Vanillekipferln
(almond crescent cookies)
50g almonds
50g hazelnuts
280g flour
70g sugar
pinch of salt
200g butter
2 egg yolks
5 packets of vanilla sugar
1/2 cup of icing sugar or powdered sugar
Directions
1. Grind the nuts very finely, if not bought pre-ground. Sift the flour onto a large baking board. Place the ground almonds, hazelnuts, sugar, salt, small flakes of cold butter and the egg yolks in the middle. Bring all the mixture together with your hands and knead into a dough. Wrap the dough in cheese clloth and leave to rest in the ice box for 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Divide the dough into about 4 pieces and roll each piece into a log 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Cut the log into pieces about 2 inches long. Bend each piece into a crescent and taper the ends. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
3. Mix together the vanilla sugar and icing sugar. When the cookies are cool enough to handle, dredge each cookie in the mixed sugars.
4. Tap off any excess and leave the cookies to cool on a wire rack. Store your Vanillekipferln in an airtight tin.
Christmas Lebkuchen
For 2-3 baking sheets:
250g honey
250g brown sugar
100g butter
400g flour
100g ground almonds
1 teaspoon lebkuchen spices
to make your own lebkuchen spices you will need:
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, ginger and cardamon
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tablespoon pottasche (potassium carbonate, we can get this from the pharmacy)
Directions
1. Heat the honey, butter and sugar in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Put the mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool.
3. Add the flour, almonds lebkuchen spices, cocoa powder and the egg to the honey mixture and mix together thoroughly.
4. Dissolve the potassium carbonate in 2 tablespoons water and then add to the lebkuchen mix. Knead thoroughly. The mixture should not be sticky now. If necessary add a little flour.
5. Wrap the dough in cheesecloth and leave overnight in a cool place.
6. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
7. Knead the dough again and roll out on a floured surface to 1/2 cm thick.
8. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet prepared with baking paper. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes.
Sauerbraten
1 (5-lb.) beef eye of round
2 cups red wine
1 1⁄2 cups red wine vinegar
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 bouquet garni (1 tbsp. pickling spices, 14 whole cloves, 8 whole black peppercorns, 3 bay leaves, 3 sprigs thyme, 2 sprigs parsley, wrapped in cheesecloth, tied with kitchen twine)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 slices bacon, finely chopped
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1⁄2 cup golden raisins
6 gingersnaps, crumbled
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
Kosher salt, to taste
Directions
1. Season beef liberally with salt in large bowl. Bring wine, vinegar, 1 onion, carrot, bouquet garni, and 4 cups water to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan; pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate, turning once or twice a day, for 5 days. Remove beef from marinade; pour marinade through a fine strainer into a bowl, and dry beef thoroughly. (Reserve 5 cups of the marinade and the bouquet garni.) Heat 2 tbsp. butter and bacon in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook until bacon renders its fat, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate; set aside. Add beef; cook, turning, until browned all over, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a plate; set aside.
2. Heat oven to 325°. Add remaining onions to pot; cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 18 minutes. Return beef to pot with reserved marinade and sachet; boil. Cover; bake until beef is very tender, about 2 1⁄2 hours. Transfer beef to a platter; pour sauce through a fine strainer into a bowl.
3. Return pot to medium-high heat; add remaining butter. Add flour and sugar; cook, whisking constantly, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add sauce, raisins, gingersnaps, and juice; return beef to sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover pot, and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Thinly slice beef; arrange on a platter. Spoon sauce over top; sprinkle with bacon and parsley.
German Potato Salad
3 cups diced peeled potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions
1. Place the potatoes into a pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside to cool.
2. Place the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry until browned and crisp, turning as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Add onion to the bacon grease, and cook over medium heat until browned. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and parsley. Crumble in half of the bacon. Heat through, then transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the remaining bacon over the top, and serve warm.
Table of Contents
Bertha
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
A Note to my Readers
Coming Next
Acknowledgments
Books by Debra Holland
About the Author
German Recipes
Spaetzle
Pickled Beets & Celery Root Salad
German Filled Hoernchen
Cinnamon Stars
Red Cabbage
Apple Strudel
Wiener Schnitzel
Rinderrouladen
Spice Cookies
Almond Crescent Cookies
Christmas Lebkuchen
Sauerbraten
German Potato Salad
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Bertha: A Montana Sky Novella (Montana Sky Series) Page 12