Brunsli

Name: Brunsli
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 6 dozen
Ingredients: 12 ounces shelled walnuts, ground; 12 ounces shelled pecans, ground; 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa; 2 cups sugar, plus 1/2 cup for board; 3 egg whites at room temperature; 1 tablespoon kirsch or rum; Butter or margarine for greasing baking sheets

Recipe from Agnes F. Hofstettler

Adapted by Dena Kleiman

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling time
Rating: (0)
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Agnes F. Hostettler, of Statesville, N.C., was 72 when she shared this recipe with The Times in 1990. She baked brunsli and zimt sterne each Christmas, as they were the cookies she baked as a child with her mother in Germany. The year she contributed this recipe, she has already baked about 1,000 cookies that she has sent to her five daughters. “My daughters all have my recipes,” she said. “But they say, ‘Mom, they never taste as good as when you make them.’ ” —Dena Kleiman

Featured in: The Spirit of Christmas Past Lives On in Traditional Cookies

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Ingredients

Yield:6 dozen

12ounces shelled walnuts, ground
12ounces shelled pecans, ground
½cup unsweetened cocoa
2cups sugar, plus ½ cup for board
3egg whites at room temperature
1tablespoon kirsch or rum
Butter or margarine for greasing baking sheets

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 185 degrees.
Step 2
In a large bowl, mix the ground nuts with the cocoa and a half cup of the sugar. In another bowl, preferably copper, beat the egg whites with kirsch until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating constantly. Continue beating until mixture is stiff. Mix egg whites with nut mixture to form dough. Refrigerate for one hour.
Step 3
Place dough on a sugared board. Roll to form cylinders, 1½ inches in diameter. Cut into slices ¼ inch wide. Sprinkle slices lightly with sugar. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake for 50 minutes.