Cinnamon and star anise are two of the most classic aromas used for Christmas desserts, the more we note the cinnamon, minus the anise .
If you also like this spice, we take inspiration from recipes from the north and other countries to have fun making original desserts that contain it together with cinnamon.
We flood the house with winter delicacies: wherever orange peel and mandarin are released, dried and candied futta, the smell of freshly baked brioche, cinnamon, ginger, anise, cloves ... and more forth!
Buchteln (Tyrolean brioche) with anise and cinnamon
Ingredients :
> 300gr of 00 flour,
> 45gr of butter softened at room temperature,
> 10gr of brewer's yeast,
> 1 egg,
> 80ml of warm milk,
> 40ml of warm water,
> 45gr of sugar,
> 1 teaspoon of cinnamon,
> 1 teaspoon of star anise powder,
> icing sugar to decorate.
For the filling : jam or honey to taste.
Method
In a cup, dissolve the crumbled yeast with warm water and a pinch of sugar. In a large bowl put the flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, milk and lightly beaten egg with cinnamon and anise. Knead with your hands for about ten minutes, obtaining a smooth and homogeneous impact.
Turn the oven to 40 ° and let the dough rise in the dough for about an hour. Now roll it out with a rolling pin and make squares of about 10 cm on each side; put a spoonful of jam or honey in the center; close them well and place them with the closure in the lower part in a round, lightly buttered mold, leaving some space between them because they will swell further during cooking.
Brush the surface of the buchteln with some melted butter to which you have added a pinch of cinnamon and let it rise again for 1 hour, always in the oven at 40 °. After this time, increase the oven temperature to 180 ° C and cook the brioche for 25/30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the buchtelns from the oven and serve them when they are warm, sprinkled with icing sugar.
Some nutritional information on traditional Christmas sweets
Apple crumble, star anise and cinnamon
Ingredients for the upper part of the crumble :
> 300 grams of 00 flour,
> 200 grams of whole cane sugar,
> 200 grams of butter cut into pieces and softened at room temperature,
> a pinch of salt.
For the filling :
> 75 grams of butter,
> 1 kilo of apples peeled, cleaned and cut into pieces of about a couple of centimeters,
> 150 grams of icing sugar,
> 5 anise stars,
> a cinnamon stick.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Prepare the upper part of the crumble by putting the flour and sugar in a large bowl, mixing them well; take a few cubes of butter at a time and rub them in flour and sugar, working them with your fingertips, as if to form large bread crumbs. Spread the mixture into a baking pan forming a thin layer.
Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and break with a fork, then put back in the oven and repeat the same operation for a couple of times.
Remove from the oven and prepare the filling. In a bowl, melt the butter in a bain-marie until a light foam forms, add the anise to flavor the butter. Finally add the apples, sugar and cinnamon and cook together, stirring often, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the apples are soft. Now remove the cinnamon and anise.
Take a pyrex or resistant ceramic baking pan, put the fruit mix on the bottom, then spread the crumble on it. Make sure the oven is hot (200 ° C) and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the crumble has a nice golden color and the fruit mix starts to form bubbles on the sides. It is left to cool, but not too much: the ideal is to serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or other creams to taste.
Classic Christmas tree cookies
Ingredients for cookies :
> 500 grams of 00 flour,
> 150 grams of soft butter,
> an egg and a yolk,
> 65g of honey,
> 150gr of wholemeal cane sugar,
> 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger,
> 2 teaspoons of powdered cinnamon,
> fine black pepper just a pinch,
> 1 pinch of nutmeg,
> 1 teaspoon of star anise powder,
> 1 pinch of salt.
Method
In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, spices and a pinch of salt. Meanwhile melt the butter with the honey and sugar in a bain-marie. When it has become slightly thick, pour it over the other ingredients, finally adding the whole egg and the yolk.
Mix well until the dough is compact and smooth and leave it to rest in the fridge for about half an hour wrapped in plastic wrap.
When the dough has set in the fridge, spread it out and cut out the Christmas molds you like best. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° for 10 minutes using a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you want to hang them on the tree, remember to make a small hole in each cookie!
