7. Day of December - Gingerbread Biscotti & The Nutcracker (Lebkuchen Biscotti & Der Nussknacker)

Today marks the seventh day of December and for today´s Virtual Advent Calendar, I chose a wonderful recipe for Gingerbread Biscotti as well as a bit of a historical background about those lovely Nutcrackers. Although nutcrackers in various shapes and sizes have been around for thousands of years, the nutcracker soldier known the world over – and immortalized by Tchaikovsky – is of German origin, as is the story on which the popular ballet is based.

The traditional toy soldier nutcracker comes from the Ore Mountains (or Erzgebirge in German) in the State of Saxony along the Czech-German border. Villages here developed alongside a booming mining industry after mineral resources were discovered in the mid-12th century. The miners in these villages would carve and whittle in their spare time, making toys and small items which they sold to peddlers. After the mining industry declined in the 17th century, these inventive craftsmen perfected their handicraft in order to earn their livelihoods.

One classic nutcracker is still made today after the 1870s original by Wilhelm Friedrich Füchtner. Known as the “father of the nutcracker,” Füchtner launched the first commercial production of these wooden figures, nevertheless, the creation of one nutcracker requires more than 100 steps, and it is assembled from about 60 individual pieces, before the finishing touches – fur, leather, and cords – are added.

Traditionally forms for the nutcrackers were figures of authority: soldiers, kings, policemen, and foresters. And of course, some nutcrackers also resemble miners, who are depicted with a crossed hammer and chisel on their hats.

Over the years, the nutcracker also took on new forms of identity such as German Chancellors and American Presidents as well as St. Nicholas and a variety of occupations became popular.

The ballet The Nutcracker is based on the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (Der Nussknacker und der Mauskönig), which was written by German author Ernst Theodor William Hoffmann (1776-1822) and published in 1816. This dark fairytale follows a young girl’s fantasy in a world of fairies and princes, where toy soldiers battle an army of mice. And in 1891-92, Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the music for the ballet The Nutcracker.

Gingerbread Biscotti - Lebkuchen Biscotti

Ingredients for the Cookies

• 200 grams (7 ounces) whole almonds (feel free to use hazelnuts if you prefer)
• 250 grams ( 8.8 ounces/2 cups) plain/AP flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200 grams (7 ounces) super fine baking sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp of Gingerbread Spice Mix*
• a pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds only, you can substiute 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla sugar
• 1 tbsp Amaretto
• 25 grams (0.8 ounce/2 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs (L), free range or organic

Preparation of the Cookies

1. If you prefer to have the skins off the almonds, place the almonds in a pot of boiling water, boil for about one minute, carefully pour them through a sieve, place them on a kitchen towel and squeeze the almonds out of their skins. As a matter of personal preference, I always leave the skins on the almonds when baking Biscottis.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, Gingerbread Spice Mix, salt and vanilla until well combined.
3. Transfer the dry ingredients to the bowl of your mixer and add the Amaretto, butter and eggs then beat the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until the mixture is well combined and comes together as a dough.
4. Add the whole almonds and combine well. Divide the dough into four equal parts.
5. Wrap each dough piece in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for about thirty minutes and up to a day. 
6. Dust your work surface with some flour. Take the first batch of dough out of the refrigerator and using the palms of your hands, roll the Biscotti dough into a cylinder shape on the dusted surface. Flatten the dough a little to form an oval cylinder if you wish. Repeat with the three remaining parts of the dough.
7. Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F).
8. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or use Silpat baking mats).
9. Transfer two logs of the dough to a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the logs have spread and doubled in size. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a bit. Repeat with the remaining two logs of dough.
10. When the logs have cooled but are still warm, slice each about 1cm (½ inches) thick, you should cut on the diagonal, using a very sharp knife or a serrated knife.
11. Place each Biscotti slice onto a baking sheet or onto cooling racks that you place onto the baking sheets, thereby allowing for the hot air to circulate around each Biscotti cookie slice.
12. Return the baking sheets to the oven for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp, golden-brown and cooked through.
13. Transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.
14. When the Biscotti have completely cooled, place them in cookie tins with well fitting lids. If you store the cookie tins in a cool and dry place, they will keep well for a few weeks.

