pfeffernüsse and other christmas desserts

this is a thread to talk about pfeffernüsse and other christmas desserts.

http://www.germandelights.com/product_images/06004%20brown%20gingerbread%20cookies.jpg

my grandma used to make pfeffernüsse, but i haven't had any in quite a while. also she used to make (and my dad does now) what we call swiss cookies but as far as i can tell are basler läckerli/leckerli. the pictures i've seen on the internet tend to be darker colored and look like they're cut after cooking instead of before, but the honey + almonds + citrus peel + sugar glaze is all the same.

hahaha oprah has a recipe for basler läckerli on her site!

http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipesdesserts/food_omag_200712_basler

lol, oprah co-opting what little ethnic heritage i can lay claim to. but yeah, ours are more cookie-like, not so much bars like oprah's

That sounds like a Lebkuchen to me, one of my favourite christmas cookies. Our local little austrian deli has some awesome ones at the moment.

panettone, anyone? an italian xmas fruit bread i see in markets and bakeries this time of year, esp. around the italian neighborhoods back home.

http://www.maisazi.com/immagini-articoli/panettone.jpg

on the italy tip, strufoli are delicious:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/333905453_975c4e776a.jpg

We just stocked up on pfeffernüsse from Lidl, bargain hunters.
Also stollen.

tbh Italy rules this.
Ricciarelli, panforte, pandoro (slightly preferable to panetonne), etc.

pandoro>>>>>>panettone imo

strufoli is kinda gross

ha xpost

Läckerli are a kind of Lebkuchen. It's all gingerbread, innit?

Scandinavians represent! Delicious Pepperkaker...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/70773865_dc1024d644.jpg?v=0

Lebkuchen is one of my favorite things in the whole world. My grandmother used to send us a huge tin from Germany each year that was filled with all different kinds of lebkuchen. These days we by it from the local German deli but still it's awesome and will forever remind me of Christmas.

Spaniards have TURRON:

http://www.chicadelatele.com/myfiles/chicadelatele/turron.jpg

delish

Best panettone I had had preserved strawberries and raspberries in it. It comes from a bakery here.

tbh Italy rules this.
Ricciarelli, panforte, pandoro (slightly preferable to panetonne), etc.

― Holden McGroin (Ned Trifle II), Wednesday, November 26, 2008 9:29 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I actually came on this thread to rhapsodise about puccidata, Sicilian pastries filled with honey-scented almond paste. But I can't find a single reference to them online... is this some sort of uber-local delicacy or have I just been calling them the wrong thing through the past 25 years?

They sound amazing!

I love anything almond. Marzipan! There's another sweet I associate with Christmas.

oh yeah - bought an awesome marzipan cake in germany last week!

i've only ever had low-quality panettone, the kind that clueless bosses/relatives give as a cheap xmas gift. it's always dry as dust.

the dogfish head "punkin ale" tastes pretty much totally like bottled pfeffernüsse with little bubbles, not really pumpkinish at all. It's awesome.

i think i've had that