Brunsli, or as they are also called Basler Brusli, are chocolate-almond spice cookies enjoyed very much by Swiss people during the Christmas season. As mentioned before, they are also called Basler Brusli in other parts of Switzerland. This may lead to the belief that the area of origin of these cookies is Basel, but we do not know that for sure. We just know that it already existed in the 1700s, since a recipe for these cookies has been found in Basel from that time. Therefore, we can say that they belong to the category of the ancient Christmas-cookie recipes.
The intereseting thing about this recipe is that there is only very little flour in it and that they are only baked for 5 minutes. This may sound a little bit strange at first, but I can guarantee you (for those who do not know these cookies yet) that they are delicious and that their aroma always adds to the Christmas spirit in the house. Here is the recipe:
Basler Brunsli
Preparation time: ca. 20 minutes
Yield: about 55-60 cookies
Ingredients:
200g sugar
250g ground almonds
2 tablespoons flour
1 pinch cinnamon
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
100g dark chocolate (with at least 70% cocoa content)
simmering water
Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine the sugar, almonds, flour and cinnamon. Blend in the whipped egg whites.
2. Put the chocolate in another bowl and dash it with the simmering water. Set aside for 3 minutes. After that, pour off the water, leaving one tablespoon of water with the chocolate. Stir the chocolate and then blend it with the mixture.
3. On a lightly sugared work surface, roll the dough out to 1cm thickness. Cut out cookie shapes and transfer them to the prepared cookie sheets. Before baking them, let them dry for a few hours or during the night.
4. Preheat the oven to 250°C. Bake for 5 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.
5. Enjoy! ;)
Source: Betty Bossi
photo credit: http://www.wyybli.ch/rezept-basler-brunsli/