* If you cannot find Gingerbread Spice Mix in your store or online, you can prepare it using the following recipe:

Ingredients for the Gingerbread Spice Mix

2 tbsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground anise seed
1/2 tsp ground star anise

Preparation of the Spice Mix

Sift the ground spices through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.
Mix them together thoroughly and place in an airtight container to store.

NOTE: you will end up with about 3 1/3 tbsp Gingerbread Spice Mix, so you can use it also for baking delicious Gingerbread or other recipes that call for Gingerbread spices.


Please make sure to drop by again tomorrow when we will open our eighth special surprise in my Virtual Advent Calendar! Make sure to put the kettle on...

6. Day of December - St. Nicholas´ Day & Bishop´s Bread - Nikolaustag & Bischofsbrot

Today, on December 6th, we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas (Sankt Nikolaus Tag). This special day always falls on December 6, at the beginning of Advent and it represents a time for celebration especially in Eastern Europe and Germanic countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Italy also celebrates this saint's day. St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who provided for the poor and sick. He was born in Lycia, Asia Minor, in about 270 AD an area that is part of present-day Turkey and died on 6th December 340 AD. He lost both of his parents as a young man and he was brought up in a monastery. He reportedly used his inheritance to help the poor and sick. Nicholas became a priest at the age of 17 and travelled through Palestine and Egypt before returning to Myra where he was made Bishop.

St. Nicholas is referred to by many names throughout Europe such as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands (as we learned in yesterday´s post) or Nikolaus in Germany. On the night of December 5th, children put their shoes or a special St. Nicholas´ boot ("Nikolausstiefel") in front of the fireplace or the front door to find them filled with traditional, seasonal sweet treats, clementines, oranges, apples, nuts and small presents the next morning. on December 6th.

To mark this very special day, I always bake a traditional cake called “Bishop's Bread" –  the name is somewhat of a misnomer as this is a cake rather than a bread, but I like the original name as it also refers to the fact that St. Nicholas was a bishop in his lifetime. There are not many special recipes for St. Nicholas´ Day, many of the special treats that we enjoy on December 6th are rather traditional Christmas cookies. To my delight, a few years back, I came across this traditional recipe when doing my usual food related research. This bread can be described as a breakfast cake, traditionally enjoyed on the morning of St. Nicholas` Day.

Bishop's Bread - Bischofsbrot

Ingredients for the Bishop´s Bread

• 6 eggs (M), separated (organic or free range if possible)
• 120 grams powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tsps. pure vanilla sugar
• 50 grams raw almonds, chopped coarsely
• 50 grams raisins, tossed in flour and shaken
• 50 grams dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (try to go for 70% cocoa solids)
• grated rind of a lemon (organic, please)
• grated rind of an orange (organic, please)
• 125 grams AP (plain) flour, plus some for flouring the cake pan
• 1 ½ tsps. baking powder
• a pinch of fine sea salt
• 40 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus some for buttering the cake pan
• powdered sugar for decorating (optional)

Preparation of the Bishop´s Bread

1. Lightly butter a loaf pan, sprinkle with flour and shake out  the excess.
2. Separate the eggs and with a mixer cream together the egg yolks and sugar until they turn fluffy and pale yellow.
3. Slowly add the vanilla sugar, the chopped almonds, the raisins, the chopped chocolate, the grated rind of the orange and the lemon. Combine well.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Beat all six egg whites until stiff.
6. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
7. Fold the egg whites into the batter.
8. Bake at 180 ° C (375 ° F) for about 50 to 60 minutes. NOTE: The cake is done when no imprint is left when finger-tested in the center.
9. Cool the cake on a wire rack and decorate with powdered sugar (optional)

Notes:

• The Bishop´s Bread will keep for up to two days if wrapped well.
• Chopped candied fruit can be added instead of the raisins.
• The cake pan that I used is a so-called "saddle-of-venison cake pan" (Rehrücken in Geman) but you can use a pound cake pan as well - if you would like to order it, you can find it online. 

