Basler Leckerli

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Basler Leckerli

I just wanted to give you plenty of notice about these, because you don’t want to wait too long to try them out. This is my favorite Christmas cookie. They go by lots of different names and have some little variations. “Basler Leckerli” translates to something like “delicious little things the way they make them in Basel (Switzerland).” This year, FINALLY (!), I made them yummy enough to rival my mom’s. Duh, I finally followed her directions to the letter. No wonder.

They might look humble to you, but oh. my. goodness. Just so you know why they’re so lecker, let me describe them. Chewy. Glazed with tart-sweet lemon juice and powdered sugar. Full of little bits of almond and candied orange peel and citron. Sweetened with honey. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Liqueur. You CANNOT go wrong with this, unless those absolutely delicious things just don’t appeal to your defective tastebuds.

Anyway, if you would like to make these, don’t wait. For one thing, the grocery store will stop selling candied orange peel and citron pretty soon. (You can just use one or the other, or candied lemon peel if you can find it, but don’t skip the candied fruit. It’s nothing like a fruitcake, so don’t worry about that). Also, there is nothing better with a hot cup of tea on Christmas morning. Also, they keep forever and stay perfectly perfect. And they are not a pain to make, really, compared to some other Christmas goodies you spend time on.

Here’s my mom’s recipe, if you want to get in on the goodness (sorry about the switching between English and metric systems — that’s what my mom’s recipe does, and it worked for me):

Basler Leckerli

1 lb. honey (or 454 grams — sorry, it’s best to weigh it unless you can find a volume conversion, since honey is heavier than water)

1 heaping cup sugar

1/2 lb. nuts (almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts would work), ground or chopped very finely in blender or food processor

about 50 g citron and candied orange peel, chopped in blender or food processor

1 T. cinnamon

1 1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. nutmeg

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 c. kirsch, whiskey, brandy, wine, or whatever alcoholic stuff you have on hand

3 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

Glaze:

2/3 c. powdered sugar

1 T. lemon juice (squeezed from the lemon you zested)

2 T. water

Heat honey in a large pan on the stove. Add sugar, and bring to a boil. Add nuts, candied fruit, spices, and lemon zest. Remove from heat. Add liqueur and flour that has been whisked with baking powder. Press into a greased 12″ x 18″ jellyroll pan with floured hands. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 15-20 min. While warm, stir together the glaze ingredients, and brush over the top of the bars (I suppose you could spoon and spread it, too — it’s very liquid). Use all the glaze. Cut while still warm. Store in an airtight container.