Simple Hazelnut Christmas Cookies

© All rights reserved, Thorsten Kraska, 2010


These christmas cookies are easy to make and fast too. In Germany they are called Haselnussmakronen. The cookies are crunchy after baking and have some cracks on the outside and some bigger holes inside. The icing with chocolate is optional. You will find many variation sof this type of christmas cookies in Germany.

Haselnussmakronen
(numbers of cookies is depending on size)

2 eggs (medium size, in Germany: size M)
250 g powder sugar
250 g Hazelnuts (grounded finely)
grated peel of 0.5 lemons

Optional:
chocolate for icing

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line baking tray with baking paper.

Mix the eggs with powder sugar until very foamy. It is important that the sugar is completely dissolved. It can take about 10 minutes. As longer as you mix as better the cookies will get. Fold in the grounded hazelnuts and lemon peel. Using a pipe bag pipe little cookies on the baking paper. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 munzes. The cookies will slightly brown and will get cracks on the outside. Let cool on the baking tray for some minutes before you transfer them to the cooling rack.

If you like you can dip the cooled cookies into icing chocolate.


On the photo
I was using a color setting with browns (wood, cookies, backdrop) and sprinkle in some more christmassy green and red. Because you can not tell from the cookies I have added some hazelnuts as reference. I use natural light coming from upper right from a window. A bounce from lower left for fill lights and to reduced shadows. I have tried it with more shadows, but then the chocolate icing gets too dark for my idea.