Like every year, our kids lined up their big winter boots last night and this morning, the boots miraculously were filled with cookies, fruits, nuts and a few small gifts. And, of course, milk chocolate coins - St. Nicholas is famous for his many acts of charity, one of which involved a poor distraught man who had three daughters and who couldn´t provide a proper dowry. As St. Nicholas learned of the plight, he came to their aid by throwing three small sacks of money through their window while they slept. The story sometimes includes the detail that the sacks landed in the womens' shoes... And I baked some traditional Kruidnoten (my recipe can be found here) that "doubled-up" with a lovely of layer of homemade marzipan (my recipe can be found here).

Have a nice St. Nicholas` Day! Euch allen einen schönen Nikolaustag!

5. Day of December - Sinterklass & Speculaas-Apple-Tarte (Spekulatius-Apfel-Tarte)

For most children in The Netherlands, the most important day during December is today, December 5th, when Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) brings them their presents. St. Nicholas' day is on the 6th December, but in The Netherlands, the major celebrations are held on the 5th of December.

It all starts on the second Saturday of November when Sinterklaas travels to a city or town in The Netherlands. Dutch tradition says that St. Nicholas lives in Madrid, Spain and every year he chooses a different harbour to arrive in Holland, so as many children as possible get a chance to see him. When Sinterklaas comes ashore from the steam boat, all of the local church bells ring in celebration. Sinterklaas, dressed in his red robes, leads a procession through the town, riding a white horse. Every town in The Netherlands has a few Sinterklaas helpers, dressed the same as Sinterklaas who help give the presents out.

The evening of December 5th is called "St. Nicholas’ Eve" or „Sinterklaasavond“. Sinterklaas parties are often held on St. Nicholas' Eve with many special treats and sweets. One type of cookie that is eaten at the parties are Dutch Spice Nuts or „Kruidnoten“ (my recipe can be found here), with lots of warm spices. In order to celebrate Sinterklass in style, I am posting a recipe for a „Speculaas Apple Tart“ today, combining the elements of the famous Dutch Speculaas cookies, the almond paste (amandelspijs) and apples -  enjoy!

Speculaas-Apple-Tart for Sinterklass

Ingredients

• 200 g self-raising flour (if you cannot get self-rising flour, you can mix the flour with 1 ½ tsp baking instead)
• 150 g dark brown sugar (such as the Dutch donkerbruine basterdsuiker or Billington's unrefined dark Muscovado sugar)
• 1 ½ tbsps speculaaskruiden or Speculaas Spice Mix (my recipe can be found here and here)
• a pinch of fine sea salt
• 150 g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 3 medium winter baking apples (preferably a local variety)
• 250 g amandelspijs or Almond Paste (my recipe can be found here)
• 15 g slithered almonds
• 3 tbsps. clear apple jelly (preferably homemade) 

In addition

• a baking pan or tart pan with removable bottom 24 cm (9.5 inches)

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, speculaas spice mix and the salt.
2. Add the butter to the flour mixture – if you think that your dough does not hold together well, you can add one or two tablespoons of cold water.
3. Wrap your dough in food wrap and place in the fridge for a good hour.
4. Prepare your baking pan – butter and flour and shake out the excess flour. If you prefer, you can line the bottom of your baking pan with parchment paper.
5. Take the dough out ot the fridge and roll out on a well-floured work surface.
6. Fit the dough into your prepared baking pan.
7. Pre-heat your oven to 175 °C (345°F).
8. Peel the apples, cut in quarters and core and cut each quarter into thin slices.
9. Line the dough with the amandelspijs (almond paste) and place the apple slices on top.
10. Bake the tart for 40 to 45 minutes.
11. Transfer to a cooling rack and heat the apple jelly. Brush the apple jelly over the tart and top with slithered almonds.
12. Enjoy warm or at room temperature – if wrapped well, tart keeps for a day or two.

