Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls

 

If you live/ have lived in Luxembourg you know the eggnog drink that appears every year by the end of October / beginning of November in the local supermarkets. I have to admit, when the days get shorter, the temperature drops and the only thing you want to do is snuggle up in your home and enjoy comforting hot or cold drinks Luxlait's Egg Nog has always been one of my favorite. 

Even as a kid I couldn't await the moment when eggnog finally did its reappearance in the shelves, and so I think I can say this is the seasonal product that I've consumed most in my entire life. I cannot recall the number of packs I've drank over the years, but its been loads. Even when I had covid and didn't taste a damn thing, I still kept up the tradition. Obviously it didn't kick as good during these days, but there's something about the texture that also makes it a comforting drink. 

Fast forward to 2021, when I developed another culinary obsession: CINNAMON ROLLS. I've always loved a good cinnamon bun, but I had one in particular that made my taste buds go wild. The ratio of the icing, dough and cinnamon sugar mix was perfect, so I took one home for the next day as well. It was around Christmas time as well, so I had the bun with my beloved eggnog (Yeah I know, in terms of sugar every GP would start yelling at me) and I thought to myself. This is it!! There has to be a Christmas edition for the classic cinnamon roll. What about putting that delicious Luxlait egg nog into the dough and the icing and look what's going to happen. I tell you what happened: the perfect seasonal cinnamon roll was born. 

So I teamed up with Luxlait, the Luxembourgish dairy company which makes my favorite egg nog drink, and told them that I've created the perfect Christmas breakfast item. When to enjoy a good egg nog cinnamon bun? Well, during the jolly season, on Christmas morning and after Christmas with all your leftover egg nog (I know you too stocked up a bit as it's going to disappear real soon!)

For 12 buns you'll need:

Dough

500g flour

2 tsp brown sugar

7g dry yeast

1 pinch salt

150 ml Luxlait egg nog

100g butter

3 eggs

Filling

100g butter

150g brown sugar

100g white sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

Glaze

250 powdered sugar

5 tbsp Luxlait egg nog

Mix 400g flour, brown sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add the eggnog and butter and knead. Now gradually fold in the eggs and the remaining flour. Cover the dough with cling film and leave to rest for an hour. Make sure you don't use a steal bowl, because the dough won't rise that good in there. 

While the dough is resting, melt the butter for the filling. Mix with both types of sugar and cinnamon. Then line a baking tray with baking paper. 

Preheat the oven to 180°.

Once the dough is ready, knead it again and roll out into a rectangle (20x40 cm). Spread the butter mixture on top and then roll up the dough from the long side. Cut the dough into 12 rolls (I used a thread), then place them on the baking tray and cover with cling film again. Let rest for another 30 minutes, then bake for around 30 minutes. 

In the meantime, prepare the glaze by mixing the eggnog and the icing sugar. Pour the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls. 

Enjoy!!!!

Are you planning on making this recipe? Or have you already tried it?

Then show me your creations on Instagram: @passionmeetscreativity  I'm looking forward to your comments & suggestions :)

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Marillenringe

Marillenringe are a classic. I remember a day back in the nineties, when we stayed in the black forest region with my family over Christmas. We were having our afternoon tea, enjoying some Christmas cookies that I would occasionally dip into my milk. Yes, it’s that long ago! The buttery scent, the crunch of the shortbread cookies and the sweet flavour from the apricot jam, made these little treats real treasures. With every bite, you would dig deeper into this pure bliss, stimulating all your senses. No surprise that everybody had a big smile on their face afterwards. 

Looking back, I think that it was one of the whitest, coldest but also most festive Christmases we’ve ever had together. Nobody was in charge for anything but enjoying our Christmas holidays. Nobody had to buzz around like a busy bee because everything was taken charge of: Dad didn’t have to prepare the Christmas Eve dinner, mom didn’t have to ensure everyone was invited and all the other things were ordered. My grandma didn’t have to stay in the kitchen for hours to prepare lunch on Christmas Day. We could just enjoy everyone’s presence and indulge. 
I actually also do love Christmas at home though. I love helping my family with all things food. That’s why this year I’m in charge with everything nibbles. I already have everything sorted out for the appetisers, and I’m also planning do make few more Marillenringe this week to enjoy with our coffees. Very often, it’s the moment where everyone (especially the hosts) can relax and the real fun of the get togethers begins. 
Best thing: They are really easy to make and keep a long time in a metal box (note to self for next year).

For around 30 cookies you'll need:

400g flour

125g sugar

1 egg yolk

15ml rum

225g apricot jam

250g butter

8g vanilla sugar

1 pinch salt

****

Pour the flour onto the work surface. Make a well in the middle, then add the sugar, salt, vanilla sugar, egg yolk and rum. Spread the butter in flakes over the flour. Knead all the ingredients into a shortcrust pastry. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 2 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 180°.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit several minutes. Remove the cling film, then dust your work surface with flour.  Now roll the dough to a 3-4 mm thickness. Cut out round cookies and rings, then place them to a parchment paper lined baking tray. Bake for 10-15minutes. Here again, watch the cookies, as all ovens work differently. Cookies should be golden and not too dark. Repeat the same process until you've used all your dough. 

