German Christmas Cookies, Lebkuchen

As I wrote on FB page, last week my German teacher has told me how to make the Lebkuchen. The Lebkuche are Christmas German Cookies. We had a really fun afternoon together and the result was excellent. Delicious Lebkuchen, perfect to enjoy anytime of the day and even more good along with a good cup of tea. There are two recommendations: the dough must rest still for a night and then be cooked for a very short otherwise they become hard. Lebkuchen then!

INGREDIENTS

1. 5 eggs
2. 18 oz of sugar
3. half a teaspoon of bicarbonate
4. 3 tablespoons of honey
5. 25 oz of rye flour
6. half a teaspoon of ground cloves
7. 1 heaping teaspoon of ground cinnamon
8. 1 egg + 2 tablespoons milk for brushing

INSTRUCTIONS

• First of all , whisk with electric mixer the eggs with the sugar until they become double, they must become their foamy (it will take about 7 minutes )
• then add honey and spices and work again
• then change whip hook and put that, at this point begin to incorporate the rye flour slowly
• will form an elastic dough that has the consistency of pizza
• wrap in plastic wrap and let stand overnight in a cool, dry place (not in the fridge)
• the next day roll out the dough with the help of a little flour on the thickness of about 7 mm - should not be thin, and cut out the shapes of your choice
• bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for about 10 minutes
• freshly cooked immediately remove them from the baking tray and brush them with egg yolk mixed with milk
• this will make them shiny, and then store them in a tin box for 4 weeks
• I I dipped some in dark chocolate and they were delicious!

Christmas Cookies Variations

 I have taken all the books on the cookies, in German, which I found in the library. I did several tests and many Tyrolean people and Austrians gave me family and local recipes. Many many thanks! Then here we are the recipe for Christmas cookies with hazelnuts, cocoa, vanilla and Nutella!

INGREDIENTS:

1. 300 grams of flour 00 finely ground 
2. 100 grams of icing sugar
3. a vanilla bean
4. 1 egg
5. 200 grams of sugar
6. 2 tablespoons finely chopped hazelnuts
7. 1 tablespoon of Nutella
8. 1 tablespoon cocoa powder bitter
9. 12 whole hazelnuts for garnish
10. 3 tablespoons apricot jam to

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. in the planetary first put the icing sugar with the flour, chopped nuts, and seeds of the vanilla bean
2. add the butter and started to work, when the dough will become crumbled then add the egg and work again until your pastry will have formed
3. Divide the dough in half, leave one half white and put in the other half nutella and cocoa and mix together.
4. At this point take a piece from mixing chocolate and roll it out with a rolling pin with a thickness of about 5 mm, do the same with a piece of the white pastry
5. overlap the two shortbread white and dark, roll and spiral sliced ​​to obtain at least 20 swivels
6. with the remaining white spastry prepared the spitzbunen, which in this case will be flavored with hazelnut
7. and with the remaining mixture of cocoa prepared cookies with flower cutters then decorerete with hazelnuts
8. Bake in hot oven at 170 degrees for 12 minutes
9. pull them out of the oven and let cool on a wire rack, then put them in a tin box
10. so you keep up to 10 days

Tenerina, a delicious Chocolate Cake

One of the recipes my daughter's birthday - 7 years-was the cake Tenerina, a really good chocolate cake. I have prepared version Prêt-à-Porter, as I call it. A lot small cakes that the children can eat around the park while they play. And it was a real success: the girls so they could eat and play at the same time, real fun!  So here the recipe of the Chocolate cake Tenerina.