Whether you are celebrating Sinterclaas today or not, you should really give this Speculaas-Apple-Tart a try – it is sensational. It combines such wonderful flavors as the Speculaas spices, the almond paste and wonderful winter apples in the most delicious of ways – you could not ask for a better way to celebrate the arrival of St.Nicholas!

Een fijne sinterklaas!

Please make sure to drop by again tomorrow when we will open our sixth special surprise in my virtual Advent Calendar! You will be in for another treat!

4. Day of December - St. Barbara´s Cake (Barbarakuchen)

Today marks the fourth day of December and in parts of France and Germany  St. Barbara's Day, or as we call it, Barbartag, on December 4, is considered to mark the beginning of the Christmas season. According to legend, Barbara, the daughter of a rich pagan, was carefully guarded by her father who kept her locked up in a tower in order to to shield her from outside influences.

German-speaking countries celebrate the tradition of the St. Barbara's branch, or as we call it the Barbarazweig.  The original folklore was that unmarried girls cut twigs from cherry trees and forced them into bloom. There is an old belief that if the twig blossoms on Christmas Eve, the girl will be married the following year. The practice of forcing the blooms on the cherry tree twigs comes from a legend that while St. Barbara was locked in her tower, she felt lonely. She found a dried up cherry tree branch which she watered daily with a few drops from her drinking water and it is said to have flowered on the day of her untimely death.

To this day, this is a nice decoration for your home during the winter season. Branches from other flowering plants or trees may be used, such as apple, forsythia, plum, lilac, or chestnut but cherry is the preferred.

On a day with mild temperatures, pick branches that have swollen buds and cut stems. Crush the ends of the branches, and submerge in a tub of cool, not icy, water for several hours. Place the branches in a large vase of water. For a few days, leave the branches in a cool area. As the buds begin to swell bring the branches into a warm room, but not in direct heat and when the blooms appear, place the branches in a sunny window. Change water every two days. Thin branches force more quickly than thick ones – it will take from one to four weeks for the brach to bloom.

In my pictures I placed the branch from our cherry tree next to a small version of the St.Barbara´s Cake, or Barbarakuchen as we call it in German. This is an old traditional German cake recipe that makes a lovely lemon-flavored cake to go with a cup of coffee or some lovely tea on the feast of St. Barbara.

St. Barbara's Cake - Barbarakuchen

Ingredients for the Cake

• 200 g unsalted butter, room temperature, plus some to flour the baking pan(s)
• 250 g superfine baking sugar
• the grated zest from one organic lemon
• 4 eggs (M), organic or free range
• 125 g AP (plain) flour, plus some to flour the baking pan(s)
• 125 g corn starch
• 2 tsps baking powder
• a pinch of fine sea salt

Ingredients for the Icing

• 150 g powdered sugar
• 2 - 3 tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 180 ° C (356° F) or 160° C (320° F ) for convection ovens.
2. Butter and flour your loaf pan(s). NOTE: I use one large one (30 x 11 cm or 11 x 4 inches) or five small ones (11 x 7 cm or 4 x 2 inches).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt.
4. In another bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 8 minutes.
5. Add zest, then eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed.
6. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in two additions, beat until combined.
7. Transfer batter to prepared pan(s) – the pans should be about 2/3 full.
8. Bake until the cakes spring back when lightly touched or a skewer inserted in center comes out clean, depending on the size of your pans, that will take about 40 to 45 minutes for the small and about 55 to 60 minutes for the large.
9. Let cool in pan(s) on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, for about 30 minutes. NOTE: Setting the racks in a rimmed baking sheet will make sure that any excess glaze will drip onto the baking sheets instead of your counter.
10. Remove loaf or loaves from pan(s) and let cool completely on rack.
11. Whisk powdered sugar and about 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice to make glaze.
12. Drizzle over the loaf cake(s) and let stand until set (that will take about 30 – 60 minutes, depending on how thick your glaze is).

