These German nut triangles are one of my favorite desserts from Germany. I just learned recently that you supposedly only serve them during Christmas season in some regions of Germany. However, I remember seeing them everywhere all year round, every bakery had them at least where we lived. Even the school kiosk offered them all the time and I happily ate them day in and day out.
I honestly can’t imagine Christmas without gingerbread. Every year at the end of November I am faithfully going to make gingerbread of some kind. Be it to decorate the Christmas tree, traditional gingerbread men, or be it gingerbread cut into stars, angels, and stockings. Today I am going to present the cutest mini gingerbread houses you can decorate your mugs with. Prefect for a dinner invitation or as a gift. You can print out the mini houses here.
I do agree that anything made from gingerbread requires a lot of work, but I feel nothing says Christmas more. I really do enjoy starting the season this way. Gingerbread may require a lot of work, but there is one advantage to it, you can take a break after every stage and you can make gingerbread in advance. You can easily store the gingerbread dough for a week in your fridge. Undecorated gingerbread will also keep for weeks if stored in an airtight container, and even fully decoarted gingerbread is safe for consumption. Mind you, I at least happily munch away my Christmas tree decoration every year after Christmas. So I invite you to decorate some gingerbread with some friends. Have them come over, prepare some hot cocoa and just give it a go!
Tart Tatin, simple, plain, classic. This is what you will get on my blog today. Reason for it was a colleague of mine you gifted me with some home-grown apples. So then I thought, finally I have the chance to actually introduce this classic recipe here, even though I have been making it for a while already. This time I wanted to do it the really old-fashioned way, you know, with an oven-proof skillet, with apples, caramel and a pastry dough. Can you believe that classic tarte tartin actually only contains four ingredients: apples, sugar, butter, and flour? You can add some spices such as cinnamon or ginger. But the one made with four ingredients will be amazing. I like both versions. You can see how I make the tart in this video.
Recipes with a story behind are the best in my opinion. This definitely holds true for these Heidesand cookies. For that reason I feel especially honored to introduce them here. The recipe was passed down from the lovely lady Mrs. P. Mrs. P was busy baking these cookies for her granddaugther when the handyman who was working at her place asked why it was smelling so nice in her kitchen. Mrs. P. replied that she was preparing Heidesand cookies as these were the favorite of her granddaugther and immediately handed a cookie to the handyman. He was so excited about the cookies after he tried them that he continued praising them as soon as he returned home. The girlfriend of the handyman listened to his story and immediately requested that he ask for the recipe the next day when he was about to return to Mrs. P’s house. He glady returned the favor and asked Mrs. P. for the recipe. She got very excited, immediately sat down and wrote down the recipe for him, which he then faithfully passed on to his girldfriend. And this is the point where the story takes a tragic turn. Because Mrs. P. passed away shortly after. But had passed on the recipe to the girlfriend, who has baked this recipe many times and now passed on the recipe to me. I will definitely hold it very dear in my recipe collection.
Are you a cheesecake fan? Even if you aren’t, you will love this one, I promise. I promise, because I am not a big cheesecake fan myself (yeah, I know), but I devoured this one. Actually, we had this beauty for Christmas because it was THAT good. And if I make a cheesecake for Christmas even though I am not a big fan of cheesecakes, it does tell you something about this cake. Seriously, it is awesome! I bake a lot, but I have never had so many people react to a cake that strongly in a long time.
Warning, this is again a recipe that requires time. At least the chocolate mousse part takes its time. However, the good news is that you can prepare this beauty well in advance as it freezes up nicely. So how about a last minute change in the Christmas menu? Can I interest you in a rich and creamy cake, which combines the best parts of chocolate with cherry? I invented it for my birthday originally. And for that reason you get your heavy load of chocolate and also fruit. Because that’s me. Rich chocolate already in the pie pastry, a thick cherry filling and rich chocolate mousse to top it off with, so delicious and perfect for any special occasion!
Let me introduce stained glass cookies to you. Stained what? Yes, you read right. These cookies are both, they are eatable, but they are also super pretty decoration. They will look extra pretty if you hang them in a window or put them on a branch. Because then you will be able to see through the stained glass. I think these cookies are perfect for the season and most definitely a thoughtful gift.
I am excited to say that today I have the privilege of opening the first Advent door of the Advent Calendar, see further details here. Advent what? The Advent Calendar is a tradition that originated somewhere in Germany at the end of the 19th century. The basic idea is to make waiting for Christmas more bearable. For that reason between December 1 and 24 you get a daily tiny treat. It is common in German to say to “open the Advent door” to see what treat is found. Traditionally the calendar is filled with little chocolates, which are hidden behind tiny doors, but the Advent Calendar I want to introduce to you is a Food Advent Calendar. Every day one blogger will open their blog door and show us a new recipe they specifially created for this event. I named the calendar Food Advent Calendar “Spice It Up!” and requested for participating bloggers to use a spice, which is commonly used during the season. I picked the tonka bean and wanted to introduce you to the German Christmas Stollen. Let’s open Advent Door No. 1!
If you are looking for the perfect pie for Thanksgiving, this is for you. This is the perfect winter/fall pie with lots of juicy apples, fresh cranberries, and a hint of almond. Let me introduce Apple Cranberry Almond Pie to you!
Warning, this is not a quick recipe, this one takes time! Reason is because you need to prepare three different things. But if you don’t mind that (many parts can be prepared in advance), you will be rewarded with the most fluffy, light and airy eclairs, I promise!
