Swiss Brunsli Cookies

 

My friend, Yvonne, was an accomplished cook and baker. She made these Swiss Christmas cookies from the Basel region where her husband is from and gave them as gifts. Though they are cookie-shaped, they are more like confectionary: no flour, no leavening, no baking. I love the toothsome texture and the nuts. I have cut the batch size by half in this version of the recipe. The liquor is optional, but adds flavor. I think of Yvonne at the holidays when I make these, and her kindness in sharing the recipe when she felt her time was near.

Swiss Brunsli Cookies
Makes about 30 small cookies

Adapted from a recipe from Yvonne Bruderer

2 egg whites

2 cups roasted almonds

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 Tblsp Kirsch or other liqueur (I used Amaretto)

In a food processor pulse the egg whites 3 to 4 times. Add the almonds, sugar, chocolate, spices and liqueur. Process until a thick sticky dough forms, but the nuts and chocolate are still coarse.

Turn the dough out and knead briefly to form a firm ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Roll out the dough on the plastic wrap or a sheet of wax paper. Add some confectioner's sugar to the rolling pin to keep it from sticking and roll the dough to 3/8" thickness. Use a cookie cutter to make hearts or small shapes. Gather the scraps of dough, pat them together and roll out again. Continue until no more cookies can be cut.

Lay the cookies on cookie sheets and put them in the warm oven. Turn off the heat as soon as the cookies go into the oven. This is more of a drying process than a baking process. Allow 20-30 minutes for drying, depending on the size of the cookies, then remove them and store in an airtight container. These cookies freeze well.