To finalise the cookie sandwich, dust ring cookies with icing sugar.

Stir the jam over a medium heat until smooth, spread it on the cookies and place the rings on top. Add some more jam in the middle of the rings. Leave to dry well before storing the cookies in a tin. 

Enjoy!!!

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Festive Baked Apple Trifle

 

When it comes to Christmas desserts, opinions differ A LOT! Some people prefer a good old bûche de Noël, while others long for lighter and more creative creations. If you're one of the latter, I may interest you in a very delicious, seasonal and festive baked apple trifle.

In 2020 I published my Vanillekipferl recipe, and you might remember that restrictions were relatively high back then. You weren't allowed to meet up with many people, and so I happened to have all these Christmas cookies, and no one to enjoy them with (apart from a very few people). 

But situations like these are usually the source of newfound creativity. Had I been able to see more people, I definitely would have given the cookies away, or shared them with friends over coffee. So here I was, in my kitchen, looking for ways to incorporate these vanilla treasures into one of my Christmas desserts, and I have to say, I am very happy with the result. What I love most about this Christmas dessert is that it has its seasonal fruits and the festive note with the white wine cream rounding it up with a classic Christmas cookie. 

For 4 glasses you'll need

1 ½ apple

15g butter

160 ml Chardonnay

140 ml apple juice

20g vanilla sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

110g low-fat quark

100g crème fraîche

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

140g crushed Vanillekipferl + 4 for decoration 

******

Stir the apple juice and Chardonnay in a bowl. Sweeten with 10g vanilla sugar and whisk in the cornstarch. 

Remove the core from the apples, peel and then cut into small cubes. Melt the butter in a small pan, then add the apples and sauté briefly. Add the apple juice mixture, quickly bring to the boil and then leave to cool.

Stir the quark with the sugar and the remaining vanilla sugar, then add the crème fraîche and mix until you have a smooth cream. Season to taste with the lemon juice and stir again briefly. 

Put 4 Vanillekipferl to one side, crumble the rest into medium-sized pieces. Pour the cookie crumbs into the glass first, then add the quark cream and finally top with the apple compote. Decorate each with a Kipferl. 

Enjoy!!!

Are you planning on making this recipe? Or have you already tried it?

Then show me your creations on Instagram: @passionmeetscreativity  I'm looking forward to your comments & suggestions :)

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Zimsterne

December is always a very busy month, yet also a very delicious one. What I love most about December is that you may be in a rush for many reasons (work, family, friends, volunteering, etc) but there's always room for a sweet moment with Christmas treats. Sure breaks are nice in any given season, but is there anything more comforting than having a break around Christmas time? Seriously, just think about it. Taking a break with a cinnamon star or two in one hand, and a seasonal tea or coffee in the other - daydreaming about the upcoming weeks, about winter, and the snow. 

Well, at least that's how I slide through the advent season. So today's recipe is a German classic: Zimtsterne. Zimtsterne are cinnamon stars with a meringue like icing on top. I have so many lovely memories of Zimsterne moments. When we were little, and my grandparents were still alive, we used to go to the south of Germany or Austria later on during the festive season. So in my childhood we often had white Christmas, with loads of Christmas cookies. But somehow the Zimtsterne were always among my favourite. 

Those of you who follow along for a while, know that my grandpa started baking a lot after retiring. So when I grew older, we baked many Christmas Cookies together. Of course we also made Spitzbuben, Heidesand and Vanillekipferl here and there, but my favourite always were the Zimtsterne. So let me take you on a delicious journey, with cookies crisp on the outside and super soft on the inside, where the flavours of cinnamon and hearty almonds melt together. 

For around 40 cookies you'll need:

250g icing sugar

3 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

400g unpeeled ground almonds

****

Preheat the oven to 120° (fan)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until stiff, then gradually whisk in the icing sugar. Remove two large table spoons of the beaten eggs and set aside for the coating later on. 

Now fold in the vanilla extract, cinnamon and around half the almonds. Add the rest of the almonds, then use your hands to bring together an even dough that is barely sticky. 

Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for one hour. 

Put the dough on a surface generously dusted with icing sugar, then roll the dough out to 1/2 cm sickness.

Cut out the stars with a cookie cutters, then place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, then spread some of the icing you set aside on the cookies. I used a silicon pencil but you can also use a knife or a spoon. Bake for approximately 25 minutes. 

Once the cookies are baked, put them onto a wire rack and let cool. 

Re-roll the excess dough and repeat the process until there's no dough left. 

The cookies remain moist, crispy yet soft if stored in cookie tins with lids for around two weeks. 

Are you planning on testing the recipe? Or have you already tried it?

Then show me your creations on Instagram: @passionmeetscreativity  I'm looking forward to your comments & suggestions :)

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