. For in-house meetings however, there is always somebody bringing some homemade food. Field tests! I especially love these meetings, because I can use the attendees as guinea pigs for new finger food or cake creations and get immediate feedback.
For our last meeting I brought what was supposed to be a very rich chocolate cake with nuts, which sadly didn't turn out exactly as planed. Yet I didn't hesitate to bring it along, clearly risking a major thumbs down - not because I'm into getting a slap but I'd like to call this some sort of reality check, at a minimum providing a solid base for a good laugh. But to my utter surprise they specifically went straight for the half-baked, inner parts of the cake... But I'm not trying to steal the spot light from the real discovery this afternoon, my colleague Maike's cookies: the Basler Brunsli she had baked using her grandma's recipe. Maike blamed her boyfriend (way to go! I do it, too, all the time!) for the cookies distinctive Kirsch flavor - and I think her boyfriend is a genius! Thankfully she published the recipe here (in German) and below you can find my - sightly adapted - version. A great recipe to kick off this years Christmas baking season, and while the first bites might make you wonder "Well, ok, it's a chocolate cookie, so what, ...?" you just can't stop nibbling away and find the Kirsch note highly addictive...
Looking for more holiday-themed baking recipes? Maybe you want to have a look at some of my favorites?
Here you go...
Pepparkakor (Swedish Christmas ginger cookies)
Chocolate coconut cubes (watch out, highly addictive)
Brombeerbusserl (blackberry smacks that melt in your mouth)
Quarkstollen (curd stollen without raisins)
Vanillekipferl (worth all the effort)
Wespennester (my kind of macarons)
Chop the dark chocolate and melt over a hot bain marie while stirring regularly, taking care that the bowl doesn't touch the water. Set aside.
In a large bowl mix together the ground almonds, the cocoa powder, the sugar, the salt and the flour.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the almond mix. I used my Kitchen Aid (with dough hook) for this step, because the dough was pretty dry.
Lastly add the melted chocolate as well as a generous shot of Kirsch (to taste) to the dough and knead shortly (because my dough was still a bit sticky, I had to add a little more ground almonds at this point). Form into two separate disks, wrap into cling film and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 220°C (430° Fahrenheit). Slightly flour a wooden board or silicone mat and roll out the dough until it reaches the desired thickness (contrary to the original BBs I prefer mine pretty thin, about 5 mm/0,2 inch). Cut out the shapes of your choice and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray. (Traditional recipes suggest letting them dry on the tray for several hours before sending them to the oven - I skipped this step.)
Bake for 5 to 7 minutes on middle level depending how thick your cookies are. They should be crisp on the outside, with a rather soft and chewy core (bake them a little longer, if you prefer them all crisp). Take out and let cool off completely. Store in an airtight cookie jar. Add a piece of a fresh apple (replace as needed) to add extra moisture to the cookies - if desired.
Basler Brunsli
Recipe source: Maike's grandma, Küchengötter.de, adapted
Prep time & chilling: ~90 minutes, baking 8-10 minutes
Ingredients (yields about 80 cookies):
150 g dark chocolate
300 g ground almonds (more as needed)
50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
200 g sugar
a pinch of salt
50 g all-purpose flour , extra for dusting the board
4 egg whites (M or L)
a generous shot Kirsch (at least 2 tbsp)
Hi, Nicky
They look fabulous! Although they are almost too perfect for original Basler Brunsli ;) They usualy come in a more "handmade shape".
And please, tell Maike it's Basler not Baseler – let's hope her Switzerland based family doesn't read her entry!
These look perfect for holiday give-aways, since they won't crumble to a million pieces. Happy Thanksgiving!
These look like they'd make great Christmas gifts in a pretty tin!
I checked the cookies, your favourites, they all look soooo good!
I had some almond cookies in Vienna last year and I'm looking for the recipe. They looked exactly like chocolate crinkle cookies(only without the chocolate they were light coloured) and were very airy and light with a strong almond flavour. I have been searching for a recipe for ever! Could not find anything, except amaretti. And these cookies were not amaretti.
Please help me, if you happen to know which cookies I'm talking about. Thank you
From one who lives in Basel - and loves Brunslis...: Here, you will never, never, never find Brunslis that thin. I usually roll out the dough until it is about 1 cm. This way, they stay softer on the inside and will keep a bit longer (but mostly there's no need for that as they are gone too soon anyway).
