Here is the recipe for the Mailänderli biscuits that I made at the weekend. These are one of the simplest and most loved of Swiss Weihnachtsguetzli – everybody makes them and they are really great to do with children. They don’t have a strong taste, but are extremely moreish, so watch out!

The recipe comes from Betty Bossi who is the Delia Smith or Julia Child of Swiss cooking. Amazingly though, dear old Betty never existed and was just a marketing device from many, many moons ago. I doubt there are any Swiss households that don’t have one or two Betty Bossi ringbound cookery books on their shelves though – a couple of new books come out every year and I can vouch that the recipes are well tested and always work!

250g butter

225g sugar

a pinch of salt

3 eggs

a little finely grated lemon rind (if possible from an organic untreated lemon)

500g flour

1 egg yolk

1. Cream the butter and sugar together
2. Add the eggs and mix well until the mixture lightens in colour a little
3. Add the lemon peel
4. Mix in the flour until a dough is formed
5. Cover and put in the fridge for about 2 hours
6. Roll out the dough – my recipe says to 5mm thickness, but I make it a little thicker
7. Cut out shapes to your heart’s delight! (Up to 80 pieces depending on the size)
8. Place the shapes on silicon or baking paper on a baking tray
9. Leave in a cool place for 15 minutes
10. Paint over the beaten egg yolk
11. Cook for about 10 minutes at 200 degrees C (400 degrees F)

I confess that I am a little lax about some of the leaving to cool and don’t stick strictly to the timings – and mine have always turned out just fine!

Enjoy!

Helen

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