INGREDIENTS:

1. 4 eggs bio
2. 200 grams (7 oz) of sugar 
3. 200 grams (7 oz) of dark chocolate to 55%
4. 4 tablespoons of flour
5. 200 grams (7oz) of butter
6. 1 pinch of salt
7. icing sugar for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS:

• First, melt the chocolate with the butter and let it cool a little
• meanwhile mounted the egg whites a pinch of salt
•  in the planetary whip egg yolks with the sugar and then add the chocolate with the melted butter
• then add the flour and finally with a spatula put the mounted egg whites with movements from the bottom upwards
• Put the dough in a baking 22-24 cm or 10 small cakes form and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes

Pizzoccheri Pasta with Broccoli and Taleggio Fondue

The other day I realized that I had never prepared Pizzoccheri. And it is strange because it is a dish that I love. However, it was cold outside and I had to go supermarket and so I bought a nice package. Then I had a lot of broccoll and finally to the cheese counter I was inspired by taleggio, which is a cheese that I love combined with wholemeal flour. And so is born this dish for lunch. Pizzoccheri with broccoli and taleggio fondue. Might be an idea for dinner of Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner.

INGREDIENTS for 4 person:

• 350 grams of pizzoccheri
• 150 grams of taleggio
• 200 ml of whole milk
• 80 grams of grain
• 400 grams of broccoli
• 1 medium potato
• oil e.v.o.
• salt and pepper q.b.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Clean the broccoli keeping only the flowers and boil for 7 minutes in salted water
2. then toss  them in a frying pan with olive oil
3. meanwhile put on water to cook pizzoccheri
4. melt at low temperature taleggio with milk (will take about 20 minutes)
5. when the water boils, put the potato cut into small pieces and pizzoccheri and cook for 15 minutes
6. when they are ready drain them, and put them with the fondue and 3/4 of broccoli
7. Put on plates and garnish with the remaining broccoli, freshly ground pepper and grated Parmesan

PASTA WITH MEATBALLS

 My grandmother used to prepare, as a good italian, juicy main courses so you can use the sauce for making the pasta. In this way you eat something that is really very taste and you make zero waste in the kitchen. Among the various may grandmother main dishes my favourite is the pasta with meatballs (pasta con polpette). This is a real memory dish for me, every time i eat pasta with metaballs  my culinary memory of time spent with my grandmother rise to me. And it's beautiful! and now the recipe: pasta con polpette!

INGREDIENTS

1. 500 grams (18 oz) of mixed ground
2. 1/2 clove of garlic
3. 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
4. 1 pound of cooked ham 
5. 2 slices of stale bread to soak in milk
6. 100 grams (3,5 oz) of parmesan
7. mixed herbs to chop (oregano, basil, parsley)
8. 1 egg
9. bread crumbs
10. olive oil
11. 750 ml (26,5 oz)of tomato sauce 
12. 1 red onion
13. 1 whole carrot
14. salt q.b.
15. 500 grams (18 oz) of pasta
16. 50 grams (1,8 oz) of flakes of pecorino romano

INSTRUCTIONS

• Put in a blender to chop ham, Parmesan, herbs, garlic and bread soaked and squeezed
•  add the mixture to the meat, and put the egg, nutmeg and a pinch of salt
• mix well together and formed many small balls, roll them in bread crumbs and put them away
• in a deep pan and sauté just the oil with the onion and carrot whole, let cook for 5 minutes and then  pour the tomato sauce and an equal amount of water and salt 
• when the sauce begins to heat let the meatballs fall one by one, cover with lid and cook for about 1 hour and a half
• if necessary add salt
• when they are ready let them rest another hour, even better if prepared the day before
• Now cook the pasta and once ready, drain it and toss with the sauce and some meatballs, sprinkle with pecorino romano and serve

TIMBALLO

As I announced yesterday on my FB page I was preparing a Timballo for Sunday lunch, Grandma's recipe. I say to you that it was really very good and it is even very simple to make. Infact my husband has done it with my supervision! But I pulled myself out of the mold, because as my grandmother said " some jobs can not be done by a man!" Really a very holy woman. However, we were 8 for lunch and has not been even a little bit, I also propose as an idea for a Christmas dinner! Timballo di Pasta!

