Baking *without* the Doctor, this time

[wiseheart]

I've tried a new recipe today, as Mum's getting guests the day after tomorrow (or Wednesday, I'm not entirely sure), and this promises to keep quality for a fortnight if kept in a tin box.

So I made little hazelnut biscuits (Haselnussbusserl for the Germans among us), partly because I wanted to try out the recipe before the Great Xmas Baking Orgy (TM) actually starts and partly because I've managed to buy three times the amounts of hazelnuts that I'd actually need. And considering how outrageously expensive the things are over here, letting them go wrong would be a criminal waste.

The recipe says I'd get 50 little biscuits from the ingredients. I managed to make 37, but since I used 2 teaspoons to form them instead of a "Spritztüte" (sorry, no idea what it's in English, my kitchen vocabulary is entirely in German), I think I did well enough.

Bottom line: they are delicious. And that considering that neither Mum nor I actually like anything with hazelnuts. Or with walnuts, for that matter. I'll definitely add them to the Christmas menu.

Comments

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

"Spritztüte" (sorry, no idea what it's in English, my kitchen vocabulary is entirely in German)
It is called 'sprits' in Swedish; my Swedish-English dictionary tells me there isn't really a proper word for the actual kitchen utensil in English, suggesting 'pipe bag'. I do recognize that the verb 'pipe' used with for example whipped cream is what you do with this implement, so English speakers might think 'piping bag' sounds right. I sounds strange to me, though.

I love things with hazelnuts in them. One of my favourite sorts of biscuits when I was little used to be 'nötbiskvier', which are made from ground hazelnuts mixed with sugar and egg whites. Unfortunately my Mum became allergic to hazelnuts, among other things, when I was very young so she stopped making them. Somehow I still to this day, despite not having lived in the same house as her for the last fifteen years, tend to not buy hazelnuts and automatically leave hazelnuts out of things even if the recipe calls for them.

By the way I saw Ferrero Rondnoirs for the first time today! I was coming out of the airport having arrived back from a week-end visit to my family and there in the shop at the arrival end were boxes of Ferrero Rondnoirs next to the Ferrero Rocher. I bought a box and have now had my first one. They are very nice indeed; thank you for telling me about them!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

The power of conditioning is a very strong and lasting one. My Grandpa - the one with the kidney problems - has been dead since 1977, but we still tend to cook with a minimal amount of salt and not spicy. I'm consciously trying to use more spices, because, let's face it, they belong into the food to a certain extent, but other people still think our cooking is rather bland.

I'm glad you've made the acquaintance of Rondnoirs. They are a noble thing - secrets like their existence ought to be shared. ;)

[artemis10002000]

Oh, that sounds yummy! When are you going to start the baking orgy?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Not next week yet, obviously - I need to survive the baking marathon with the kids first. But next weekend sounds reasonable, I think. Starting with Lebkuchen or something else that needs longer to "ripe".

[artemis10002000]

Yeah, good idea. I'm thinking about giving Stollen another try, but dunno, that attempt a few years ago didn't really go well and it's an awful lot of work.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Meine Stollen hatten jedes Mal die Konsistenz von Schuhsohlen, also habe ich die Versuche eingestellt. Obwohl, ich muß sagen, gekaufte Stollen, oder jene die die (deutsche) Frau meines Cousins mach schmecken mir auch wie Sägemehl, also habe ich vielleicht nicht die nötige Rafinesse Stollen richtig würdigen zu können...

[artemis10002000]

Unserer war eher als Keule zu gebrauchen wie zum Essen geeignet *g*

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

I really like hazelnuts (also called "filberts" in English in some places). I've made biscotti with them a few times, and I like them roasted and salted, too. Mmmm.

I wonder if the device you're describing is what I'd call a "cookie press," which I use to make holiday cookies ("biscuits" to the Brits). It's sort of like a huge syringe (as in what the doctor uses to give an injection), only the thing is much bigger and metal. The tube is maybe 5-6cm across, and instead of a needle at one end, there is a wide opening in which one places metal disks with patterns cut out. The spritz dough, which is very buttery and often has almond flavoring and some coloring, is pressed out through a disk to make shapes, such as Christmas trees, animals or ribbons of dough that can be formed into bows and such.

We had one growing up, but I never thought to buy one, as I would rarely use it. Then, when walking my first dog in Brooklyn one night, I found a very nice cookie press, in an unopened package with a bunch of disks. It was in a pile of things put out with the rubbish. I also got a knife block and a simple pewter tray with fancy brass handles out of that rubbish heap. I passed on the egg coddler -- I just don't make eggs that way. Walking a dog has its benefits!

I hope you'll post the recipe for your Haselnussbusserl sometime. I have a scale and can handle conversions from metric to imperial.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I do have a cookie press (inherited from Granny), but this is something different. It is, basically, a triangular bag, with a syringe-like plastic thingie on the narrow end, and is used similarly as a cookie press.

Should the Haselnussbusserln not make it into the Edhellond recipe exchange, I'll send you the recipe nonetheless.