Christmas Eve is the start of the peak of the Swiss Fondue Chinoise season – the peak lasts until New Years’ Eve. This fondue and the Filet im Teig (pork or veal fillet wrapped in pastry) are the two main Christmas and New Year’s eve dinner meals in Switzerland. When I was a child in […]
Swiss Christmas recipes
Swiss Christmas Cookies (Wiehnachtsguezli)
Guezle: the process of making Christmas cookies Home-made Wiehnachtsguezli (Christmas cookies) are a big thing in Switzerland. Sometime in November everyone stocks up on sugar, flour, grated nuts, chocolate, butter and whatever else is needed for the cookies. The cookies are baked by all age groups; mothers bake with their children, the young urbanites bake […]
Chocolate Almond Balls (Schokoladekugeln Myrta)
These scrumptious chocolate balls are a firm favourite in the Christmas cookies selection of my family and very popular in the entire country. They’re called Schokoladekugeln Myrta and originate from the first Betty Bossi cookie cookbook called Guezle mit Betty Bossi. This very popular book had been out of stock for more than 15 years […]
Advent Bread Man (Gritibaenz)
The 6th of December is the day of Santa Claus and the Gritibänz in Switzerland. The Gritibänz, the humble bread man, has delighted children and grown-ups alike at 6th of December for generations. Gritibänzen are made with a dough similar to Zopf, but I add grated lemon zest which adds the special flavour which is […]
Mailänderli
Despite its Italian name, the Mailänderli (‘little cookies from Milan’) is by far the most popular and most baked Christmas cookie in Switzerland. I don’t like the shop bought ones as they taste quite bland and boring, but the homemade ones are delighful. Unlike other Christmas cookies, the Mailänderli are usually made with many different […]