The loaf shape of the finished St. Barbara´s cake is said to be reminiscent of the tower that Barbara was locked in by her father. This cake is traditionally glazed with this thick powdered sugar and lemon juice glaze but I have also seen a version in Bavaria, where the cake was glazed with dark chocolate instead.

Instead of baking the St. Barbara´s Cake in a large loaf pan,  you can use individual small ones like I did (this recipe yields five small loaf cakes OR one large one) – that way you can give a small version of the St. Barbara´s Cake as a gift, maybe along with a small branch from a tree in your garden or from your trusted florist. And really, while this cake is perfect for Decmber 4 and baking in honor of the feast of St. Barbara, it is wonderful any time of the year.

Please make sure to drop by again tomorrow when we will open our fifth special surprise in my virtual Advent Calendar and travel to a different European country!

3. Day of December - Festive Pasta (Weihnachtspasta)

Today marks the third day of December and for today´s Advent Calendar post, I chose a less traditional recipe. As I was shopping for Christmas decorations, I came across some Christmassy fun shaped pasta that I knew the kids would enjoy at this time of year.

Christmas pasta with little Christmas trees, Santa Claus and shooting stars. The colors in the pasta are all natural, meaning that the manufacturer used tomato juice and spinach to color the different shapes of pasta.

I chose a very simple sauce here and kept the Christmas color theme – red, green and white with a very simple „sauce“ of oven-roasted cherry tomatoes (for the red), rocket and basil (for the green) and a good shaving of a hard goat cheese (for the white).

I like to roast the tomatoes on the vine with herbs from the garden (think rosemary and thyme), sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic and a dusting of confectioners´ sugar. The rocket is not boiled, just added to the cooking water for a few seconds, that´s all. Served with some fresh bread, this made a nice quick Christmassy lunch for the kids.

It ia nice to try out different shapes of pasta every once in a while. Gives those simple dishes a special and festive touch. Make sure you buy your pasta from a reliable source and make sure the pasta is make with all natural ingredients. Then let your imagination be your guide...a quick and easy pasta dinner or lunch loaded with veggies might just be exactly what you and your family needs on a busy December day.

I really liked how the pasta held ist shape even after cooking – if you make sure to cook your pasta al dente, fun shape noodles should keep their fun shape even after having spent a few mminutes in fiercely boiling water.

Hope you enjoyed this rather light-hearted post – tomorrow it is back to some serious baking, so make sure to come back for a visit tomorrow when we will open our fourth special surprise in my virtual Advent Calendar!

2. Day of December - Marzipan Potatoes (Marzipankartoffeln)

Today marks the second day of December and for today´s Advent Calendar post, I chose traditional German marzipan potatoes, also known as Marzipankartoffeln in German. Marzipan Potatoes are a confection, not actual potatoes.

Marzipan potatoes can be made easily in the home as a little Advent treat. Basically, they are made from fine marzipan and covered in a thin coat of cacao. If you do not want to go through the trouble of making your own marzipan, you can also use pre-made, purchased marzipan, but not almond paste. Around here, marzipan potatoes are traditionally given to friends in little bags or placed on the Adventsteller (plate of goodies set out on Christmas Eve on December 24).

Making these adoradable treats is a two-step process, first you make the marzipan itself, which is not difficult at all. You need but four ingredients, namely, raw almonds (or pre-ground almond meal), confectioners´ sugar, rose water (I always get mine at a local pharmacy), also known as Rosenwasser in German and a few drops of natural almond extrat (optional).