Hmm... looks and sounds so delicious. Normally I don't bake cookies, but now I will try.
and no fat at all??!!! yupppiiiii
As my first batch of this year's cookies is already gone, I will definitely try these ones next, together with a second load of Vanillekipferl and Chocolat-Coconut-Cubes. Ijust need to buy a rolling pin first, and some cookie cutters... I suppose they also work in a more elaborate shape than plain circles without falling apart?
Hmmm, great looking cookies and I love Kirsch, will definitely give them a go. Wonder what they would be like by doing a split batch using something like slivovice for half. Great photos as always!
I love the look of these because they're different from regular cookies - can't wait to try them!
interessante Neuinterpretation. Traditionell werden sie wesentlich dicker gebacken (8mm- 1cm) um sie innen möglichst weich zu halten und damit sie nicht so schnell austrocknen.
I love the fact, that they don't contain any fat. Will try them next week.
Thanx a lot for this great receipe! I tried it yesterday - these cookies are so yummie!
I replaced some almonds with brazil nuts, instead of pure dark chocolate I used 50g of orange-oil-flavoured dark chocolate and 100g dark chocolate and instead of Kirsch I used Amaretto. The result is really great!
How early do you start your Christmas baking? My Oma always started pretty early and managed to have Christmas cookies around all the way through Jan. 6. Here in the States all recipes usually mention that the cookies keep for a week. Is that just Americans being paranoid about storing food outside of the fridge? Even though I grew up in the US, I'm just not as freaked out as everybody else is about spoilage. How long do you keep your cookies? I know they often just don't make it too long, but I would like to know how I should time my baking. Thanks.
EDIT Nicky: My grandma and my aunt Lene usually started their Christmas baking during the last week of November, so we had Christmas cookies all through December. Most of them were kept in a big tin can in a cold pantry, and yes, I can recall my happiness, when I found some leftovers long after Christmas - they still tasted so good... Food safety with Christmas cookies never was an issue when I grew up, as long as their taste did not diminish, not a small crumb was left. Tastewise some cookies even improve over time.
I try to keep up with this tradition, but sometimes work gets in the way... *sigh*
I agree with comments re the thickness. You could even go up to 1.5cm. I am aware, however, from my German husband that German Weihnachtskekse tend to be a bit thinner and daintier than Swiss Christmas Guetzli. They look very good cut with something like a heart-shaped cutter, but the dough sticks to anything too intricate or with too many sharp corners (e.g. a star).
Thanks for those easy guide, I'm really starting my way in baking, this will surely be a good Christmas treats, I just love sweetness
This really gets me into Christmas mood...
Sadly I won't have the chance to do any baking myself this year, as the equipment in my temporary apartment is somewhat limited. I hope to get some yummy Brunslis from my mother-in-law in Switzerland, though. I agree with the comments on the thickness - the soft bit in the middle is what I like most about them.
after getting a little frustrated with the sticky dough ( i had to add extra flour as I had run out of almonds) it worked out pretty well in the end. really tasty! thanks for sharing. 2nd recipe in a rough a success :)
Brilliant Recipe! We made some last weekend. I was prepared to have a sticky dough -I have to substitute the sugar (can't have any) that usually leaves me with a dough that needs some 'adjustments'. Just 5 minutes in the oven and they came out so yummie!
re-reading my comment i was cracking up: 2nd rough recipe?
well, both the dough of the gnocchi and the brunsli were certainly rough to handle, but i was meaning to write row though.
As dark chocolate maniac these are exactly my christmas cookies! Will back them over the weekend - thanks a lot for the idea!
[...] Schoko-Weihnachtsplätzchen der etwas anderen Art belohnt. Die Rede ist von den Unaussprechlichen Basler Brunsli (Wer hats [...]
Gorgeous cookies. Basler brunsli are my favorite cookies in this life but I make them with disaronno liquor instead of kirsch. I also love amaretti, of course, but I am not a cookie oriented if the cookie is not an almond cookie, if you know what I mean.
How do you manage to make such a manageable basler brunsli dough like that with 4 egg whites and 2 tbsp of drink? I use 2 egg whites and 1tbsp for the same amount of stuff, except for a smaller amount of dark chocolate. My doughs are usually so 'wet' and thick and difficult to open and my recipe is drier than yours. I saw that you opened it over silpat, probably helps a lot but your dough looks like pepperkake dough. Beautifully open by the way!
Cheers,
Claudia
Chocolate, almonds and Kirsch... A match made in heaven!