March 10: Basler Läckerli

I know what you're thinking...Basler-who in the what, now?

Basler Läckerli (or Leckerli) is a dry cookie containing spices, candied peel, honey, nuts and sometimes Kirsch (a cherry liqueur). Even without knowing that this cookie was created by spice merchants over 700 years ago in Basel, Swizerland, upon first bite you're whisked back to Old World Europe. Just close your eyes with a bite of Basler Läckerli on your tongue and you're there.

How to describe the flavour? Think about gingerbread and hot cross buns having a love child, and you've got it. Bow-chicka-bow-bow!

Even the preparation method seems rustic; you simply gather the dough, roll it out and cut it into squares. It's actually one of the easiest things I've ever made. However, I have a few tips to make it even easier, and some corrections to the instructions that will result in a nicer looking product.

One could argue that cutting the dough with a knife or round (pizza) cutter and eyeballing the size results in a more "rustic" look that would be expected of an old recipe such as this. Personally, I would use a square cookie cutter next time to get perfect, non-warped squares.

The recipe says to brush the flat icing on top of the dough directly out of the oven while it's still hot, but does not specify whether you should cut the dough before or after you ice it. I took the recipe literally and iced it before making the second cut, and I found that the icing cracked and flaked off when I tried to cut it later. Next time I would make my cuts first, and frost second for a perfectly smooth finish.

I brushed a second coating of flat icing on top to neaten up the cracked and flakey tops, but it ended up looking like when you paint over an paint-chipped window sill. However, I'm totally in love with the look of the flat icing running down the sides, so again: cut first, frost second.

I sacrificed a lop-sided one to bust open and show how packed full of candied peel and nuts it is.

Serve these babies with tea and you've got one lovely afternoon.

Final Grade: A. Find the recipe for Besler Läckerli on my Recipes Page.

To order these "Cookies for a Cause" please click this link to donate at my Daily Bread Food Bank fundraising page. They're in the freezer right now just waiting for you to give them a home...in your belly.