Marzipan Potatoes

Ingredients for the Marzipan Potatoes
(this recipe makes a small batch, about 2 to 3 dozen marzipan potatoes, that are less than 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter)

• 125 grams (1 1/3 cups) ground almonds
• 125 grams (1 1/8 cups) confectioners' sugar
• 3 tbsp rose water (use very high quality from a pharmacy or your favorite spice merchant)
• a  few drops of natural almond extract (optional, go easy here)
• 4 tbsps Dutch process cocoa powder (really good quality one)
• 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

Preparation

1. Advance Preparation: You can buy ground almonds as almond flour, also known as almond meal. Or you can also blanch 2 cups of raw almonds, slip their skins off and grind them  in a food processor. Depending on your food processor, your resulting almond meal might be slightly coarser than the purchased almond meal.
2. If making your marzipan potatoes with purchased pre-made marzipan, chose a high-quality one, the best you can afford (such as Odense or Lübecker)
3. Making the potatoes: Mix together ground almonds, confectioners' sugar, rose water and natural almond extract in the food processor or by hand until well blended and sticky.
4. Remove from food processor.
5. Using 1 tbsp or less of the marzipan, form small potato-like balls. You can form perfectly smooth, round balls or go fort he potato shapes instead.
6. Mix the cocoa powder and cinnamon together in a bowl or use a zip-lock bag to toss the little balls of marzipan in.
7. Roll the balls in the cocoa and cinnamon and set apart on parchment paper to dry for a good 30 minutes. Store the Marzipan Potatoes in an airtight container with wax or parchment paper between the layers, in a cookie tin or wrap them in pretty cellophane bags or just munch away on them.

Try them, you might get addicted to these traditional German Christmas treats that are quick and easy to make and utterly irresistible!

If you are looking for more marzipan treats, do take a look at my Speculaas Muffins filled with Marzipan (here) or my Gevulde Speculaas (here) or you can make different marzipan fruits or vegetables and use them as decoration on my European-style Carrot Cake (here).

Please make sure to drop by again tomorrow when we will open our third special surprise in my virtual Advent Calendar!

1. Day of December - Speculaas Waffle Rolls (Spekulatius Eiserkuchen)

Today marks the first day of December – Advent season is special. That´s why I decided to post a virtual Advent Calendar on my blog this year, meaning that I will try to post 24 Christmas surprises and recipes (sweet and savory) and much more during the upcoming 24 days before Christmas. Make sure to visit often from now until Christmas.

That said, for the first post, I’ve had a go at a traditional German recipe, the crunchy waffle roll. The history of these traditional crispy waffles dates back to the 16. century when they were first made by monks in their convent kitchens. The traditional way to make these seems to be just with water, sugar, butter, eggs and flour. However, I remember that my beloved grand-mother always made these rolls at Christams time with dissolved rock sugar to make the waffles even crunchier. I tried the recipe both with brown rock sugar and white rock sugar – the taste was almost the same but if you are looking for darker wafflle rools, you are well advised to use the brown variety.

The dissolved rock sugar lends en incredible crunchiness to these waffles that keeps for weeks if stored in cookies tins. If you cannot get your hands on rock sugar, by all means use regular sugar instead – just replace the rock sugar in the recipe with the same amout of regular sugar (white or brown).

As I was prepraing to make these waffles on the weekend, I happened to glance at the jar of my fabulous Speculaas Spice Mix (recipe here) as I was rummaging in the baking cupboard, and thought it might be nice to add some of it to the waffle batter for some extra flavor. I think it is worth doing. It certainly adds a little extra something festive and utterly delicious to the final result – not to mention the lovely smell in the house while you bake these!

