We'll start with THE quintessential Christmas biscuit, the one classified as Swiss heritage and also known as Mailänderli… aka the Mailänderli!
A famously Swiss delight, with its hint of lemon and its lovely crumbly texture, the Mailänderli goes way, way back! The first ever recipe found dates from 1780 and was written by the Basel culinary expert Andreas Morel. I tried to follow his recipe to the letter while adding my personal touch… as you know, I can't help myself… for a delicious star-shaped biscuit to hang at the top of the Christmas tree - or to enjoy while decorating it - and throughout Advent. For this little Mailänderli that doesn't come from Milan, apart from the lemon zests which are simply better elsewhere, all the ingredients I found come from Switzerland, very close to the biscuit bakery… wheat flour, sugar, butter, rapeseed oil, eggs, and even salt! As my illustrious aunt used to say, the simplest recipes are the best! Do you want to know my secret to making them so golden and shiny? My Mailänderli are glazed by hand with whole egg!
Now for another star of Advent (and afterwards too, while we're at it^^), a legendary star flavoured with a spice from elsewhere… the cinnamon star!
A delight that reminds us of long, cold winter nights, to be enjoyed with mulled wine or hot chocolate, depending on the age of the gourmet… whether you're 7 or 77, cinnamon stars truly mean Christmas! So after much research through historical anecdotes dating back to the 16th century and recipes from the 18th century, I finally found what I was looking for. I then tweaked the recipe my way to find the perfect balance between flour, butter, eggs, cinnamon, almonds, and hazelnuts! By the way, speaking of anecdotes… Did you know that as far back as 1536, when Emperor Charles V visited the Pope in Rome, cinnamon stars were served to him at the end of a meal? Cinnamon was then a novelty from Asia and made quite an impression on the Holy Roman Emperor.
Last but not least… a creation Made in Agathe to satisfy your craving for nuts in the dead of winter. This year I've innovated by offering you star-shaped biscuits: let me introduce you to my hazelnut stars!
Grated and then roasted for a unique taste, the hazelnuts in this little star-shaped biscuit will drive you completely nuts!
Find all my Christmas biscuits in the shop and especially in my magnificent metal biscuit tin created for the occasion! Available in two sizes, with its pretty embossed design on the lid, it's the whole Agathe spirit packed into a tin for biscuits that stay fresh and delicious!
