What better way to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate than with a crumbly, nutty biscotti. Although pistachio biscotti are not really a Christmas cookie, I always seem to make them before Christmas.
If I had to think of only one Christmas cookie recipe that is typically Austrian, it would be vanilla crescents or ‘Vanillekipferl’ as we call them in Austria. I couldn’t imagine Christmas without those delicious cookies from my grandmother’s recipe.
I remember when I was little and my grandmother used to make them, shaping the dough into the perfect crescents and I was always in charge of cutting the log into identical pieces. She never let me shape the dough because it had to be perfect. She made the perfectly shaped ‘Vanillekipferl’.
It is already Day 7 of December and time is flying by so fast! Have you started with your Christmas shopping? I already got a few presents but still have a lot to get on my list…
Candy canes are a must for Christmas and I love my Starbucks mug with the candy cane handle. I was on a hunt for it last year in London and luckily found one just before Christmas. And what would go better with a hot chocolate in my Starbucks mug than candy cane cookies?! :D
Are you already feeling festive? I’m enjoying the pre-Christmas season in New York right now. Yesterday was the lightning event of the huge Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. I didn’t see it live (I don’t do well with crowds of people) but for me it is the symbol that Christmas is just around the corner. I can’t wait to start decorating when I get home!
This is my go-to rum ball recipe, enriched with gingerbread spice for the holiday season. The gingerbread rum balls have a creamy, cocoa taste, while the apricot jam gives it a tartish flavor and the dark rum flavor makes it a favorite among adults.
Marzipan is one of those ingredients that you either love or hate. At least I’ve never met anyone saying that they tolerated the taste of marzipan in sweets, but were not very fond of it. I love the taste of marzipan! I like to eat it all year around (out of the package I may add!), but somehow the more complex the marzipan figure or sweet is done, the better it tastes! At least this is what I tell myself ;)