I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in a community where, to this day, it’s still tradition to bring delicious baked goods during the holiday season when visiting friends and relatives. During holiday season I remember enjoying German stollen (a weighty candied fruit cake), Mid-European gugelhopf also know as babka in Poland (I know it as bundt cake in a ball shape with a hollow middle) and Italian panettone (a cake made with yeasty sourdough and fruits such as candied orange peel or raisins which has an unusual proofing time sometimes up to three days!).
If someone was not into the hardcore holiday cake baking a typical housewife would bake cookies like my mother (however,she always worked but is now retired). As a child during the holidays you could be sure to find around 25 cookie variations in my mother’s basement, stored in large decorative golden cookie tin ready as gifts or for my brother and me.
(left:little caramelized popcorn presents)
(right: poppy seed macaroon cookies)
Cookie Monster
When I was a kid it was often my job to assemble an assortment of such cookies to bring along to someone’s house. Needless to say I could not resist munching on Linzer Augen (a sandwiched raspberry preserve filled cookie; probably the most famous Austrian cookie). Another cookie was a chocolate bar made with fine Swiss chocolate - you’d sink your teeth into it barley giving resistance - it had a wonderful delicate texture.
(left: apricot linzers)
(right: chocolate/nut bars)
My Favorite Cookie
I still remember that holiday-vanilla-baking smell wafting out of my mother’s baking oven. My favorite cookie was an almond/butter cookie in a crescent shape dipped into Vanilla sugar which are called vanilla kipferl.
(left: Viennese vanilla crescent cookie box)
(right: crescent cookies just comming out of the oven)
Working with colleagues of different nationalities I realized that I am not by myself with nut cookies scented with vanilla. Many countries seem to have their very own vanilla cookie. For example Mexican wedding cookies in ball shape, Greek kourabiedes in crescent shape (very similar to the kind I grew up with), Italian Biscotti which were very crunchy and had whole hazelnuts in it and French sablese cookies from Normandy with their shiny top.
(chocolate chip cookie)
First I was thinking to post my favorite vanilla kipferl cookie recipe, but on second thought I can’t convince you necessarily of it since you might have had different “cookie experiences” – which are very personal and wrapped in nostalgia, so why don’t you tell me your favorite holiday cookie recipe?