INGREDIENTS 

1. 600 grams of rigatoni (21,16 0z)
2. 700 ml of tomato sauce (25 0z)
3. 500 ml of water (17 oz)
4. 400 grams of minced mixed
5. 1 large carrot, 1 onion (I don't use celery)
6. 2 sage leaves, 1 bay leaf 1 sprig of rosemary
7. oil e.v.o. 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon for the mold
8. salt q.b.
9. 1 dose of besciamella prepared with 400 ml of milk (ie 30 grams of butter and 30 grams of flour)
10. 3 tablespoons of parmesan
11. 100 grams (3,5 0z) of sweet cheese like gouda
12. 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
13. bread crumbs for the mold

INSTRUCTIONS

• first prepared the ragù with tomato sauce, herbs, meat,olive oil and nutmeg  - for the timballo i cook ragù only for 1 hour, in this way the timballo will be not dry.
• then prepare the besciamella, not too thick
• Finally, cook the pasta for 7 minutes, no more
• drain and season with 3/4 of the meat sauce, besciamella and parmesan
• oiled mold and sprinkle with breadcrumbs
• pour a layer of pasta, then besciamella and then cheese cut into squares
• repeat for 3 layers until you close the mold
• sprinkle with breadcrumbs again and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes
• Let the pie rest for at least 20 minutes out of the oven before you spill it on a plate
• Serve accompanied by the remaining hot ragù

LINZER RECIPE FOR CHRISTMAS

The recipe gave me my German teacher and I have to say that it is really simple and delicious. I love Linzer but often I find it too spicy, instead the Marie Elise's recipe is perfect. A little spicy but in a pleasant way. These doses are put for a large baking pan 20 x 25, if you want you can halving. Here then Linzer Schnitten!

INGREDIENTS:

• 300 grams of flour 00 (10,6 oz)
• 300 grams of sugar (10,6 oz)
• 150 grams of almond flour (5,30 oz)
• 150 grams of hazelnuts flour (5,30)
• 300 grams of butter (10,6 oz)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 packing of vanilla sugar
• 1teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• breadcrumbs q.b.
• 350 grams of cranberry jams ( 12,30 oz)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  it is very easy:  put together all the ingredients into the mixer and pump. One caution: at the beginning use only 3 breadcrumbs tablespoon, if after mixed, the amalgam will be too wet then add more bread crumbs. The final mixture should be slightly sticky for a pastry.
2.  Spread it out with the help of two sheets of parchment paper on the baking sheet and adagiatelo, pour the cranberry sauce, the strips obtained from mixing advanced and cover the surface like a tart.
3. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

SPITZBUNEN,CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

This year with Christmas cookies I'm having a great time. I bought Austrian magazines,  German books and I've bookmarked several really interesting recipes for making delicious cookies. One afternoon, while it was snowing outside, me and my daughter haven prepared this recipe: Spitzbunen, simply delicious!


INGREDIENTS

Molds to prepare spitzbunen (ie those with the double hole)

1. 380 grams of flour 00 (13,4 oz)
2. 120 grams of icing sugar (4,2 oz)
3. 250 grams of butter at room temperature (8,8 oz)
4. 2 eggs
5. 1 vanilla bean
6. 1 pinch of salt
7. 250 grams of cranberry jam and apricot (so they are a little yellow and a little red) (8,8 oz)
8. 2 tablespoons water
9. icing sugar to decorate

INSTRUCTIONS

• In the planetary put the flour, salt, sugar and the seeds of the vanilla bean. Mix all together for 3 minutes
• Then add the butter cut into pieces and mix again until you get some nice crumbs.
• Then incorporate the egg yolks and knead until you have a well mixed pastry
• wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes in a dry place (not in the fridge)
• turn the oven to 180 degrees and roll out the pastry quite thin, start with the size your cookies get many  molds full and many molds with holes. There will be about 140 cookies to put together
• Put the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes
• In the meantime, you heat the jam with spoons of water, so that it becomes fairly liquid
• Once cooked, take a cookie full spread on the jam and cover with the one with the hole
• let cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with icing sugar