Speculaas Waffle Rolls

Ingredients for the Waffle Rolls

• 1/4 l water
• 250 grams rock sugar (white rock candy for a lighter colored waffle, brown rock candy for a darker colored waffle) or regular sugar (white or brown)
• 200 grams unsalted butter
• 2 eggs (L), organic or free-range whenever possible
• 1 pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 ½ tsps Speculaas Spice Mix (for the recipe, please visit my post here)
• ¼  tsp ground cinnamon (from Ceylon if possible)
• 1 package pure vanilla sugar (2 tsps) or homemade vanilla sugar.
• 250 grams AP (plain) flour
• NOTE: this recipe makes about 24 waffle rolls, depending on the size of your waffle maker

Preparation of the Waffle Rolls

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil, take the saucepan off the heat, add the rock sugar and stir carefully until it is completely dissolved.
2. Then add the butter to the sugar mixture and continue to stir until the butter has melted.
3. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
4. When ready to bake your waffle rolls, preheat your waffle maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
5. Transfer the cooled butter mixture to a mixing bowl.
6. To the butter mixture, add the eggs, salt, speculaas spice mix, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and flour. Whisk the mixture until there are no lumps left.
7. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter in the center of your pre-heated waffle maker.
8. Bake for about a minute or two, then check for proper color.
9. Quickly remove the waffle from the waffle maker. Transfer onto a rack. Quickly make a roll or a cone. If the waffle is too hot to handle with your bare hands, use a cloth to help lift and roll the waffle.
10. Hold the waffle roll a few seconds to set its shape then place on the wire rack to cool completely.
11. Serve immediately (plain or with whipped cream) and store any leftover waffle rools in large cookie tins for up to a two weeks.

I´ve got a few tips for making these:

• The batter is meant to be thick but still runny, you are looking for a honey-like consistency here.
• Do not be tempted to add milk to the batter, as that will result in soft, not crispy waffles.
• The waffle rolls are meant to be really crispy.
• Should you have any leftover waffles, make sure to keep them in a cookie tin in a cool place, so that they stay crispy.
• Around here, you can find a really good specialty waffle roll maker from Cloer . In the US and Canada, you can find a similar waffle cone maker from Chef´s Choice (available through Williams Sonoma here).

My waffle recipe is wonderful even without the added speculaas spices, however, the real Christmas magic here comes from adding them, they will taste amazing!

Please make sure to drop by again tomorrow when we will open our second special surprise in my virtual Advent Calendar!

The Cottage Cooking Club - November Recipes

The month of November marks the nineteenth month of our international online cooking group, The Cottage Cooking Club. As a group, recipe by recipe, we are cooking and learning our way through a wonderful vegetable cookbook written in 2011 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, entitled „River Cottage Everyday Veg".

One of the declared aims of our cooking group is to make a decided effort to use as much regional, organic and also seasonal produce as is reasonably possible.

This month I prepared six of the ten designated recipes, plus one extra. I will write about each dish in the order in which I prepared them.

My first recipe for this November post is the colorful Beetroot and walnut hummus (page 300) from the chapter "Mezze & Tapas“.

With toasted fresh walnuts, dry-fried and ground cumin seeds, bread crumbs, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and tahini (that versatile sesame seed paste) - to lend an extra layer of flavor – this was certainly a different kind of hummus.

I chosse to serve the Beetroot and walnut hummus as a starter, dip-style, with warmed tortilla triangles. If you are a beetroot lover and if you are looking for a different and eye-catching recipe to try, then this hummus is for you.

For the second recipe this month I chose the Celery, orange and pecans (page 116)  from the chapter "Raw Assemblies".

I decided to serve this dish on individual plates as I was thinking this would be a perfect fresh starter for a festive dinner. And I was not disappointed. I arranged a few slices of celery, bright orange segments and freshly cracked walunts (instead of the pecans) on the plates and added just a few drops of the „barely dressing“ (orange juice, zest, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper).

A very nice wintry combination of fresh, bright and slightly bitter flavors that works -  perhaps not only as a starter to a substantial meal but also as a in-between course, to re-frehen your taste buds. A great recipe to keep in your repertoire of elegant winter salads.

The third recipe that go my attention this month was the Kale speltotto with goat´s cheese (page 280), from the chapter „Pasta & Rice“.

