Christmas season is a festive time full of traditions in Germany. It is a time for baking cookies, decorations, ornaments, and fairy-tale like Christmas markets. It is the time of the year where you are continuously enchanted by the sweet smell of mulled wine, hot chocolate and exotic spices. You won’t be missing any magic…
PASTRY & SWEETS
GERMAN VANILLA CRESCENT COOKIES
Christmas in Germany is unthinkable without these vanilla crescent cookies. Their buttery crumble infused with vanilla appeals to all tastebuds around the world, and especially at Christmas! Known as “Vanille Kipferl” in Germany and Austria, these crescent-shaped cookies are flavoured with vanilla and made of butter and finely ground nuts. Traditionally they should be eggless…
CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
As I mentioned in earlier posts about Christmas baking in Germany, cookie baking is a kind of national sport in German homes. The more you bake the merrier is the Advent season, and the happier is your family! These scrumptious chocolate cookies have all the ingredients for a melt-in-the mouth tasting experience. Flavoured with cinnamon,…
COCONUT BUTTER COOKIES
Baking cookies for Christmas is a German affair. A tradition passed on from generations to the next, baking a wide assortment of delectable cookies is each family’s pride. Recipes are shared and passed on from generations to the next. With no German ancestry myself except for my husband’s family, I was fascinated by my mother-in-law’s…
FRENCH SABLÉ COOKIES
The classic among all cookies, sablé is a melt in the mouth affair with apricot jam tucked in between two crumbly, buttery cookies. Everybody loves sablé. These scrumptious cookies are baked all year round and not only at Christmas. They are a life saviour anytime I need an easy dessert for a dinner party. The…
SALIKAH ON SAINT BARBARA DAY
Saint Barbara’s Day (Eid el Burbara in Arabic) on the 4th of December marks the beginning of Christmas season for Christians in the Middle East. On the eve of the 3rd of December, we prepare Salika. Also known as kamih or kamhieh, it is a porridge made of hulled wheat grains cooked in water with…
AUTHENTIC GERMAN LEBKUCHEN
Lebkuchen is “the cookie” of the Advent Season in Germany. The German Christmas is unimaginable without it. The soft, moist and spicy sweet cookie with a cake-like texture bursts with heartwarming flavours. Filled with ground nuts, marzipan, and candied orange and lemon peel, and flavoured with a mixture of warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, coriander,…
FORÊT NOIRE (JUICY BLACK FOREST CAKE)
This glorious and indulgent Forêt Noire belongs to my culinary traditions rituals. The same way I cherish Maamoul (Semolina cookies) for Easter, cookies and Bûche de Noël for Christmas, I can’t imagine my Birthday without this juicy fruity creamy cake for a cosy teatime with my friends. Everyone always looks forward to my special day…
SFOUF (SEMOLINA CAKE WITH TURMERIC)
Sfouf is a Lebanese eggless cake made of semolina, turmeric, milk and oil. It is usually not very sweet and thus considered very healthy. Its Arabic name “sfouf, which means rows or lines, reflects the way the cake is cut into a grid of squares or diamonds. I love this cake for its distinct flavours…
MHALLABIEH (CREAMY MILK PUDING)
Ever since my daughter returned home to study for her final exam in med school, I have been preparing this creamy milk pudding almost every day. Stirring it until it is thick enough to be infused with orange blossom water evokes fond memories of my own childhood. I loved opening the fridge to find small…
