No trip to Aachen, Germany, a short train trip from Cologne, is complete without a visit to the beautiful cathedral and the impressive treasury. But, I was there to learn all I could about the history of the iconic Aachener Printen and to attempt to crack the recipe held closely by Aachen bakers who produce […]
Cookie Brittle
April 25, 2018 by 1 Comment
Cookie Brittle is the quickest and easiest way to get your chocolate chip cookie fix. It takes about ten minutes to put together and can eaten about fifteen minutes after baking. This treat, when properly baked, is similar in taste and texture to a very crisp cookie. I always have a batch baked and frozen […]
Custom-Made Swiss Wooden Cookie Molds
December 19, 2016 by 9 Comments
Don’t get me started on the topic of traditional cookie molds. I could wax on for hours about the beauty, history, tradition, importance (in times gone by), the craft of the carvers, the skill of the bakers and of the varieties of the cookies themselves. During my 6 years living in Switzerland, I was a […]
Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oat Cookies
July 20, 2015 by 2 Comments
When I was a kid, we had a rather long walk to school. On cold, damp days, Mom would always be pulling freshly baked cookies out of the oven when we arrived home. I don’t think she ever purchased cookies from the grocery store. Nor have I. I kept this tradition going for our children […]
Tirggel – Traditional Honey Cookies of Zürich (Story and Recipe)
May 5, 2015 by 17 Comments
Tirggel are very thin, very hard, lightly spiced honey biscuits with a slightly raised image on top typically associated with Canton Zürich in Switzerland. Production and sales ramp up when the cold weather arrives with sales peaking around Christmas and spiking again during the annual guild parade Sechseläuten (or Sächsilüüte). They have variously been called Tirggel, Türggeli and Dirggeli. […]
Sandelholzläckerli – 200 Year Old Swiss Cookie Recipe
December 11, 2012 by 9 Comments
Every holiday season I make massive amounts of numerous varieties of classic European cookies along with marzipan creations and many different flavors of chocolate truffles. After sharing a platter of Christmas goodies with my husband’s Swiss colleague, she thanked me by sending a Christmas cookie recipe passed down through her family from her great, great, […]
Commence Holiday Cookie Decorating
November 15, 2012 by 10 Comments
The holidays are approaching. I make hundreds to thousands of intricate cookies each year, largely European and family classics. These include cookies that are hand-formed, rolled, cutout and dipped along with many pressed into hand-carved wooden molds. This year I decided to include decorated cookies. No small amount of supplies are needed. Below are some […]
