Two aunts on my father’s side of the family were particularly good bakers. This recipe is taken from a cookbook in my aunt Maria’s handwriting in Sütterlin script. At the time this was written, there was probably no fridge in the household to rest the dough. The original recipe does not provide the entire method of making the biscuits, so I’ve added how they are shaped. In Germany, they are frequently served on plates of Christmas goodies, together with chocolates, marzipan potatoes, tangerines and nuts.
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- 200 g butter
- 200 g sugar
- 100 g cornflour (Maizena)
- 500 g plain flour
- 8 g baking powder (about 1 1/2 - 2 tsp)
- 3 eggs
- dash lemon juice
- chocolate for decorating
- Mix the soft butter and the sugar and beat until fluffy.
- Mix the cornflour with the flour and the baking powder and add to the soft mixture. Add lemon juice and the three eggs (one by one to obtain a supple dough).
- Leave the dough to rest in a cool place for half an hour.
- Grease a baking tray with butter or line it with baking parchment. Fill the dough into a pastry bag until it is half full and squeeze the pastry through the nozzle of your choice into shapes of your choice (S-shape, ring, heart, etc.). Repeat until all the dough is used up (you may need several baking trays).
- Pre-heat the oven to 180-200 °C (or gas mark 4). Bake the biscuits for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool for a short while.
- Melt dark chocolate or other chocolate coating and dip the ends of the biscuits into it. Leave to cool on a cooling rack and then place into a biscuit tin to store.
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