Also known as Mandelkranzchen, Austrian Wreaths are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. The dough is made with lots of butter and ground almonds and spiced with ground cloves and cinnamon. Unlike many nut-based doughs, this one
is relatively easy to work with, and the cookies retain their shape well. I like to put lots of sliced almonds on top of the cookies, so that they have that random casualness of a home-spun wreath. Feel free to use whatever jam or preserves you
like for the filling. I like raspberry preserves, but sour cherry or apricot would also be delightful. The dough can be made up to a month in advance and frozen (well-wrapped), an option which allows you to enjoy these cookies throughout the holiday season and even into the new year. Click on Read More below for the recipe.
Adapted from Cookies at Home with The Culinary Institute of America (Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, 2011) by Todd Knaster
Makes about 20 cookies
1 ¾ cups (232 g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (96 g) ground almonds
12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter,
slightly softened
1 2/3 cups (191 g) confectioners’ sugar,
divided
1 large egg, separated
1 cup (85 g) sliced almonds
½ cup (152 g) raspberry preserves or
apricot jam
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the
flour, ground cloves, cinnamon and ground almonds. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2/3 cup (76 g) of the
confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until light, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the egg yolk and mix to combine,
about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and reduce the speed
to low. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture all at once and mix just
until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Gather the dough into a disk,
wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 3
days).
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two
baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. On a lightly
floured work surface, roll out the dough to slightly less than ¼-inch
thickness. Using a 2 ¼-inch round cutter, cut out rounds from the dough, saving
the scraps so that they can be re-rolled and cut again. Cut out a 1-inch hole in
the center of half of the cookies. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking
sheets, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.
5. Lightly brush the cookies with the
hole in the center with the egg white and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake
until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate and switch the baking sheets as
necessary for even baking.
6. Allow the cookies to cool for a minute
on the baking sheets then transfer, using a spatula, to a cooling rack and
allow to cool completely.
7. Spread some preserves or jam on the
cookies without the holes.
8. Lightly dust the top cookies (with
holes) with the remaining confectioners’ sugar and sandwich the cookies
together. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