This recipe requires a few steps more than some of the others but it is well worth it. First you prepare the pearled spelt or pearl barley (which is what I used). Then you prepare the onions (nice and translucent and soft). And stir it all together with some nice white wine (not unlike preparing a classic risotto, hence the name of this dish). You add the stock and cook and stir some more. Then you sweat the leeks and wilt your greens and once the barley is all cooked and creamy, you add the greens and the leeks to the dish.

Instead of adding the goat´s cheese on top as extra cheese, I decided to grate more for the finished dish and leave it at that – the cheese gave so much flavor to the dish, that it was not really necessary to add some more.

The fourth recipe was the one with the biggest fun factor. Roast new potatoes with two mojo sauces (page 358) from the chapter „Roast, Grill & Barbecue“, was the kids`  favorite this month, hands down. Mojo originated in the Canary Islands, where the main varieties are red mojo (mojo picante oder mojo picón) and green mojo (mojo verde).

In the Canary Islands, these sauces are served with small local potatoes, the papas arrugadas or are simply enjoyed with country-style white bread.

You start Hugh´s variation of the Mediterranean recipe by preparing the two sauces. The „mojo picón“  was up first – using dried chilies, roasted red peppers, lots of garlic, ground cumin, sweet smoked Spanish paprika, white wine vingar and olive oil – the resulting sauce was bright red and spicy and full of smokey flavor. While Hugh calls for a coriander version of the green mojo, I opted for an Italian parsley version instead – coriander being the one herb that he kids do not really enjoy. So, more garlic again, cumin, white wine vingar and a rather big handful of fresh Italian parsley plus some more olive oil turned into a bright green, garlicky sauce.

Once the sauces are done, it is a good idea to let them sit on the counter or fridge for a while – to allow the flavors to develop properly. And the right time to prepare those potatoes, lots of them – dipping is always received rather enthusiastically at our house and this recipe was no exception – we really enjoyed the big bold flavors of  the sauces that played so nicely against the crunchy, salty potatoes with their creamy interiors.

The fifth recipe was Parsnip and ginger soup (page 157) from the chapter "Hefty Soups". Another one of those wonderful soup recipes from this book that I so enjoy.

Creamy parsnips are abundant at this time of year and when paired with onion, garlic, fresh ginger, and lots of spices (cardamom, cumin, cayenne pepper) plus milk and vegetable stock (page 130) - make a lovely, velvety soup that is sure to warm you from the inside out – perfect after skating maybe…as a finish I added a few drops of lovely hazelnut oil from my local oil mill as well as slithered hazelnuts – perfect.

Recipe number six this month was Lentil and tomato salad (page 237) from the chapter „Store-cupboard suppers“.

This was my personal favorite this month – what is not to love about a lovely lentil salad made with French Puy lentils that keep their shape so well in a salad and some fabulous honey-roasted cherry tomatoes (page 343).

The nuttiness of the lentils, the sweetness of the roasted tomatoes, the tanginess of the dressing – this is my idea of a perefct hearty fall/winter salad – loved it!

As a little encore I made the Roasted parsnip chips (page 357) from the chapter of „Roast, Grill & Barbecue“ again that we made back in November 2014. Always such a delightful side dish, always much appreciated by the crowds – creamy, crunchy and very tasty.

In summary, another month full of wonderful vegetable dishes – this month we were delighted to enjoy a number of hearty fall recipes, main courses as well as side dishes or appetizer for lunch and dinner. What can possibly be better than to cook with seasonal ingredients even at this time of year.

Please note, that for copyright reasons, we do NOT publish the recipes. If you enjoy the recipes in our series, hopefully, the wonderfully talented and enthusiastic members of The Cottage Cooking Club and their wonderful posts can convince you to get a copy of this lovely book. Better yet, do make sure to join us in this cooking adventure.

To see how wonderful all the dishes from my fellow Cottage Cooking Club members turned out this month, please visit here. They would all appreciate a visit!